Foreclosure Market Easing

The prognosis is in: The housing market is picking up steam. There's no turning back. Sales volume and prices ticked up on a national level at the end of the summer, with existing home sales up 9.3% in August compared to a year ago, and median prices up 9.5% from a year ago. All of this leads to a logical question: What about all those foreclosures economists and experts have warned about? Shadow inventory? Are there threats to the recovery that could crop up and throw us off course? The good news is the foreclosure market is easing. Foreclosure inventory was down to its lowest level in August since April 2010. The 57,000 foreclosures completed in August puts the total number of homes that have foreclosed since September 2008 at 3.8 million, according to CoreLogic's latest report. Granted, that's a lot of foreclosures in the overall housing fallout, and there is still a lot of foreclosure activity out there, depending on your market. But if the housing market were a hospital patient I think the doctors would say the foreclosure condition is improving – perhaps no longer life-threatening. The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in August were: California (110,000), Florida (92,000), Michigan (62,000), Texas (58,000) and Georgia (55,000), according to CoreLogic. The five states combined account for 48.1% of all completed foreclosures nationally – which indicates the problem is still generally contained within certain markets. Meanwhile, the states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in August were: South Dakota (25), District of Columbia (113), Hawaii (435), North Dakota (564) and Maine (612). The continued downward movement in the foreclosure market is a good indicator that the recovery is picking up speed. The higher concentration of foreclosures in the five states noted above could continue to dampen or slow the recovery in those states, but again it really depends on the local market. For instance, California is ranked the top state for foreclosures over the last 12 months, but some of our local Bay Area markets aren't seeing much of that at all. The main thing to watch is the overall trend, which is definitely sloping down. Thankfully, the shadow inventory problem that many were worried about these past few years seems to have deflated more gradually than initially thought so we didn't see a second flood of foreclosures all hit the market at the same time at the national level. It will take some time, still, before foreclosures are completely out of the housing recovery vernacular. But things are looking good. We just have to charge ahead and make sure the systems in place for markets where foreclosures are still rampant are efficient enough to keep moving. Demand for these homes doesn't seem to be a problem. LPF Team Gino Blefari CEO Intero Real Estate

Housing Recovery?

The housing recovery in California is expected to continue through to 2013, but the market won't be fully "corrected" until as far off as 2017, according to the California Housing Market Forecast released by the CAR.  As most of you know the Bay Area is a very special place.  While the rest of the country has been recovering I think it is more accurate to say the Bay Area housing market has exploded over the last 18 to 24 month.  Most listings are selling with multiple offers and WAY over list price.   In some markets we have seen prices increase by as much as 20 to 30 percent in just the last 18 months…many areas are seeing prices at ALL TIME HIGHS.  Remember however, the housing market in the Bay Area is like the weather and varies widely depending on where you are.  If you want to know what is going on in your market feel free to ping me an email, send me a text or give me a call. 

• Homes sales and prices are expected to keep rising, but lower-than-normal inventory levels and underwater mortgages are key hindrances to a faster recovery, according to Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist with the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.
• Home sales are forecasted to rise 1.3 percent to 530,000 units next year, based on the projected tally of 523,300 units this year. That's a slower growth than that of 2011 to 2012, which is roughly 5 percent.

• The momentum in prices also is expected to carry through to 2013, a result of pent-up demand for a limited housing supply. The median price could rise 5.7 percent to $335,000 in 2013. That's lower than the projected price growth from 2011 to 2012, an estimated 11 percent. The state has a 3.2 months' worth of housing inventory, significantly lower than the 16 months'-plus supply of saw roughly four years ago.

• “Pent-up demand from first-time buyers will compete with investors and all-cash offers on lower-priced properties, while multiple offers and aggressive bidding will continue to be the norm in mid- to upper-price range homes,” said Appleton-Young in the report.

• Appleton-Young says what underwater borrowers throughout the state will do -- be it selling or holding -- will have a big effect on next year's housing recovery.

• Other things to watch next year that will have a bearing on the housing market include: policies related to the state,local and federal governments; and housing and monetary policies, Appleton-Young said.

Mortgage Debt Forgivness Act

Not All Sunsets are Beautiful

In 2007, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act was passed in an attempt to help the millions of homeowners who, due to the housing crisis and economic crash, suddenly found themselves in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

The act has helped many distressed homeowners find solutions to avoid foreclosure and opened up options to them that were previously unavailable. 

The Mortgage Debt Relief Act, however, was only intended to be a temporary solution and is now set to expire at the end of 2012. There is a bill in Congress that would extend it, but it is unclear if it will pass. For distressed homeowners, this means that time is limited to take advantage of this program. 

Time is running out. But there is still a chance to change your financial direction and avoid foreclosure. Learn more at www.ShortSellingNews.com

Leadership!! 2012

With the election around the corner, it is only appropriate to look to the great presidents of our history for the lessons their lives can teach us.  One of the first presidents that comes to mind as an exceptional leader is Franklin Delano Roosevelt.  President Roosevelt has been consistently rated in the top three most successful presidents in the history of the United States in scholar surveys conducted by institutions from Harvard to C-SPAN.  The only president to serve more than two terms, FDR led the nation through two of its most challenging crises: the Great Depression and World War II.

As a teenager, Roosevelt was highly influenced by his school’s headmaster, who emphasized that the privileged classes owed a duty of service to society. Roosevelt took that to heart and began his service in political office as an adult.  In 1921, Roosevelt faced his greatest personal challenge when he contracted polio and was left a paraplegic.  However, because of the people Roosevelt surrounded himself with, most notably his wife, Eleanor, he fought off despair.  Eleanor played a major role in his life, believing Franklin was destined for greatness, and deemed it essential to his well being and the nation that he did not abandon his political career.  In 1933, we find Roosevelt inaugurated and over 15 million Americans unemployed.  Though widespread fear and panic abounded throughout the nation, Roosevelt entered office projecting an image of realistic confidence and optimism, stating perhaps his most famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  He went to work quickly, creating the New Deal, which provided quick relief and long term hope.

As a wartime president, it is a little known fact that FDR set up a milestone in civil rights: The Fair Employment Practices Committee, to prevent discrimination in defense-related employment.  Many of his decisions were highly criticized during the war, such as abandoning previous reforms by bringing business leaders into policy decisions in the name of putting the American industry onto war footing; however, Roosevelt accepted all responsibility and made the necessary decisions that ultimately resulted in victory.  Most notably, he refused to become a wartime dictator.  Instead of assigning a production “czar”, he harnessed the powers of capitalism, assuming competition combined with a common zeal to win the war would produce the best results.  The people of the United States had such great confidence in Roosevelt that he was elected to a fourth term.

Here is what can be learned from this brief overview of Roosevelt’s presidential career:

• Confidence and an optimistic state of mind is the first step toward successful leadership.  They are infectious.
• Abandon your discriminations.  To lead others requires understanding others.  To understand others requires imagination and a willingness to leave behind comfortable assumptions.
• Act decisively when action is called for.  Often, a good solution now is far better than a perfect solution later.
• Communicate.  Create a common cause by defining your goals and values clearly.
• Build a team of the best people available to you.
• Foster creative competition toward a common goal among those you lead.
• Keep your plans flexible.

Leadership is a sacrifice.

Courtesy of LPF Team Lisa & Pete; Gino Blefari CEO Intero Real Estate