Real Estate Information

The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives - Short Sale and Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure (HAFA) is a supplemental program to the Home Afffordable Modification Program (HAMP) that was started last year with the goal of decreasing the number of home foreclosures in the US.

The goal of HAMP was to help home owners stay in their homes with loan modifications.  The goal of HAFA is to standardize the short sale and deed in lieu process between home owners, lenders, loan service companies (banks), real estate agents, title companies, and any other agency that may have an interest in the property.  This program can provide up to $1,500 to the home owner to help with relocation from the property.

Please let us kniow if you would like additional information on HAFA or HAMP. 

We went to a charity launch party for 'the' magazine in Reno for information on food, wine, and more.  A big shout out to Amanda and Jackie of edible Reno-Tahoe for a great event.  The magazine is called edible Reno-Tahoe and the 1st issue is chocked full of great information about the culinary scene in Reno.  There is another event for the magazine today 3/06/10 at Whole Foods.  It will be worth your effort to attend.  One of our favorite Chef's will be there, Mark Estes, from Moody's, Baxter's, and Burger Me in Truckee.  It should be a great event.  For more information about the magazine go to ediblerenotahoe.com

Enjoy

There is a noticeable shift underway in the number of properties being sold as Bank Owned (REO) versus Short Sales in Reno.  According to the MLS in Reno (NNRMLS), the number of distressed properties for currently for sale in Reno in 2010 are 602 properties that are Bank Owned (REO) and 2494 properties that are Short Sales.  This is a complete flip of these categories from 2009.  In 2008 the Bank Owned (REO) properties were 80% of the distressed sales and the Short Sale properties accounted for around 20% of properties available for sale in Reno. 

What has caused this flip in the distressed property market in Reno?  The reason for this huge shift from Bank Owned (REO) to Short Sales may be simple.  Today Short Sales mitigate loss much more effectively the Bank Owned (REO) sales.  Finally it would appear that property disposition models and the lenders have finally caught on.  The following example provided by a large Wall Street hedge fund heavily vested in mortgage backed securities (MBS) tells the story and illustrates why this shift is occurring.  

The average loss per foreclosure (REO) is around 65%.  Based on a $100K note the investors net a return of $35K.  On a Short Sale the average loss is 40%.  Using the same $100K example, the investor ends up with $60K return.  That's a 25% increase over the investors net if the property is sold as a Short Sale instead of as an REO.

In summary, Short Sales are on the rise and Bank Owned (REO) properties are declining.  If you would like additional information about Reno Real Estate Trends,or additional information regard Foreclosures versus Short Sales in the Reno Area, just give us a call or a text, or drop us an email.

Is This Reno or London?  This weather is having a huge impact on my mental health.  Now I know why there is a high rate of suicides in Scandinavia.  If I don't see the sun soon I may go mad.  Some people say I may have already accomplished that task by being a Realtor.

We are supposed to get 300 plus days of sunshine in Reno each year.  Based upon our current lack of sunshine I guess that it will be sunny every day from March thru December.

Maybe we can buy the Tower of London and move it to Reno on the Truckee River.  It might look nice here.  Then we have to find ravens to guard the tower.

I just want to see some sunshine NOW.

Housing Market to Stabilize in 2010: Report
While some economists are concerned about the possibility of an ongoing housing market downturn in 2010, one new report finds that increased home affordability and government incentives will help stabilize the housing market in the coming year.
The RPX Monthly Housing Market Report, released by real estate data and analytics company Radar Logic, contends that household incomes also will stabilize after unemployment peaks in the second or third quarter. Banks and financial institutions holding onto the backlog of distressed properties are expected to release them back into the market gradually, so the homes will be absorbed without drastically reducing prices.

“If efforts to ease foreclosure can and do succeed, there could be significant recovery in housing values in 2010,” says Michael Feder, President and CEO of Radar Logic. “Inventories are close to the norm of six months’ supply and prices have returned to 2003/2004 levels. Activity is much stronger than normal for this time of year, and there is evidence of qualified buyers waiting on the sidelines. If we can put an end to the financially-driven weakness, it may well be time for housing values to go up,” Feder says.
Fri, Dec 18, 2009

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.

What in the world do leaping lords, French hens,

swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out

of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.

It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious realitywhich the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching,  Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,  Faithfulness,  Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.'

In 2009 the Nevada Association of Realtors (NVAR) in conjunction with SGA and NV DataMine conducted a survey to help better understand the Nevada foreclousre crisis and to help understand how to be part of a solution to this problem.

Of most interest was that no single conventional cause such as type of loan, job loss, or property devaluation can explain the factors that led to most foreclosures in the study.

Click on this link to go to the full report.

Questions and Comments are welcomed.

Follow this link to view charts on the status of the Reno Real Estate market statistics for October, 2009.  There are statistics on Reno Bank Owned (REO), Reno Short Sales, and Reno Regular sales.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this information  A special thanks to the Northern Nevada MLS for providing this data.

According to the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors Lawrence Yun, the supply of homes on the market is at it's lowest level in over two & a half years. We are getting closer to a general balance between buyers and sellers.

The last time the relative housing inventory was this low was in February 2007.

We are definitely seeing this same trend in Somersett, the Golf Community in the North West Foothills of Reno. We have been both living and working in Somersett since it's beginning six years ago and have not seen an inventory this low for a very long time.

The sales trends in Reno real estate may be changing.  Follow this link to a chart with Reno Area 2009 Sales by the categories of Regular Sales by month (non Bank Owned or (REO) or Short Sales).  Bank Owned Sales (REO) by month and Short Sales by month.

My observations are that total overall sales are trending up, Short Sales are trending up, Regular sales are trending up and Bank Owned or (REO) sales are trending flat.

Following are the total sales percentages for Reno real estate from January 2009 thru October 2009.

Percent of Total Sales

Regular Sales - 37%

Short Sales   - 21%

Bank Owned  - 42%

Compared to 2008 regular sales and short sales are moving up while bank sales are moving downward.

Please let me know if you have any questions.