February « 2010 « Bend Oregon Real Estate

February 27, 2010

Home Sales Starting Slow in 2010

Filed under: Bend Oregon Real Estate — Jim Johnson @ 9:38 am

Existing-Home Sales Down in January, Higher Than a Year Ago

This Article was recently released by the National Association of Realtors.

Washington, February 26, 2010

Existing-home sales fell in January but are above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December, but remain 11.5 percent above the 4.53 million-unit level in January 2009.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is still some delay between shopping and closing that affected current sales. “Most of the completed deals in January were based on contracts in November and December. People who got into the market after the home buyer tax credit was extended in November have only recently started to offer contracts, so it will take a couple months to close those sales,” he said. “Still, the latest monthly sales decline is not encouraging, and raises concern about the strength of a recovery.”

Total housing inventory at the end of January fell 0.5 percent to 3.27 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.8-month supply² at the current sales pace, up from a 7.2-month supply in December. Raw unsold inventory is 9.6 percent below a year ago, and is at the lowest level since March 2006.

“Activity should be picking up strongly in late spring as buyers take advantage of the tax credit, which is critical to absorb distressed properties reaching the market and to continually chip away at inventory,” Yun said. “With a downtrend in the number of homes on the market, especially in the lower price ranges, values are beginning to firm but with great variance around the country.”

The national median existing-home price³ for all housing types was $164,700 in January, unchanged from a year earlier. Distressed homes, which accounted for 38 percent of sales last month, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they typically are discounted in comparison with traditional homes in the same area.

A parallel NAR practitioner survey⁴ shows first-time buyers purchased 40 percent of homes in January, down from 43 percent in December. Investors accounted for 17 percent of transactions in January, up from 15 percent in December; the remaining sales were to repeat buyers. The survey also shows that buyer traffic increased 9.4 percent in January.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz., said buying a home in the current environment has become more challenging. “First-time buyers and others who need a mortgage are increasingly losing out to all-cash investors for the best bargains in many areas, particularly for foreclosed homes where cash is king,” she said.

“Inventory conditions vary by price range, and of course there are major differences depending on location. Realtors® are the best buyer resource for strategies on winning bids in increasingly competitive markets,” Golder said. “The bidding for more desirable homes will only accelerate between now and the April 30 contract deadline to qualify for a tax credit of up to $8,000.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 5.03 percent in January from 4.93 percent in December; the rate was 5.05 percent in January 2009.

Single-family home sales fell 6.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million in January from a level of 4.76 million in December, but are 8.6 percent above the 4.08 million pace in January 2009. The median existing single-family home price was $163,600 in January, down 0.4 percent from a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales dropped 8.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 620,000 in January from 675,000 in December, but are 38.1 percent above the 449,000-unit level a year ago. The median existing condo price⁵ was $172,400 in January, which is 1.4 percent higher than January 2009.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Northeast fell 10.9 percent to an annual pace of 820,000 in January but are 22.4 percent above a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $245,300, a gain of 8.8 percent from January 2009.

Existing-home sales in the Midwest declined 6.9 percent in January to a level of 1.08 million but are 8.0 percent higher than January 2009. The median price in the Midwest was $130,300, which is 1.0 percent below a year ago.

In the South, existing-home sales dropped 7.4 percent to an annual pace of 1.87 million in January but are 12.0 percent above a year ago. The median price in the South was $140,200, down 2.0 percent from January 2009.

Existing-home sales in the West declined 5.2 percent to an annual rate of 1.28 million in January but are 7.6 percent higher than January 2009. The median price in the West was $203,400, down 5.8 percent from a year ago.

The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

If you’re thinking about buying a home in Bend you should sign up for Jim’s free New Listing Notification Service or call or e-mail today. Jim Johnson is a Certified Residential Specialist and has been selling quality homes in Bend Oregon since 1981.

Call 541-389-4511 or see his web site to search the MLS - Bend Oregon Real Estate. Jim is licensed by the State of Oregon as the Principal Broker for Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert. E-MAIL or go to Bank Foreclosure Information.

If you have questions about Bend or Bend real estate just type in the subject in the search box in the right hand column and click search. You can use this blog as your search engine for Bend Oregon real estate and many subjects about Bend.

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February 23, 2010

Bend Oregon Bank Foreclosures in 2010

Bend Oregon Bank Foreclosures

Bend Oregon Bank Foreclosures – It looks like 2010 is going the be the best time to buy a bank foreclosure in Bend Oregon. After spending the month of January in Arizona with my wife in our motor home it’s back to selling homes in Bend.

Last year I wrote an article in March stating that there were 105 bank owned homes for sale in Bend with 58 pending sales and 50 closed sales in the past 60 days. For the same period this year there have been 97 foreclosure sales closed. That’s almost a 100% increase in the number of sales.

Pending sales over the same 60 day period from last year has more than doubled. Last year there were……………..Enough statistics!! The fact is bank foreclosure sales have doubled in the last year and inventories are down! Some of the best buys on the market are bank foreclosures.

After vacation in January it’s back to work selling real estate in Bend. I closed one bank foreclosure while I was gone and have put two sales (foreclosures) in escrow thus far in February. All three of these sales had multiple offers and two of them sold for more than full price!

There was a new bank owned listing that hit the market last week in one of our most up-scaled areas (Awbrey Butte). There were 4 offers in the first two days on the market and I don’t know how many offers there were before it sold. Bank foreclosures are selling quickly and for close to the list price.

That’s not to say all listings are selling in the first week. Some of the lenders price their homes too high and they will sit there until they lower the price where it will attract buyers. The average sales price for the homes sold in the last 60 days was 98.92% of the current list price. Some sold for more than full price and some sold for less.

All three of my sales were all cash with no lender involved. I’m personally going to be buying another investment property if the right one comes along. This looks like the year to be buying bank foreclosures in Bend.

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February 20, 2010

Sunriver Real Estate

Filed under: Central Oregon Real Estate, Sunriver Real Estate — Tags: Oregon, Real estate, Sunriver, Sunriver Homes, Sunriver Oregon — Jim Johnson @ 5:57 pm

Sunriver is a great place to live!

Nestled next to the Deschutes River on 3,300 acres of pristine high desert, lush meadows and beautiful pine forests, Sunriver, Oregon, is the premier Northwest destination for vacationers, golfers, and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages.

The Cascade Mountains are to the west and the Newberry Volcanic National Monument to the east, Sunriver boasts an exciting array of world class amenities such as golf, tennis, swimming, horseback riding, kayaking, canoeing, white water rafting, fly fishing, biking, hiking, bird watching, spa and fitness centers, music and art festivals, and a variety of restaurants from fine dining to casual.

Sunriver is located in central Deschutes County, approximately 15 miles south of the Bend city limits. It lies in the Upper Deschutes River Basin at approximately 4,200 feet elevation, with the Deschutes River forming the western boundary of the 3,300 acre community. The Deschutes National Forest surrounds Sunriver on the north, east and west.

There are approximately 4,700 residences and lodging units in Sunriver and about 1,500 residents call Sunriver home on a full-time basis. About 50% of non-resident owners live in Oregon, 13% in Washington and 12% in California. The average age of resident homeowners is 66 years for men and 64 for women.

If you’re thinking about buying a home in Sunriver you should sign up for Jim’s free New Listing Notification Service or call or e-mail today. Jim Johnson is a Certified Residential Specialist and has been selling quality homes in Central Oregon since 1981.

Call 541-389-4511 or see his web site to search the MLS - Sunriver Real Estate. Jim is licensed by the State of Oregon as the Principal Broker for Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert. E-MAIL or go to Bank Foreclosure Information.

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Mortgage Delinquencies Decline

Filed under: Bend Oregon Real Estate, Bend Real Estate — Tags: Bank Foreclosures, Bend Oregon, Bend Oregon Real estate market, Mortgage Delinquencies — Jim Johnson @ 8:47 am

Bend Oregon Bank Foreclosure Expert

The following article was recently released by the Mortgage Brokers Association. This is just another sign that we are approaching the bottom of the real estate market in Bend Oregon.

Delinquencies, Foreclosure Starts Fall in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 19, 2010) — The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.47 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, down 17 basis points from the third quarter of 2009, and up 159 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased 50 basis points from 9.94 percent in the third quarter of 2009 to 10.44 percent this quarter.

The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process at the end of the fourth quarter was 4.58 percent, an increase of 11 basis points from the third quarter of 2009 and 128 basis points from one year ago. The combined percentage of loans in foreclosure or at least one payment past due was 15.02 percent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the highest ever recorded in the MBA delinquency survey.

The percentage of loans on which foreclosure actions were started during the fourth quarter was 1.20 percent, down 22 basis points from last quarter and up 12 basis points from one year ago.

The percentages of loans 90 days or more past due and loans in foreclosure set new record highs. The percentage of loans 30 days past due is still below the record set in the second quarter of 1985.

Beginning of the End?

“We are likely seeing the beginning of the end of the unprecedented wave of mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures that started with the sub-prime defaults in early 2007, continued with the meltdown of the California and Florida housing markets due to overbuilding and the weak loan underwriting that supported that overbuilding, and culminated with a recession that saw 8.5 million people lose their jobs,” said Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist.

“The continued and sizable drop in the 30-day delinquency rate is a concrete sign that the end may be in sight. We normally see a large spike in short-term mortgage delinquencies at the end of the year due to heating bills, Christmas expenditures and other seasonal factors. Not only did we not see that spike but the 30-day delinquencies actually fell by 16 basis points from 3.79 percent to 3.63 percent. Only three times before in the history of the MBA survey has the non-seasonally adjusted 30-day delinquency rate dropped between the third and fourth quarter and never by this magnitude. If the normal seasonal patterns hold for the first quarter, we should see an even steeper drop in the end of March data.

“This drop is important because 30-day delinquencies have historically been a leading indicator of serious delinquencies and foreclosures. With fewer new loans going bad, the pool of seriously delinquent loans and foreclosures will eventually begin to shrink once the rate at which these problems are resolved exceeds the rate at which new problems come in. It also gives us growing confidence that the size of the problem now is about as bad as it will get.

“The other apparent good sign is a drop in the rate of new foreclosures started. This drop may be temporary, however, because we continue to see large increases in loans 90 days or more past due.

“Typically, 30-day delinquencies account for the largest share of all delinquencies. That is no longer the case. Loans 90 days or more past due now account for half of all delinquencies, the highest share in the history of the MBA survey and double the share only two years ago. If we include loans already in foreclosure in those totals, seriously delinquent loans are now 64 percent of all non-current loans.

“Despite the drop in short-term delinquencies, foreclosure rates could continue to climb, however, based on the ability of borrowers 90 days or more delinquent to solve their problems. A sizable number of the loans in the 90+ day delinquent bucket are in loan modification programs. They are carried as delinquent until borrowers demonstrate they will make the payments agreed to in the plans.

“Florida continues to be the worst state in terms of delinquencies with 26 percent of Florida mortgages one payment or more past due as of December 31st. 20.4 percent of Florida mortgages are 90 days or more past due or already in the process of foreclosure. Nevada is the second worst state with 24.7 percent of its mortgages one payment or more past due and 19 percent 90 days or more past due or in foreclosure.

“The pattern of mortgage delinquencies now very much follows the pattern of unemployment. Just as short-term delinquencies have fallen during the latter part of 2009, first-time claims for unemployment insurance have declined by about a third since their peak in March 2009. Just as long-term delinquencies now dominate total mortgage delinquencies, long-term unemployment now dominates the total unemployment number. People who have been unemployed for six months or more now constitute over 40 percent of the total unemployed, the highest share in the history of the unemployment survey. In addition, over the last several months we have seen a large number of people simply drop out of the work force, many who are discouraged about being able to find work. Until the issue of this large segment of long-term unemployed is resolved, many of the longer-term mortgage delinquencies will remain a problem with a strong likelihood of turning into foreclosures,” Brinkmann said.
Change from last quarter (third quarter of 2009)

The delinquency rate decreased 11 basis points for prime loans (from 6.84 percent to 6.73 percent), 116 basis points for sub-prime loans (from 26.42 percent to 25.26 percent), 79 basis points for FHA loans (from 14.36 percent to 13.57 percent), and 67 basis points for VA loans (from 8.08 percent to 7.41 percent).

The non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans in the foreclosure process increased 11 basis points for prime loans (from 3.20 percent to 3.31 percent), and increased 23 basis points for sub-prime loans (from 15.35 percent to 15.58 percent). FHA loans saw a 25 basis point increase in the percent of loans in foreclosure (from 3.32 percent to 3.57 percent), while the rate for VA loans increased 17 basis points (from 2.29 percent to 2.46 percent).

The non-seasonally adjusted foreclosure starts rate in the fourth quarter was 1.20 percent, a decrease of 22 basis points from the third quarter of 2009 rate of 1.42 percent. By loan type, the foreclosure starts rate decreased 28 basis points for prime loans (from 1.14 percent to 0.86 percent), 10 basis points for sub-prime loans (from 3.76 percent to 3.66 percent), three basis points for FHA loans (from 1.31 percent to 1.28 percent), and six basis points for VA loans (from 0.87 percent to 0.81 percent).

The seriously delinquent rate, the non-seasonally adjusted percentage of loans that are 90 days or more delinquent, or in the process of foreclosure, was up from both last quarter and from last year. This measure is designed to account for inter-company differences on when a loan enters the foreclosure process.

Compared with last quarter, the non-seasonally adjusted seriously delinquent rate increased for all loan types. The rate increased 75 basis points for prime loans (from 6.26 percent to 7.01 percent), 188 basis points for sub-prime loans (from 28.68 percent to 30.56 percent), 75 basis points for FHA loans (from 8.67 percent to 9.42 percent), and 36 basis points for VA loans (from 5.06 percent to 5.42 percent).

Change from last year (fourth quarter of 2008)

The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased 167 basis points for prime loans and 338 basis points for sub-prime loans, but decreased 16 basis points for FHA loans and 11 basis points for VA loans.

The percent of loans that were in the foreclosure process increased 143 basis points for prime loans, 187 basis points for sub-prime loans, 114 basis points for FHA loans, and 80 basis points for VA loans.

The foreclosure starts rate increased 12 basis points overall, 18 basis points for prime loans, 33 basis points for FHA loans, and 16 basis points for VA loans. The starts rate decreased 30 basis points for sub-prime loans.

The seriously delinquent rate increased 327 basis points for prime loans, 745 basis points for sub-prime loans, 244 basis points for FHA loans, and 130 basis points for VA loans.
If you are a member of the media and would like a copy of the survey, please contact Carolyn Kemp at ckemp@mortgagebankers.org or Melissa Key at mkey@mortgagebankers.org. If you are not a member of the media and would like to purchase the survey, please call (800) 348-8653.

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The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is the national association representing the real estate finance industry, an industry that employs more than 280,000 people in virtually every community in the country. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the association works to ensure the continued strength of the nation’s residential and commercial real estate markets; to expand home ownership and extend access to affordable housing to all Americans. MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance employees through a wide range of educational programs and a variety of publications. Its membership of over 2,400 companies includes all elements of real estate finance: mortgage companies, mortgage brokers, commercial banks, thrifts, Wall Street conduits, life insurance companies and others in the mortgage lending field. For additional information, visit MBA’s Web site: www.mortgagebankers.org.

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February 19, 2010

Bend Oregon Real Estate – RV Barn and Home For Sale

Filed under: Bend Oregon Real Estate, Bend Real Estate — Tags: Bend Oregon, Bend Oregon Bank Foreclosures, RV Barn, RV Garage — Jim Johnson @ 2:57 pm

Sits on 5 acres!

If you are looking for a little acreage, a home and an RV barn in Bend Oregon here is a great buy! This is a bank foreclosure and the bank must sell! Private country retreat located on 5 acres! Featuring 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, living room, spacious dining area, family room and laundry room. Separate 36×48 garage/shop for all your toys! Interior needs work.

Bend Oregon RV Barn

Those of us who own RVs whether it’s motor homes, fifth wheels, boats and snow mobiles recognize the importance of keeping our valuable equipment inside and out of the elements. This property is a bank foreclosure and probably won’t last long but there are other good buys out there. The replacement cost of this RV barn is around $50,000. The bank is only asking $249,900 for this great property.

Sheet rocked and insulted!

If you are looking at buying a bank foreclosure or property with an RV Barn give me a call. I specialize in helping buyers negotiate and buy bank foreclosures. I also have a 40 foot motor home which I keep garaged to protect my investment. I have been a real estate broker in Bend since 1981.

For more information on this Bank Foreclosure and a FREE LIST OF BEND OREGON BANK FORECLOSURES go to http://www.bendoregonrealestateexpert.com/bend-oregon-real-estate-new-listings-notification.html or call Jim Johnson, CRS, Principal Broker, Bend Oregon Real Estate Expert. 541-389-4511 Licensed by the State of Oregon.