Neil Lyon Group

Santa Fe foreclosure rates up in January

Neil Lyon Team — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:25:23 +0000

Foreclosure rates in Santa Fe increased for the month of January over the same period last year, according to First American Core Logic, a real-estate data and analytics firm.

The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans in Santa Fe was 1.64 percent in January 2010, compared with January 2009, when the rate was 0.84 percent.

But Santa Fe’s foreclosure rate was well below the national rate, which was 3.19 percent for January 2010, according to a First American report.

In addition, the mortgage delinquency rate in Santa Fe in January increased, as 4.25 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent. That compares to 2.11 percent for the same month a year ago.

Foreclosure data for First American CoreLogic is based on the number of active mortgages rather than the number of households in a given area, the company said in a statement.

Source: The New Mexican

Mortgage Rates to Stay Low, Goldman Predicts

Neil Lyon Team — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:16:35 +0000

Investment bank Goldman Sachs recently predicted that mortgage rates won’t rise much when the Federal Reserve ends its purchases of mortgage-backed securities at the end of March.

Part of the reason is that demand for mortgages is low, says Goldman analyst Sven Jari Stehn. What would drive up mortgage rates, he says, is a decision by the Fed to sell the mortgage backs it holds, but that isn’t likely to happen anytime soon, he believes.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Emily Friedlander 03/05/2010

Federal Program to Encourage Short Sales

Neil Lyon Team — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:15:36 +0000

Beginning April 5, the Obama administration will encourage delinquent borrowers to avoid foreclosure and instead give up their homes in short sales by streamlining the process.

The program will offer a cash payment to the home owner, as well as to the servicer and second-lien holder; and protect borrowers from future lender lawsuits for the unpaid mortgage balance.

To curtail fraud, lenders will have to consult real estate practitioners to assess home value and minimum acceptable offer; they then must accept any offer that is equal to or higher than that.

Source: The New York Times, David Streitfeld (03/08/10)

Foreclosures decrease in January

Neil Lyon Team — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:13:32 +0000

According to statistics from Miami-based Bank Foreclosures Sale, an online provider of foreclosure listings and information, foreclosure rates in states across the nation were significantly lower in January. The number of foreclosures for sale fell to 315,710 in January, marking a 10 percent decline from December. These positive figures indicate possible recovery within the housing market, but experts say it is important to note that while this month’s total may be down from December, it is still 15 percent higher than it was in January 2009. Still, a decrease in foreclosure, even on a month-to-month basis, is a step in the right direction.

The statistics for regional markets also showed positive signs. The top-six states for foreclosure rates, including Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, accounted for 60 percent of the national foreclosure property total, but Bank Foreclosure Sale said most of these states saw nowhere near the foreclosure growth rates experienced in the past.

Source: DSNEWS.com, Brittany Dunn, (03/02/2010)

Experts say market is stabilizing

Neil Lyon Team — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:12:22 +0000

A number of the industry’s closely watched home-price gauges indicate that stabilization has been slowly creeping into the picture since mid-2009. Analysts at Barclays Capital agree that the tail risk of a sharp decline in housing continues to recede with every passing month. But they caution that there’s still a bit more of a drop in the cards and little chance of sustained gains any time soon thanks to an inflated supply of foreclosures.

Barclays predicts that home prices nationally will drop another 4 to 5 percent before officially hitting bottom. The firm called this further decline “limited” because lately new foreclosure growth has been curbed, which means these properties can be more easily absorbed by the market without pressuring prices down. Mortgage modification programs and other policy measures have ensured that the millions of foreclosures yet to hit the market will do so over an extended period of a few years instead of a few quarters, Barclays said, noting that this smoothed-out supply should limit any future decline in home prices.

Barclays says the stability we’ve been seeing in home prices has been a direct result of slowing down the supply of foreclosures. But the company’s analysts warn that stability in the present comes at a cost to the future of home price appreciation. Barclays expects home prices to remain disproportionately low without any form of a notable rebound for years to come.

Source: Real Trends

1401 Upper Canyon Road

Neil Lyon Team — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:00:33 +0000

1401-1407 Upper Canyon Rd $1,800,000
View Property

Extraordinary 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom home in a prime Upper Canyon Road location overlooking the river!

1/29/10 - 2/25/10

Neil Lyon Team — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:12:14 +0000

This report will show you, week by week, how many homes in Santa Fe County went under contract (U), how many homes sold (S), and how many homes became active new listings (A).

Click here to go back to current USA REPORT

Existing-Home sales down, prices steady

Neil Lyon Team — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:04:26 +0000

Existing-home sales dropped 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 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, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.
· 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 supply 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.
· The national median existing-home price 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.
· 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.

Here’s a breakdown by region:
* 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.

Source: NAR

Investors soar as first-timers fade

Neil Lyon Team — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:02:30 +0000

Fresh data from Campbell Communications’ monthly survey of more than 1,500 real estate agents found that the investor market share of buy-side transactions has jumped nearly six points since November, while first-time buyers have fallen more than seven percentage points since October.

Sales to existing homeowners also have increased from October to January, and last month their market share overtook first-time buyers, 41.2 percent to 39.8 percent.
With increased supply of distressed properties and decreased demand from first-time homebuyers, average prices declined for damaged REO and even for non-distressed properties in January.

Both investors and first-time buyers tend to compete at the lower end of local housing markets and the Campbell survey found that first-time buyers are fading even the inventory of distressed properties (REOs, short sales, auction sales) increased from November through January. Short sales were the fastest growing category of distressed property types in December and January, increasing to 15.9 percent of all sales. Throughout 2009, they were generally only a tenth of all sales.

Source: RealEstateEconomyWatch.com, Steve Cook, (2/26/10)

Without Tax Credits, Housing Market Is Flat

Neil Lyon Team — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:00:14 +0000

The housing market is flat, with 2010 home sales likely to be equal to last year’s if you subtract the effect of the tax credits, says Tom Lawler, noted housing economist.

“The home buyer tax credit goosed things in a big way,” Lawler says.

He believes that until more jobs are created, housing is likely to remain in the doldrums, but not in free fall. A significant recovery will depend on interest rates remaining affordable and limiting the number of homes in foreclosure, as well as rising employment, he says.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, James R. Hagerty (02/26/2010)