California Real Estate Market Update for October 2008

According to the California Association of Realtors statewide sales in September surpassed the 500,000 mark for the first time in more than two years, rising 2.3 percent compared with August, and 96.7 percent from a year ago. The dramatic increase in sales can be attributed to weakness in the market from a year ago with the early onset of the credit crunch. Similar increases in sales occurred in the early 1980s when the market was climbing out of a comparatively steep downturn in sales. The market is expected to register significant year-to-year percentage gains in the coming months as current sales are compared against extremely low numbers that prevailed during the fourth quarter of last year.

· The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during September 2008 was $316,480, a 40.9 percent decrease from the revised $535,760 median for September 2007. It is still too early to determine if the statewide median price has begun to stabilize, and recent events in the economy and financial system contributed to the decline in September. The median home price also will continue to face downward pressure from the large share of distressed sales and a dramatic change in the sales mix. A year ago, the under $500,000 price range accounted for 46 percent of sales but shifted to 76 percent as of September.

· C.A.R.’s Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family detached homes in September 2008 was 6.5 months, compared with 16 months for the same period a year ago. The index indicates the number of months needed to deplete the supply of homes on the market at the current sales rate.

· The median number of days it took to sell a single-family home was 46.1 days in September 2008, compared with 56.7 days for the same period a year ago.

For further details contact Larry Weichman at 714-241-4532. Larry Weichman is President of Costa Mesa based Weichman Associates.  www.TeamWeichman.com

 

3 Types of Foreclosures

3 TYPES OF FORECLOSURES

SHORT PAYS OR PRE-FORECLOSURES

After about three to six months of missed payments, the lender orders a trustee to record a Notice of Default (NOD) at the County Recorder’s Office as required by real estate foreclosure laws. This puts the borrower on notice that he or she is facing the real estate foreclosure process.

TRUSTEE FORECLOSURE ACTION (TRUSTEE SALE)

If the default isn’t corrected (the loan must be brought current) within three months, a real estate foreclosures for sale date is established.

The homeowner will receive a Notice of Sale, and this notice will also be posted on the property. In addition, the Notice of Sale is recorded at the County Recorder’s Office as a real estate foreclosure in the county where the property is located.

The foreclosure Trustee Sale typically occurs on the steps of the county courthouse in which the property is located. The time and location of this sale are designated in the Notice of Sale and listed in real estate property foreclosures. At the Trustee Sale, the property is auctioned in public to the highest bidder, who must pay the high bid price in cash, typically with a deposit up front and the remainder within 24 hours. The winner of the auction will then receive the trustee’s deed to the real estate and foreclosure property.

Foreclosure Auction: At auction, an opening bid on real estate property foreclosures is set by the foreclosing lender. This opening bid is usually equal to the outstanding loan balance, interest accrued, and any additional fees and attorney fees associated with the Trustee Sale. If there are no bids higher than the opening bid, the distressed property will be purchased by the attorney conducting the sale, for the lender.

BANK OWNED (REO’S)

If the opening bid is not met, the property is deemed a REO or Real Estate Owned property. This typically occurs because many of the foreclosed properties up for sale at foreclosure auctions are worth less than the total amount owed to the bank or lender. The lender now owns the reo bank owned property. The reo foreclosure property is now put on the open market for sale.

If you want to know how to find reo properties, you may contact us for a list of reo properties in Southern California. We can help you purchase reo property, provide reo real estate listings, find bank owned commercial real estate, bank owned land for sale, and residential reo real estate for sale.

For more details on buying or selling Short Sales and Bank Foreclosures contact Larry Weichman at    714-241-4532. He has represented over 1,000 homes sold in his career. Visit TeamWeichman.com or OCRepoBroker.com