Summit Realty

Foreclosure starts surge in Western states

By Inman News

Foreclosure starts jumped by double digits from July to August in four out of five Western states tracked by ForeclosureRadar, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months, the company said.

The increase in foreclosure starts seen in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington appeared to be driven primarily by Bank of America and related companies, which boosted notice of default and notice of trustee sale filings by 116 percent from July to August.

Wells Fargo and US Bank also ramped up foreclosure start filings, ForeclosureRadar said, while filings by JP Morgan Chase and Citibank were essentially flat, ForeclosureRadar said.

In California, foreclosure starts jumped nearly 70 percent from July to August, totaling 31,965 — the highest level in a year. The average time to foreclose in California increased to 333 days in August, 49 days longer than a year ago.

Notice of trustee sale filings were up more moderately, rising 6 percent from July to August but still down nearly 24 percent from a year ago at 24,020.

California properties sold back to the bank (REO) increased 12 percent from July, to 11,104, down nearly 23 percent from a year ago. Sales to third parties on the courthouse steps were up 10 percent from July, to 3,853, an 11 percent increase from a year ago.

California foreclosure inventories remain down or flat from a year ago. Banks had 107,000 REO homes on their books — about the same as in July — and the number of homes scheduled for trustee sale was down nearly 24 percent from a year ago, to 94,000.

Homes in preforeclosure — those already hit with a notice of default but not yet scheduled for sale — jumped 20.5 percent from July to August, to 134,000. That was 10 percent below the preforeclosure number in California a year ago.

In Arizona, notice of trustee sale filings — the first step in the foreclosure process in that state — were up nearly 15 percent from July to August, to 7,060. That’s 34 percent below the same time a year ago. Time to foreclose in August was flat from July at 175 days, but up 15 percent from a year ago.

The number of Arizona homes going back to the bank as REOs fell 8 percent from July and 43 percent from a year ago, to 3,068. Sales to third parties on the courthouse steps were up 5 percent from July and 39 percent from a year ago, to 1,666.

Banks had 25,278 Arizona homes in their REO inventories, down 5 percent from July and 22 percent from a year ago. Another 35,860 had been hit with a notice of trustee sale filing, down 3 percent from July and 38 percent from a year ago.

In Nevada, notice of default filings jumped 44 percent from July but were down nearly 14 percent from a year ago, to 6,108. Time to foreclose jumped 14 percent from July to August, reaching a new record of 368 days.

Notice of trustee sale filings slipped for the fifth consecutive month, dropping 10 percent from July and 43 percent from a year ago, to 3,523.

Banks took back 1,805 Nevada homes, up 1 percent from July but down 14 percent from a year ago. Properties sold to third parties on the courthouse steps rose 20 percent from July and 28 percent from last year, to 786.

Foreclosure inventories were down or flat from a year ago. Banks had 16,425 REOs on their books, down nearly 5 percent from July and from a year ago.

The number of properties scheduled for sale was down 9 percent from July and 40 percent from a year ago, to 7,758. Homes in preforeclosure jumped nearly 26 percent from July to 47,509, down 14 percent from a year ago.

Washington saw a 3 percent increase in notice of trustee sale filings from July to August, reversing four months of consecutive declines. Activity on the courthouse steps slowed as foreclosures sold back to the bank (REOs) dropped 30 percent month over month, and foreclosures sold to third parties — typically investors — were down 33 percent. Time to foreclose was nearly flat in August at 104 days.

In Oregon, notices of default were up 36 percent from July to August, but filing activity was down 46 percent from a year ago. Properties sold back to the bank rose 243.3 percent from July as Recontrust, a subsidiary of Bank of America, began to clear the 2,800 foreclosures it started in April.

Properties sold to third-party investors were up 46 percent from July and 17.4 percent from a year ago. Time to foreclose dropped in August for the second month in a row, falling nine days from July, to 150 days.

Tags: california housing market, housing market, Las Vegas housing market, Las Vegas real estate, real estate market, san diego housing market, san diego real estate market, short sale foreclosure, short sale vs foreclosure

5 bright spots in real estate recession

The real estate market meltdown was much more severe and has lasted much longer than even the most bearish housing market observer would ever have predicted. Rather than values taking a dip, they’ve taken a double dip in many places; and the housing sector drama has infected the job market and the entire world’s economy.

Yet, there are some very shiny silver linings to this whole mess — a handful of ways in which our mindsets, habits, behaviors and approaches to money, mortgage and even life decision-making — have been changed by this real estate market debacle. As I see it, here are the five best things about this otherwise terrible housing recession:

1.People now buy for the long term. Even Jeff Lewis, that reality TV house flipper extraordinaire, has declared that he’s tapped out of the flipping business for the foreseeable future, trading in his real estate wheeling and dealing for the design business.

Recently, he mentioned having lost six homes in the real estate market crash. While Lewis flipped homes as his business, just five years ago, many Americans — homeowners and investors alike — took a short-term view on their homes, buying them with the idea that they could count on refinancing, pulling cash out or even reselling them anytime they wanted, at a profit.

Reality check — those days are gone. Now, buyers know they’d better be prepared to stay put for somewhere between seven and 10 years (shorter in strong local markets, longer in foreclosure hot spots) before they buy if they want to break even. And this is causing them to take mortgages they can afford over time, and make smarter, longer-term choices about the homes they buy.

2. Dysfunctional properties are being weeded out and creatively reused. Municipalities like Detroit and Cleveland are demolishing blighted and decrepit properties in dead neighborhoods en masse, intentionally shrinking their cities to match their shrinking populations. These efforts are also eliminating breeding grounds for crime, and focusing resources on the neighborhoods that have a better chance of surviving and thriving in the long term.

In the so-called “slumburbias” of central California, Nevada and Arizona, McMansions are being repurposed into affordable housing for groups of seniors, artist communities and group homes.

3. American housing stock is getting an energy-efficient upgrade. The news would have you believe that every American has lost his or her home, walked away from it, or is now renting by choice. In fact, the vast majority of homeowners have simply decided to stay put.

Instead of selling and moving on up, homeowners are improving the homes they now plan to stay in for a long(er) haul. And this generation of remodeling is focused less on granite and stainless steel, and more on lowering the costs of “operating” the home and taking advantage of tax credits for installing energy-efficient doors, windows, water heaters and more. And while the first-time homebuyer tax credit is a thing of the past, the homeowner tax credits for energy-optimizing upgrades are in effect until the end of this year.

4. People are making more responsible mortgage decisions, and building financial good habits in the process. Buyers are buying far below the maximum purchase prices for which they are approved. They are reading their loan disclosures and documents before they sign them. And, thanks to the stingy mortgage market, they are spending months, even years, in the planning and preparation phases before they buy: paying down their debt; saving up for a down payment (and a cash cushion, so that a job loss wouldn’t be disastrous); being responsible and sparing in their use of credit to optimize their FICO scores; and creating strong financial habits in one fell swoop.

5. Our feelings about debt and equity have been reformed. Americans no longer use their homes like ATM machines, to pull out cash, pay off their credit cards and then start the whole overspending cycle over again. Many can’t, because their homes are upside down and cannot be refinanced in any event — much less to pull cash out.

Others have been reality-checked by the recession, and are dealing with their non-mortgage debt the old fashioned way: by ceasing the pattern of spending more than they make, and applying the self-discipline it takes to pay their bills off.

Home equity, in general, is no longer viewed as an inexhaustible source of cash. Rather, we see it as a fluctuating asset to be protected and increased — not so much through the vagaries of the market, but through the hard work of paying the principal balance down. Many of those refinancing into today’s lower rates aren’t doing it to pull cash out, as was the norm at the top of the market; instead, they are refinancing into 15-year loans to pay their homes off sooner than planned, or reducing their required payment so their extra savings can be applied to principal.

Of course, it remains to be seen how lasting these changes will be if and when home prices go up and mortgage guidelines loosen up. But since neither of these things look likely to happen in the short term, hopefully there’s a chance that these behavior shifts will become part of a permanent mindset reset for American housing consumers.

Tags: 15 year fixed rate mortgage, 30 year fixed rate mortgage, affordable housing, colorado real estate market, housing market, Las Vegas housing market, Mortgage Rates, real estate market, san diego real estate market, short sale foreclosure, texas real estate market, Washington real estate market

July 2011 Las Vegas Housing Statistics

The above two charts compares the percentage of “Cash” sales to “Financed” sales for the first six months of 2010 and 2011. The majority of cash sales are investor buyers. In general, the house prices purchased by investors are less than properties purchase by buyers who borrow the funds. This trend is one reason that Las Vegas home values are not increasing.


The number of Las Vegas Bank Owned and Traditional sales for 2011 has exceeded the number of sales in 2010. This increase in number of sales could be attributed to the increase in “cash” buyers as indicated on the “Cash vs Financed” chart above.

If you are looking to buy or sell Las Vegas real estate, contact Travis Breton at 702-501-2752 or visit http://vegaslistingservice.com

Tags: Las Vegas Bank Owned listings, Las Vegas housing market, Las Vegas housing stats, Las Vegas real estate, Las Vegas short sale, short sale vs foreclosure

2010 Las Vegas Home Sales Statistics Recap

Here is a recap of how Las Vegas home sales ended up for 2010. The number of Las Vegas Bank Owned sales has exceeded Short Sales or Traditional Sales during 2010, even though there are more new Short Sale listings. Banks are motivated “sellers” and are under pressure from the regulators to reduce their Las Vegas Bank Owned inventory. This trend should continue throughout 2011.

During the first three quarters the number of Las Vegas listings increased, but the numbers decreased during the fourth quarter. The first quarter of 2011 will indicate if this trend continues. There were more Las Vegas Bank Owned properties under contract during the first three quarters. However, in the fourth quarter, Short Sales under contract exceed Short Sale listings by a small margin. Traditional properties under contract remained consistent during the year. The trend of the Las Vegas housing market being dominated by Bank Owned properties is expected to continue, at least throughout 2011.

It is interesting to compare the average list price (below) with the average median sale price (Above) by property type. The Traditional properties are selling for an average selling price that is less than the list price. The Las Vegas Bank Owned and Short Sale properties are being sold at an average sales prices higheror the same as the average list price. Why? One would assume the “Banks” are more motivated to sell than the “traditional” seller. It will be interesting to see if this Las Vegas housing market trend continues!

For more information on the Las Vegas real estate market contact Travis Breton at 702-501-2752 or visit http://vegaslistingservice.com

Tags: Bank Owned inventory, Las Vegas Bank Owned, Las Vegas Bank Owned properties, Las Vegas Bank Owned sales, Las Vegas home, Las Vegas home sales, Las Vegas housing, Las Vegas housing market, Las Vegas housing market trends, Las Vegas housing stats, Las Vegas listings, Las Vegas real estate, number of Las Vegas listings

How to Spot Mortgage Repair Fraud Las Vegas

As the Las Vegas housing market struggles to recover from our current economic challenges, many homeowners are still desperate for quick fixes, which makes them very vulnerable to mortgage repair fraud.

Generally, these mortgage repair scams take advantage of media coverage of federal programs, and they target those who are already struggling to pay their Las Vegas mortgage or are anxious to sell their Las Vegas homes. Being able to recognize the most common types of mortgage repair fraud can help you avoid becoming a victim.

1) Automatic Refunds - A company charges several thousand dollars for loan modification services. They do no work on the file but automatically send a refund check to consumer for a couple hundred dollars. They pocket the remaining money, saying they “tried” to get a loan mod but the bank rejected them. No one complains because the company “tried” and the consumer received a partial refund.

2) Double Escrows - A company tells the bank they have a Las Vegas short sale buyer at a low price in order to get appraisal. They don’t tell anyone that they have a second buyer lined up to buy the house once the Las Vegas short sale goes through. They set up escrow and closing for the same day on both deals. Bank gets cheated on the original short sale since it is not legitimate, and the scammers make a profit on the second deal as well.

3) Principal Reductions - These are companies guaranteeing or advertising they can get you a principal reduction. Most lenders will not agree to a principal reduction, but scammers use this as an advertising ploy to get your money and your business.

4) Phantom Investor Purchase - This occurs when scammers falsely claim they have investors willing to purchase your Las Vegas home from the bank and then resell it back to you at a reduced mortgage. The investor pools usually do not exist, and the scammer is taking your money up front but not providing you any real assistance.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Don’t be pressured into signing or paying. Don’t believe anyone who tells you not to contact your lender or instructs you to pay them, instead of your lender. For legitimate, FREE help, call toll- free 877-448-4692 to get assistance from a HUD-approved, non-profit housing counselor.

If you think you’ve been a victim, there are several state and federal resources that can help:

• City of Las Vegas Foreclosure Counseling and Complaint Website - https://www.stopnvforeclosures.org/
• Southern Nevada Mortgage Fraud Hotline – (702) 584-5555
• Nevada Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection - http://ag.state.nv.us/org/bcp/bcp.htm
• Nevada Division of Mortgage Lending – (702) 486-0780
• Loan Modification Scam Prevention Network - http://www.preventloanscams.org/

For more information and resources about foreclosure prevention and loan modification assistance, go to www.foreclosurehelpnv.gov.

Source: Nevada Department of Business and Industry

Tags: concurrent escrows, Double Escrows, Las Vegas homes, Las Vegas housing market, Las Vegas mortgage, Las Vegas short sale, loan modification, loan modification Las Vegas, mortgage repair fraud, Mortgage Repair Fraud Las Vegas, mortgage repair scams, non profit housing counselor, Principal Reduction, Principal Reduction Program, Principal Reduction Program Las Vegas, principal reduction scams