Sorry, it has been a while since I have updated the blog. Short sales take a lot more time than standard sales and they seem to be the predominant force in the market right now. Hanging out all day on the phone with the banks offers very little time for blogging and updating the website. That being said, I wanted to continue my thread of the trends in the foreclosure and preforeclosure activity in Huntington Beach to seek out patterns and trends which will help buyers and sellers navigate this unique market. So here are the numbers broken down by zip code:
92648 - 280
92649 - 158
92647 - 186
92646 - 267
For a grand total of 891
Of those figures 292 are condos and townhomes, 561 are Single Family Residences and PUD's, and 38 are land, business, or multifamily.
Good News! That was an improvement in every zip code from the last blog in April!
In addition, there are 676 total Active listings on the MLS for Huntington Beach. That is slightly higher than April. Although skeptics might see that as a negative, I personally think a healthy market requires slightly more inventory than the figure from the last blog entry. Plus, with the tax credit recently ending, in my opinion that inventory could have shot through the roof. I believe these are all healthy signs of a snails pace recovery, albeit a recovery and not a double dip.
Now on to the bad news...of the 891 people that are distressed in Huntington Beach only 147 have their home on the MLS. Now don't get me wrong. I am not the realtor that wears the red blazer with the Realtor pin anchored to my lapel for the world to see. I do not believe that a short sale is the answer for all distressed homeowners. However, that being said, it is beneficial for far more than 17%. Legislation is constantly providing more and more benefit to short selling over a standard foreclosure. Fannie and Freddie will now (with re-established credit) let you purchase within 2 years with 20% down with a short sale on your credit. With a standard foreclosure you will have to wait 7! That means 83% of the distressed homeowners will not be re-entering the housing market for 7 years. That is not a healthy statistic for the economy or the housing market. Plus, deficiency judgements are being sought after like never before forcing many of these former homeowners to file for bankruptcy. That also is not healthy for the economy/housing market. Many of the horror stories of 12 month escrows and cash contributions have also been addressed with recent legislation. However, the average homeowner seems to be unaware of this advancement. I talk with more and more buyers/sellers/ and even other Realtors at my open houses that have no idea that short sales are not nearly as ugly and painful as they were even six months ago. I think this area of concern because:
1.) Confidence will not be restored in the market place when there are this many foreclosures looming.
2.) Bad/outdated information leads to frustration and buyers give up trying to buy.
3.) Potential Sellers are out of the real estate game for the better part of a decade and might be so frustrated after dealing with deficiency judgements and HOA litigation that they might not ever want to come back into the market.
Luckily there is a simple solution to this problem. Whether you are a Realtor/friend/parent/sibling/grandparent/etc it makes no difference...if you are not up to date on current information for distressed homeowners KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. You will cause more harm than good. The more people that are actually guided to professionals that can help them the faster we will all get through this and can go back to griping about healthcare and leave the real estate market alone for a while.
As always call or e-mail me with questions...
Jason Kiffe
Real Estate Broker
Lic # 01430639
949-293-9959
428 Main St #207
Huntington Beach, CA 92648
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