Well, the numbers are out again for the sales in the area. I have downloaded the whole file so that you can see them all. It appears that some things look promising…the number of ‘normal’ sales which are
the ones that are not bank owned or soon to be bank owned such as a short sale. These seem to be a large number of the sales at first glance. For existing homes they add up to 51% of the sales where REO’s or properties commonly called foreclosures are only 38.8% of the sales.  Click on this link to see the stats in detail. stats may 2010

The most telling number…the short sales. These constitute 10.2% of the sales. When you add up the short sales and the REO’s which are basically transactions controlled by banks, it is approximately 50% of the market. Of properties on the market foreclosures are only 6.6% of the total. That tells me the banks are doing a good job of unloading their properties. In order to unload them they have to price them ‘to move’. What this means is that all other properties are in need of the same kind of pricing. If you want your home to sell or get looked at, the market demands you are at the same price as a foreclosure.

Consumers tend to believe that a foreclosure is a ‘great house at a great deal’. In some cases this is true. Generally a foreclosure is a home in which the seller lost all hope and let it go in more ways that one. They let the yard go, general maintenance on the home, sometimes the home has been stripped of appliances and even fixtures such as cabinets, lights and other removable items. When you purchase a foreclosure, you get what you get.

In a deal I recently closed my buyers got a great price on a house in East Medford. It was a foreclosure and it needed work. After the whole house inspection there were FIFTY items that FHA required to be repaired before the transaction could close. These weren’t minor items either. The buyer ended up having to raise the price of the property to cover the repairs. The repairs ranged from a HVAC system that actually worked, to ducts that weren’t full of water and mold, to a range/oven that turned on, and then a whole host of other repairs including a new shower that wasn’t covered in mold and held together at the drain by duct tape. Fortunately for us the buyers were well connected with contractors and got the whole thing done for an amazingly low price.

As you look at foreclosures, just remember, when the bank says ‘as-is’ that is generally exactly what that means! It appears that the banks are holding a bunch of properties off the market in order to not flood it with foreclosures and thereby driving up home prices a bit as people are competing over the available properties. That does not change the fact that there are whole flood of foreclosures yet to come!

On a final note, the stats show that home prices in our valley have dropped as a whole by 30.2% over the past five years. Talent and West Medford have lost over 40% of their value. It appears the pricing is stabilizing and with the lenders expecting a 1% increase in rates over the next year it might be somewhere close to the bottom in pricing. But then, my crystal ball could be a bit cloudy…..

It is 6 am on Saturday morning, my husband and the two grandbabies are still sleeping after the night of fun last night. The sun isn’t up yet, but these days it often doesn’t come up for days on end! I find myself longing for a good book and the parking lot at Callahan’s Restaurant where I can sit and bask in the sun if it is foggy here. I might need to make a trip up there this week and work on my Vitamin D deficiency!!! Looking forward to spring!

I am often asked the question as to how a small independent real estate company such as mine can compete with the ‘big boys’ in town. Lucky for me, there is the internet. With the advent of on-line listings the playing field was leveled. I can provide exactly the same sort of exposure as the ‘big guys’ without all of the overhead!

In the past few months I have really seen a move of brokers out of big offices and into smaller ones or even as sole practitioners. They have the same mindset I do. I can do business my way, on my terms, while I determine the cost and fees to do so. It allows me to help more people long term also. I give back 10% of my income from every commission to the community. Because I no longer have to pay 30% of each commission to a franchise it allows me to return more money to the community!

I have been working on putting together a new broker meeting for the ‘little guys’ in which we can spend some very specialized time on our listings with a group of like-minded brokers. Currently we are planning our first meeting for February and we are looking forward to targeting one of my listings. I am bringing in other brokers to take a hard look at this particular listing to help me problem solve what might help it to sell. It is a great listing and priced well enough to sell so I think we just need a fresh approach. I can’t wait to have some new ideas!

As a small brokerage I am more limited in how much business I can take in and still service. The advantage of that is that It allows me to know all my listings personally and service them personally. When someone calls in on a listing the person answering the phone is me. I can give the caller detailed, accurate information regarding the listing and really tell them the high points of the property. I believe that it helps increase the ability to get a showing on the property from the call.

With over 80% of people searching for property on the web it is necessary to have an IDX feed on my website. Under my ‘Search Listings’ tab on my website a prospective buyer or seller can search all the listings that are currently active on the MLS. What you see on the IDX search is what I see (with less detail) when I am searching. Some major franchises feature only their listings on their websites. That exposes your home to fewer lookers if they have to access a particular website.

I recently re-designed my signs and will be changing them out on listings here in the near future. My new signs have a white background with lots of white space on the sign. I realized that the ability to see the sign while you are driving is greatly increased with the white sign. It is amazing at night how the white sign stands out in headlights! So, as the year progresses I will continue to do my best to increase my ability to get your property to stand out in a crowd so that it can get sold!

If anyone has any ideas or thoughts regarding making real estate stand out; what might work, something you have seen in the past, or have wondered about, just drop me an email at jan@valleysavvy.com or give me a call at 541.944.6040. I am totally open to new ideas and suggestions!

The other driving force behind the increase in sales as I said was the first-time homebuyer tax credit.  It is something that is causing buyers to ‘get off the fence’.  Many of the buyers are hoping that they will extend the credit as it is a dog-eat-dog world out there right now when writing offers.  I have a buyer that saw a foreclosure house the first day on the market, we got her pre-qualified while were standing in the driveway  on the phone with the seller required lender, went back to the office and wrote a great offer.  The bank  countered her in two minor areas, we accepted and got everything signed and back to them.  AFTER we had the acceptance of the offer the lender got other offers in and they pulled the acceptance from us so that they could negotiate with the other buyers too.  They said because they ‘hadn’t signed the offer’ they weren’t bound by it.  That of course doesn’t sit well as I have never had a bank sign any part of an offer until the final day when it closes.  So basically the bank selling properties in foreclosures are setting their own rules and expecting us to ‘play nice’ even when they aren’t.  Anyone other than a bank that requirement for a signature would hold true absolutely but the banks never sign anything ‘because they don’t have to.’

We moved on to another property; yes, another foreclosure, and wrote again.  This time I drove the other agent nuts demanding to know when the bank considered it accepted and making him prove it in writing.  This offer has it’s own quirks. The banks sent papers on legal sized paper. I had the buyer sign them and send them back. They refused to accept them because they were on legal so I had to shrink them down and resend them!!  Flexible…you just have to be flexible…don’t let the small stuff drown you and keep moving forward at all times! 

During this time of crazy offer writing and negotiations and increased sales the bad news is that prices are still dropping. The median price home dropped again last quarter.  The previous median was $190,000 and now it is down to $186,000 as reported by the MLS.  That brings the price of homes over the past year down by 19.7% and over the last five year period they are down by 12.8%.  Of course there are some areas that have a higher median such as Ashland.

Some of the outlying areas seem to have reversed those trends.  Talent over the 5 year trending is actually up 22.6%.  That would be accounted for by the fact that all the folks that wished they could afford to live in Ashland have settled in Talent and are willing to pay a higher price for the proximity to that end of the valley.  The most surprising one to me is that Shady Cove and Trail is up 32.0%.  I am guessing that the reason for this lies with the fact that there have been some new subdivisions created over the past five years that made it possible to have a decent inventory to choose from at more reasonable rates. My guess is that it is driven by a retired and semi-retired population looking for a slower pace of life. 

West Medford has been hardest hit by the decline with it being 23.2% over the five years.  The greatest amount of change over one year is Jacksonville. It’s decline was 51.4% in one year!!!!  Examples of that trend are seen in the properties like the Farms on “G” St in Jacksonville.  Marketed at right around the $300,000 range a few years ago they are being built new and selling in the $170,000 range.  It used to be that ‘affordable housing’ and Jacksonville were not words you spoke in the same sentence.  If you have equity or are interested in investing or are one of those first-time home buyers, it is a really great time to find a buy!

Step 1 Selecting a REALTOR®

No single decision you make will be more important than the REALTOR® you choose to help you. It will be their knowledge of the market that can guide you to the perfect home for you and your budget. Choose carefully. Often a referral is the best way to find one. Ask around to see who has one that they have used and really like. Find out what they liked about them and what they felt made them stand out. The brokers in our area all have access to the MLS with all the listings excluding For Sale By Owners (FSBO). Your broker is able to work with FSBO owners also so don’t hesitate to ask us if you see a FSBO you like to find out more about it! Interview the REALTOR®. Be sure that you feel you can communicate well with them and that they have your best interest in mind.

Step 2 Selecting a Lender

Your lender is the next business partner that you must choose. It is very important that your lender and your REALTOR® can communicate well with each as they will be working hand-in-hand to make your dream of home ownership come true. A good lender will listen carefully to you, they will ask lots of questions and they will also give you ideas and options that will work for you. A lender you want to stay away from is one that you feel is trying to force you into a loan product that makes you feel uncomfortable. It is always a good idea to talk to your REALTOR® if you have questions. If your REALTOR® is on top of their game they will be able to trouble shoot problems with you and help you find the very best fit with a lender.

Step 3 Selecting Properties to See

In our Southern Oregon Region most REALTOR® belong to the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This affiliation allows you to work with your REALTOR® and look through all the properties listed on the MLS to find the perfect property for you. Your Realtor will sit down with you and create a search criteria for homes based on what your lender says you can afford and what you are comfortable paying. These criteria will range from the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, to whether you want a specific school district and of course, price. The MLS gives your REALTOR® access to all the listings currently posted on the MLS.

Step 4 Viewing Properties

Now that you have a list of properties selected it will be time to go and look at some of them. You and your REALTOR® will be able to pick some of the more appropriate properties for you and schedule showings to look at them. Many properties are what a REALTOR® might call a ‘call, show, keybox’. This property is one in which the seller has said that you just need to call and let them know you are coming and then use the keybox. There are other properties that will be ‘by appointment only.’ Some reasons for an appointment only listing might be due to pets who might need to be removed during the showing or small children who might be napping. Your REALTOR® will work with the seller to find a time that suites both of your needs. And finally there will be ones that require ‘24 hour notice’. These are tenant occupied properties. The State of Oregon landlord tenant laws protect the tenants’ rights by requiring that someone wishing to enter the property must give them a 24 hour notice. That notice doesn’t mean the tenant will agree to show it at that time. These are the most difficult properties to show. Your REALTOR® will be working with the other agent and the tenant to set a good time for the showing.

Step 5  Selecting the Right Property

When you head out to look at all these properties you might want to think about taking notes. Your REALTOR® can give you a printout of the property and its features. On that print out you can make brief notes about what you liked or didn’t like about the property. Honestly, if you see too many properties they all begin to run together in your mind and you will be glad you wrote things down! If you see more than 5 or so properties in an outing with your REALTOR® it becomes very difficult to remember what you saw. Looking at property is a hard business as you are trying to make a major financial decision based on what you are looking at so your mind is hard at work doing this! It can be very tiring!

Step 6 Negotiating the Offer

Writing and negotiating the offer is what your REALTOR® does best! We have extensive tools and knowledge of the market that will help you write an offer that represents what you would like to pay and is one that the seller will look at as a viable offer and one that is worth negotiating on. Your Realtor will guide you as to what an appropriate price might be and what sort of sellers concessions, such as closing costs, might get the seller to see things in a positive light. Remember, very often the seller has an emotional tie to the property and you need to negotiate around both their emotions AND their financial position. This can take several days and is a very nerve-wracking time for most buyers. Everything that is done during this time is very time-sensitive so be sure that you stay in constant contact and are readily available to meet with your REALTOR® if need be during this time.

Step 7 Closing the Deal

Closing on the deal is a hectic time. It usually takes between 30-45 days to close on a property. The first two weeks are spent finishing the paperwork, having an inspection of the property and the under structure, negotiating any repairs that might be needed, having an appraisal, talking to your insurance agent to secure insurance, addressing paperwork sent by the title company and meeting with your lender. After that whirlwind of activity it is generally a ’sit and wait’ time for the next couple of weeks as everyone completes their jobs from the insurance and escrow person right down to your REALTOR® and lender. As you can see it takes a team to make all of this happen. Once everything is complete your REALTOR® will schedule a signing appointment to meet with at the title company to sign your papers. This appointment will be over an hour long usually and you will be signing LOTS of paperwork related to your loan and to the escrow. your Realtor should be at the signing with you to answer any questions that might come up and to troubleshoot last minute issues that sometimes arise. A couple of days after that depending on the lender, you should get a call from the title company saying they ‘recorded on the property’ and that means that YOUR name is now on the deed as the owner! Congratulations!