Foreclosures in High End Neighborhoods? Yess!!

By Darcy Truppo | Agent in Centennial, CO

Yes, there ARE Foreclosure Homes for Sale in Saddle Rock!

 "Oh there are no foreclosure homes for sale in the Saddle Rock Golf Club area!"  But - you would be wrong!  The foreclosure crisis cut across all income brackets and all neighborhoods, from the multi-million dollar areas to the $50,000 and up areas. There are forclosed homes for sale and as well short sale homes for sale throughout the Saddle Rock communities, including prestigious Saddle Rock Golf Club neighborhoods.  Here's an example of a new listing that just came on the market.

When originally built in 2004, these homes sold for $600,000 and up.  Look at the price on this newly listed 4 bedroom, nearly 3500 square foot foreclosure at 6494 S. Ponderosa Trail.  Only $325,000!


There's new foreclosed homes for sale in the Saddle Rock Golf Club area and other Saddle Rock Communities all the time - a great opportunity in our own back yard!

More Bang for your Homebuying Buck in Saddle Rock!

You can pay $400,000 for a 3 bedroom, 1 bath cottage in some areas of town, or you can take that same money and get a real deal on a gorgeous executive home in the Saddle Rock Golf Club area between Smoky Hill Road on the north and C-470 on the south, Liverpool on the west and E-470 on the east.

You really can't beleive what you get dollar for dollar!  Many homes in the area back to open space or to the golf course that intertwines through the community. Homes for sale in Saddle Rock Golf Club, Saddle Rock North, Saddle Rock East, Saddle Rock Ranches, and Saddle Rock West are amazing.zing.

They're all newer homes so they feature top of the line finishes, great amenities and well designed, quiet neighborhoods. Easy access to Arapahoe Rd, Smoky Hill and E470 make it a snap to get anywhere.

Before you spend a lot of money for a home that's going to require even more for  upgrades and expansion,  check out the Saddle Rock neighborhood and see what your hard earned money will really buy!!

Home Prices and Interest Rates Start to Creep Up - A Great Time to Buy!

The data's in!  2010 finished the year with the average month-to-month home price actually HIGHER than it was in 2008 and 2009! Hard to believe, isn't it?  Everyone's complaining because their house isn't worth what it was, and in most areas, neighbors watch anxiously each time a new "For Sale" sign goes up. "How much less will THIS one sell for?",  they worry.  .

The good news is that despite our freezing weather, in January, active listings got more showings  than they had on average in the dismal months after the expiration of the tax credit.  Lots more!  The number of showings is typically a pre-cursor to the number of sales, so if showings increase, sales won't be far behind.  There's comparatively fewer homes on the market too, than at this point a year ago, so this should contribute to an overall upward pressure on prices.  This doesn't mean we're going to experience a huge jump in values. 
After all, home prices are down an average of 16% from the peak in 2006.  (This is an AVERAGE - some  neighborhoods experienced huge drops of 70-80%, while others stayed relatively stable.)

Each neighborhood has its own special characteristics, and therefore, its own price trends.  Here at Your Castle, we  generate a price change map for most Denver Metro area neighborhoods.  Let me know if you'd like one for your area - you can tell exactly what's gone on. The maps include price changes, short sales & foreclosure stats.

There's one more factor that will shape the future of the housing market.  Interest rates have begun to creep north.  In April, mortgage insurance monthly payments will take a big jump also.  This means homebuyers will need to figure more interest and a higher mortgage insurance premium into their housing budgets and will have to search for a lower priced home than they might have been able to buy last year. 

All signals point to a GREAT time to buy!  Prices are still comparatively low.  Interest rates are still fairly low, and the new mortgage insurance requirements haven't kicked in yet.  This is an unbeatable combination for buyers!

 

The Denver Real Estate Market starts 2011 with Less Than a bang - Buyers Market Continues!

Some interesting stats on the current Denver Metro real estate market... Bottom line is that the Buyers Market continues.  There's some good news though.

Marketwatch.com has named Denver the 6^th best city (out of 102) to do business in, and, in

a second report by Allied Van Lines they said that Colorado had the 2^nd highest or best relocation rate in the country. Only Texas had more households relocating to their state. 

Unfortunately, 2010 saw the fewest number of residential real estate closings since 1996.  The number of closings (Denver Metro) in 2010 dropped 7.7% to 38,818 closings, the lowest level since 1996. The number of homes placed under contract in 2010 dropped 12.2% to 49,313. This means that nearly 10,500 buyers did not close on their purchase or 21% of them did not close! OUCH!!!

In December of 2010,  we saw:

Residential

• Available inventory was at 13,941 units, up 14% compared with month ago figures. BUT the number of homes on the market was down 11% compared with the same month, year ago.  Fewer people are selling now than at this time a year ago.

• Closed Sales were up 13% from month ago to 2,422 units sold. Units sold are up 4% from December of 2009.
• Over all though YTD sales volume fpr 2010 was at 30,777 units, down 7% compared with YTD 2009 sales of 33,114 units. 

• The average sales price was $274,625.  This is DOWN compared to November 2010's average of $218,466, and DOWN compared to the same time last year. The average sales price for December of 2009 was $281,756. 
• Median sales price was $225,000, down 4% compared with prior month, and up 2% from Dec 09.
• Average Days on Market (DOM) was at 111 days, up 26% compared with a year ago.  Homes are taking an average of 26% LONGER to sell. This is probably a result of the "feeding frenzy" we had in late 2009 due to the new homebuyer tax credit. 

In a  nutshell, INVENTORY is UP and homes are taking longer to sell.  This means its a BUYERS Market and a great time to buy a new home!

Here's the stats on the condo/townhouse market:

• Available inventory was at 4,316 units, up 3% compared to last month, but DOWN compared to December 2009. 

• 602 units sold in Dec 10, up 15% compared to November 2010 and down 5% from December 2009
• YTD sales volume was at 8,041 units - DOWN 10% compared with 8,956 units sold YTD 2009
• Average sales price was $166,841, UP 1% versus November 2010,  and UP 4% compared to Dec 2009
• Median price was $139,900, UP 12% compared to November,  and up 7% versus December one year ago
• Average Days on Market (DOM) was at 132 days, UP 42%  from one year ag

What about a Foreclosure property?

Get prequalified for a loan and set aside funds, and you’ll be ready to purchase a foreclosed home.

1. Choose a foreclosure sale expert. Lenders rarely sell their own foreclosures directly to consumers. They list them with real estate brokers. You can work with a real estate agent who sells foreclosed homes for lenders, or have a buyer’s agent find foreclosure properties for you.If the agent represents the lender, don’t reveal anything to her that you don’t want the lender to know, like whether you’re willing to spend more than you offer for a house.
2. Be ready for complications. In some states, the former owner of a foreclosed home can challenge the foreclosure in court, even after you’ve closed the sale. Ask your agent to recommend a real estate attorney who has negotiated with lenders selling foreclosed homes and has defended legal challenges to foreclosures.
Have your attorney explain your state’s foreclosure process and your risks in purchasing a foreclosed home. Set aside as much as $5,000 to cover potential legal fees.
3. Work with your agent to set a price. Ask your real estate agent to show you closed sales of comparable homes, which you can use to set your price. Start with an amount well under market value because the lender may be in a hurry to get rid of the home.
4. Get your financing in order. Many mortgage market players, such as Fannie Mae, require buyers to submit financing preapproval letters with a purchase offer. They’ll also reject all contingencies. Since most foreclosed homes are vacant, closings can be quick. Make sure you have the cash you’ll need to close your purchase.
5. Expect an as-is sale. Most homeowners stopped maintaining their home long before they could no longer make mortgage payments. Be sure to have enough money left after the sale to make at least minor, and sometimes substantive, repairs.
Although lenders may do minor cosmetic repairs to make foreclosed homes more marketable, they won’t give you credits for repair costs (or make additional repairs) because they’ve already factored the property’s condition into their asking price.

Lenders will also require that you purchase the home “as is,” which means in its current condition. Protect yourself by ordering a home inspection to uncover the true condition of the property, getting a pest inspection, and purchasing a home warranty.

Be sure you also do all the environmental testing that’s common to your region to find hazards such as radon, mold, lead-based paint, or underground storage tanks.

You KNOW that good credit pays off. It can make the difference between getting approved for a home loan or not.  It can also make the difference between being approved for a higher purchase price or a lower one, since the interest rate will vary depending on your credit.  But what happens if your credit isn't what you'd like it to be?  Well, actually there are a number of things you can do to make your credit look a little more appealing to a prospective loan officer: Pay off old balances - especially past dues and chargeoffs that have happened during the last 2 years. Items more than two years old have little effect on your current credit score. In fact, if you pay off delinquent items over two years old, it can actually bring your credit score down - something you don't want to do. Bringing that score up means you'll get a better interest rate on your loan.

Don't close existing unused credit card accounts.  Counter-intuitive tho it might seem, this can actually lower your score. Part of your credit score is based upon credit history. If you have old credit cards that you don't use very much, you still have the benefit of the credit history they represent.

Rather than trying to pay off all your credit cards, it does make sense to move part of the debt from one card to another to even out the distribution of debt. Try to keep balances as close to zero as possible, and definitely below 30% of the available credit limit when trying to purchase a home. Also, if your credit provider will increase your line of credit, the ratio of debt to available credit is automatically reduced, without you having to pay down the balance.

When married couples have separate credit card accounts, the debt can be transferred from one spouse to another to clear up credit issues for the other spouse. That spouse with clean credit can be designated as the sole borrower on the loan, but ownership of the home can still go in both names.

Find and correct errors on your credit report.  These might be balances that have already been paid, or even entries that don't belong to you! Request that these items be removed by the credit bureau. They are obligated to rectify this within 30 days.  If you're paying off items that are less than 2 years old, send in your payment if possible and mark the back of the check with the following notation: "Accepting this check is evidence that the transaction is complete and this charge will be deleted from my credit record." If necessary, the cancelled check will be proof that this should be promptly removed from your credit report if it interferes with the closing of your loan.

Contact a good loan officer and ask them for help. Most loan officers are happy to give you free advice on cleaning up your credit report as quickly as possible.  After all, they WANT you to qualify for your new home loan! In some instances you may also want to work with a credit repair company as well. 

I'm happy to provide my clients with a free CD on how to improve "less than great" credit, and how to best position your credit to apply for a home loan.   You might also want to check out MSN Money for more information on what impacts your credit score & some ways to improve it. 

Here's to your great credit! 

Every Realtor's Favorite Question: Hows the Market?

How’s the market?  I hear that question every day!  The answer  (as is the case for most real estate questions) is It depends.”

If you’ve been looking for a home under $250,000, you know that there is very little to choose from, especially if you don’t want to consider a short sale and the uncertainty and long wait that goes along with it.   This means that non-short sale homes in that price range are a rare commodity – and can command a premium price.   Buyers, anxious to buy now and get their $8,000 tax credit and to take advantage of record low interest rates,  are competing for these properties and they are routinely selling for over the listing price!   Even short sale properties in this price range are going fast.

Three’s a brisk market for homes in the $250K-$350K price range as well, although its not as frenzied. Above $350, it’s a little slower, and if you get over $700K, buyers can negotiate some great deals.

What will happen when the April 30^th deadline for the tax credit passes?  The “feeding frenzy” will likely calm down, but as long as mortgage rates stay relatively low, your home-buying dollar will get you a lot of home for the money. Also, today’s mortage borrowers will be re-paying their mortgage in “cheaper” dollars if and when inflation takes hold. (Given the massive deficits run by the government, inflation is a very likely outcome!)

Once rates begin to creep up due to market & inflation pressures, homebuyers will be forced into less and less expensive homes.

Long story short – this summer is the time to buy!