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Fresno California Real Estate Market Update (edit/delete)

Interesting article in the Fresno Bee yesterday discussing the uptick real estate sales.  According to the article the same investors who sold property 2003 - 2005 and went to the sidelines are now coming back in.

• Fresno Association of Realtors reports preliminary figures of  612 units sold in October
• Over half of  October sales (56%)  were foreclosures.
• The median price of a home is now $175,000 ( down 31% from a year ago)

Go here for a chart of sales in Fresno  Clovis area

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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First of all, you’re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of households all across America are facing foreclosure.

First: BEWARE  OF  FORECLOSURE SCAMS.

I had a homeowner call me recently that asked for help in retrieving the money she gave to a company to save her home from foreclosure.  The company that took her money did absolutely NOTHING.  Realtors© are NOT ATTORNEYS and cant help you after you have been scammed.  Report the scammer to the police and have the local District Attorney help you.

Second: Know that there is help available through legitimate non-profit orginizations.  I suggest Neighborhood Works, ” a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts.” or its affiliate: Foreclosurehelpandhope.org.

The primary job of a Realtor© is to SELL HOMES.  Its true that if your facing foreclosuer you may very well need the services of a Realtor© but Realtor© DO NOT have the time, resources, or expertise to help you in many of the matters one might have when faced with foreclosure.

If you and the  person who counsels conclude that a *Short Sale is the best remedy for your situation they will instruct you to contact a Realtor©.

* WHAT IS A SHORT SALE ?

Difinition from Wikipedia:  A short sale occurs when the proceeds of a real estate sale fall short of the balance owed on the property.^[1] In a short sale, the bank or mortgage lender agrees to discount a loan balance due to an economic or financial hardship on the part of the mortgagor. This negotiation is all done through communication with a bank’s Loss mitigation department. The home owner/debtor sells the mortgaged property for less than the outstanding balance of the loan, and turns over the proceeds of the sale to the lender, sometimes (but not always) in full satisfaction of the debt. In such instances, the lender would have the right to approve or disapprove of a proposed sale. Most Short Sales leave a deficiency balance for which the Mortgagor / Borrower is still liable. In 99% of all cases it is not a settlement-in-full. A deficiency balance will remain while the mortgage broker, real estate agent / broker, loan officers, title and closing agents still remain getting their profit. And no regulatory agency governs this hybrid transaction. (read more)

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On the other hand - if all you need is help in purchasing a home - possibly a “Short Sale” or REO (real estate owned — meaning owned by the lender) feel free to call me today.  I can help.

		Direct: Fax:		559.301.1647 559.438.7475
1319 W Bullard #4 — Fresno CA — 93711
© Randy “Lazarus” McAtee

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Two weeks into the beginning of the new year - January 14th, 2008 - I announced the official beginning of the recession.  It now appears that folks in suits and bowties who are supposed to know more about this stuff than me are finally beginning to realize the recession is NOT coming in the future - we are IN IT NOW!

An exerpt from  an article on Mid-Atlantic region factory output:

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index slumped unexpectedly hard to -37.5 in October from 3.8 in September. That was its lowest since October 1990.

“The data, put simply, were horrendous coming out of the Philadelphia Fed region today,” said Dana Saporta, economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York.

“This reading is consistent with the recession we are in and probably have probably been in for a while.”

There you have it!

..and yes, I am still drinking coffee made from beans bought at Savemart.

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Want to buy a foreclosed home in Fresno?  You can contact me at 559-301-1647

Lazarus Realty

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With prices continuing to decline in the Fresno Real Estate Market buyers are shuffling into the market. Anyone who has read my blog in the past (say since this time last year) knows that I have advised extreme caution and repeatedly stated I believed prices were going lower.

At this time last year sales were abysmal, inventory was peaking (it actually hit a peak in Sept of 07) and prices were substantially higher.

Here are couple of graphs taken from the FAR Grapevine that will help you to see what is taking place in the Fresno Market.

I don’t think anyone really knows where the bottom is with respect to prices but statistics indicate to me — AGAIN, as I have previously stated in other blogs — we are bouncing along a bottom. The only thing I dont know is if this is THE bottom. I certainly hope that it is and that the market is able to mend from here.

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I think the most significant aspect of lower prices is that for the first time in many years I am seeing homes that would actually pencil out as rentals and give the buyer a return on investment. If the bank cant attract a retail buyer for a particular property, or the property is in such poor condition that banks will not lend on it, then the bank is forced to sell to an investor and the smart investor does not want to buy unless he can get a decent return on his money invested.

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Anyone who knows anything about the Fresno Ca real estate market knows that we have substantial supply of lender owner properties for sale. Here is one listed by Lazarus Realty that just had a substantial price reduction. The ask price was 118,500 and was recently reduced by the lender to $95,900.

If you would like to preview this home or make an offer on it - Call me @ 559-301-1647

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Sunday’s Fresno Bee reported that home sales in Fresno are indeed picking up. I read the news and intended to comment on it but even if you ARE the blogging broker you still only have 24 hours in a day. Then last night ABC 30 did segment on the market. Unfortunately, I’m not able to embed the video into my blog but you can go here and see/read the story.

I will add that besides the sales being UP as they mention, the *MSI (months supply of inventory) is WAY DOWN from what it was in the fall of last year when I began reporting the numbers. In September of 2007 the MSI was at 20.2 months. In April the MSI was down to 6.3 months. What an improvement!

As I’ve stated before, the numbers show we hit a bottom in November of 2007 - and AGAIN - whether or not this is THE bottom I can’t tell you. But the numbers are improving and it would be nice to see things continue like this.

Lazarus will be out showing homes this evening and hopes to write and OFFER THAT STICKS

If you are looking to area, call me, Lazarus @ 559-301-1647

*The MSI is calculated by taking the number of properties listed on the last day of the month and dividing it by the number of solds in that month

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The aforementioned slashing of prices by the lenders, which has only just begun, is bringing out the “investors”; bottom feeders who seek to profit from plunging prices. Personally, I would be happy to have a balanced market where buyers and sellers play an even hand. This sign is posted at the corner of Bullard and Fruit, in my neighborhood. The market weakness is arousing the passions of the “get rich quick” crowd. NOT GOOD imo.

If you would like to make an offer on an Foreclosed property in the Fresno / Clovis area contact me. Lazarus @ 559-301-1647

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…is how Miss Manners title would this blog. What I really want to say is:

HEY YOU DUMB S.O.B. WTF ARE YOU WASTING MY TIME?

SO, you might get the idea that I’m a little pissed. I AM.

I called an agent today to check availability on a home. He just happened to be the SAME agent that had the home listed in this blog so I wasnt going to show the home unless I knew for sure it was available. I called both his office and his cell and only got his voice mail - so I left a message asking availability. For whatever reason my phone did not ring when he called back so he left a voice message telling me ONLY that the home is ACTIVE.

My client and his wife are first time home buyers approved for an FHA loan and looking really hard to find something in their budget. They brought this particular home to my attention and they read the same single-line marketing description that I did:

“3 bed 2 bath in estabished neighborhood. Great starter home or investment.”

Ok — nothing in the Agent Remarks to warn me about what I am about to take my clients into. Nothing in his voice mail prepared me for it either. The house is TOTAL DISASTER. Grafitti in every single room. Graffiti on the counters, graffiti on the stove, graffiti on every cabinet door (the ones still attached). Every back window boarded (I think they were all broken). Holes punched in the walls. Sleeping bag(s) in one of the rooms as evidence that transients had been using it for shelter. By far the WORST REO I have ever seen. I wish I had my camera with me so I could show you what I saw.

Why would you say that it’s a “Great starter home”???

Who would finance that home. It wont appraise for anywhere NEAR the ask price. WTF— cant you just let the public and other agents know THE TRUTH? Is that too much to ask? Is truthful dealing and uprightness beyond you? APPARENTLY SO!

CONGRATULATIONS! You succeeded in getting another showing of our property which you can now report to your lender in your weekly communique. But at what expense? You further damage your reputation with me. I have to believe that every agent who has believed your one-liner LIE feels exactly the same as me.

My friend Stan Tucker who who encouraged me to get into this business (he died last year of brain cancer) told me your agency was EVIL. We are not supposed to speak of other agencies in this way — but I BELIEVE HIM.

A POX ON ALL YOUR ESCROWS!

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Here are a few factoids gleaned from the Grapevine which is the weekly publication put out by the Fresno Association of Realtors.

Total sold properties has gone up every month since November 2007 (with the exception of February).

The November low was 254  closed transaction

March 2008 there were 299 closed transactions

Of the first 191 closed transaction in April - 38% were REOs

Here’s a little secret.  the F.A.R. website is for Fresno Realtors however if you go to the website and look in the upper left hand corner you will see a link to download the Grapevine in PDF format. Just click the link and you too can say you “HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPVINE”.

And dont forget to subscribe to my blog, just enter your email in the “subscribe’ box in the upper right hand quadrant of this page.

And PLEASE, by all means, dont forget to call Lazarus when you need help buying and selling real estate in the Fresno - Clovis area.

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