Click Here to Read the C.A.R. Press Release.

Click Here to Read an Informative Fact Sheet About the New Bill From the C.A.R.

Read the full text of the article in the LA Times.

Banks do not want your home! Banks are much more aggressive in allowing short sales because it allows them to sell your property without having to foreclose. Foreclosures are expensive for the banks. They have to maintain the property, pay the taxes and HOA fees and fix anything that is broken.

Dani Babb is a real estate expert. In this video, Dr. Babb discusses the advantages of short selling your home. Please call or email me if you have any questions at 760.219.3964 or pam247re@hotmail.com.

“Pending home sales have improved in the last couple of months and the next few months should bring continued gains,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce. “So much depends on the direction of the economy going forward. As for the makeup of the market, distressed sales continue to be a significant part of the market with the split between short sales and REO sales varying greatly across the state.”

The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide was unchanged in June from May’s revised 47 percent. The share also was unchanged from a year prior. Of the distressed properties sold statewide, 19 percent were short sales, a decline from last month’s share of 20 percent and last year’s share of 21 percent. At 27 percent, the share of REO (real estate-owned) sales was unchanged compared with May, but was up from 25 percent reported in June 2010. Non-distressed sales made up the remaining share of home sales in June at 53 percent, unchanged from both previous month and year.

“We view the upward movement in the July HMI as a correction from an exceptionally weak number in June that was at least partly attributable to negative economic news and the close of a disappointing spring selling season,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “The strong rebound in sales expectations for the next six months likewise marks a return to trend. Basically, the market continues to bounce along the bottom, with conditions in some locations beginning to improve.”

Two out of three of the HMI’s component indexes rebounded in July from declines in the previous month. The component gauging current sales conditions rose two points to 15, returning to its May level, while the component gauging sales expectations in the next six months rose seven points to 22, which is where it stood in April. The component gauging traffic of prospective buyers held even with the previous month, at 12.

Regionally, the HMI posted a three-point gain to 14 in the West, which includes California.

Although a lender cannot require a borrower to pay any additional compensation in exchange for a short sale approval, the new law does not prohibit a borrower from voluntarily offering a monetary contribution to a lender in hopes of obtaining a short sale. A lender is also permitted under the new law to negotiate for a contribution from someone other than the borrower, such as other lenders, agents, relatives, and the like.

Exceptions to the new law include a lender seeking damages for a borrower’s fraud or waste; a borrower that is a corporation, LLC, limited partnership, or political subdivision of the state; a lien secured by a bond as specified; a public utility lien; and additional rules apply if a note is cross-collateralized by more than one property.

This law is fully set forth as Senate Bill 458 (Corbett) at www.leginfo.ca.gov.

According to an article in the LA Times, homes sales rose 7.3% in April. It’s the second solid monthly gain since a steep drop in February. All four regions saw increases, led by a 15.1% gain in the West.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities declined 1.1 percent in February, according to the Case-Shiller home-price index released by Standard & Poor’s.

Prices rose in one of 20 cities — hard-hit Detroit — in February on a monthly basis. Over the past year, only Washington, D.C., has seen prices advance. Prices fell 3.3 percent year over year in February, compared with a 3.1 percent drop in January.

The 20-city index is slightly above its April 2009 trough, meaning that home prices have retreated almost completely from the gains they posted from May 2009 through June 2010. A drop below the April 2009 level would put housing in a double-dip downturn.

The Coachella Valley’s housing market as a whole will not double-dip, said Patrick Veling, CEO of Real Data Strategies, which analyzes Southern California real estate data. The double-dip nationally will “be based on median price and will be specific to certain submarkets,” he said.

From its peak, the home-price index has dropped 32.5 percent, S&P said. The 20-city index is at 139.27; its low point, in April 2009, was 139.26.

National housing has been plagued by issues that have created a Gordian knot for the sector.

On the supply side, an oversupply of distressed properties is pushing prices down. There are also worries of a so-called shadow inventory of homes that sellers and banks want to list, but are waiting for the right moment to do so.

On the demand side, many consumers still have difficulty qualifying for mortgages, though rates are low.

Economists say a healthy labor market could help cure these ills, but that market has been struggling as well.

Read the full article.  

There’s an article in the LA Times today about a situation that I hear about almost daily. It’s a story about a struggling homeowner who believes they are in the midst of a loan modification only to find out that the bank foreclosed their home. It’s a scenario that happens all too often in today’s market.

The story is about a young Long Beach couple struggling with mortgage payments who find out their home had been auctioned off by Wells Fargo when the new owner’s representative showed up on their doorstep.

The sad fact is that most loan modifications don’t work. Here’s an interesting article from Money Magazine that shows how difficult loan modifications really are. The program has been an abysmal failure and the article gives the five top reasons why loan modifications don’t work.

What’s a homeowner to do if they are losing their home? A short sale is a great alternative to foreclosure for two reasons. First, a short sale won’t affect your credit score as badly as a foreclosure because it shows you were willing to work with the bank. Second, a short sale will allow you to stay in your home longer; giving you an opportunity to plan ahead and move out of the property on your terms.

Don’t end up in a situation like Mike and Ellen Karaha. If you are faced with losing your property, please give me a call today at 760.219.3964 or email me at pam247re@hotmail.com to discuss your options. I have helped dozens of people just like you. Please call me today for a free consultation.