South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for September

There were more single family houses in South Lake Tahoe sold in September than any other month this year. There were 46 homes that were reported as sold on the South Lake Tahoe mls last month, up from 44 in August. First time home buyers are taking advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it goes away, and investors and second home buyers are getting deals on foreclosures, short sales, and motivated sellers.

Statistics for the Houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September

• There were 46 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in September
• There were 13 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
• There were 7 short sales in South Lake Tahoe that were sold in September
• The average sales price was $371,058 (down from $461,951 in August)
• The median sales price was $292,500 (down from $325,250 in August)
• The average sales price per square foot was $215 (down from $259 in August)
• The median days on the market was 110

In August I was happy to see that there were 4 short sales that had closed escrow, so I am thrilled to see that there were 7 short sales that sold in September! The median days on the market for the short sales that closed escrow was quite high at 222 days. The short sales that sold had a great average price per square foot of 202 considering that some of the short sales were very nice.

The foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe continued to sell for very close to list price, the average percentage of list price received was almost 98%. The foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls sold for an average of $196 per square foot. The median sales price for the bank owned foreclosures was $284,000 and the median days on the market was only 66 days including the escrow period.

The inventory of single family homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls is now much healthier with 21% of the inventory now in escrow. There are currently 497 houses listed in South Lake Tahoe, and 102 of them are in escrow. Of the 102 houses in escrow, 39 are short sales and 18 are bank owned foreclosures.

For more information about South Lake Tahoe real estate please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Short Sales

Closing escrows on short sales in South Lake Tahoe is still proving to be a difficult task. Out of the 227 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that have sold so far this year, only 16 were short sales. It has also taken much longer to to get those short sale escrows closed. The median days on the market for the sold short sales was 174 days including the escrow period, and was only 93 days for the non short sales.

The difficulty of closing escrow on the short sales does not seem to be scaring buyers away from the short sale listings. Currently there are 103 single family houses in escrow on the South Lake Tahoe mls, and 34 of those homes are short sales. With 1/3 of our current escrows as short sales, it will be interesting to see how many of those escrows actually close. For buyers looking to purchase a short sale in South Lake Tahoe, there are still 51 active short sales currently available on the mls.

For the short sales that have sold so far this year, the average price per square foot was $225. The average price per square foot for the non-distress sales was $264, and the price per square foot for the sold foreclosures was only $193. 

If you are thinking about purchasing a home in South Lake Tahoe, I would definitely not rule out short sale listings, but I would recommend asking your real estate  agent about the pros and cons of short sales before writing an offer on one!

Why Selling as a Short Sale is Better Than Foreclosure

There has been a lot of questions about how short sales and foreclosure will affect homeowners in the future. Credit Financial Planning Inc., www.creditfixed.com provided some great information for homeowners that are deciding weather to short sale their homes or let them go to foreclosure.

Here are some of the advantages of selling your home as a short sale instead of letting your home be foreclosed on.

1. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Primary Residence Loans- If you short sale your home, you will be eligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years with no restrictions. With a foreclosure eligibility would be after 5 years with restrictions, and after 7 years with no restrictions.
2. Fannie Mae Guidelines for Non Primary Residence Loans- An investor who has done a short sale is eligible for  a Fannie Mae backed mortgage after 2 years. An investor who has had a property foreclosed on cannot get a Fannie Mae backed loan for 7 years
3. Credit Score- With a short sale, late payments will show up as short as 12 to 18 months after the completion of the short sale. Credit scores can be affected negatively 50 to 100 points depending on how the lender reports it. With a foreclosure, the credit score is typically affected for at least 3 years. Credit scores will be negatively affected between 200 and 300 points.
4. Credit Application Questions (Form 1003)- There are no questions on the credit application regarding a short sale. If you have had a foreclosure you will need to answer “Yes” to question C, section VIII: Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?
5. Credit History- Short sales may or may not be reported on a credit history depending on how the lender reports it. A foreclosure will remain as a public record for 10 years or more.
6. Security Clearance- A short sale does not usually raise red flags regarding security clearance. With a foreclosure, security clearance will usually be revoked.
7. Deficiency Judgement-On a short sale, this is a negotiable issue between the seller and the lending institution. With a foreclosure there are no negotiations between the homeowner and the lending institution. It is up to the lender whether to file a deficiency judgement.
8. Deficiency Judgement- If there is a deficiency judgment on a short sale, the amount is usually lower. The foreclosure process usually will cost the lender more, hence resulting in a larger deficiency judgment if the judgment is filed.

Selling your home as a short sale can be a good option for homeowners who have a financial hardship instead of foreclosure. If you are considering selling your home as a short sale, the first step is to contact your CPA and attorney to make sure that it is the best option for you. The next step is to call Brent and Jill Johnson for more information on how to short sale your home!

Please contact us for more information regarding short sales in South Lake Tahoe. You can also view a current list of bank owned foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe for sale.

Short Sales Are Here to Stay!

The number of short sale listings on the South Lake Tahoe mls has been on the rise, and many buyers are now giving short sale transactions a chance. Out of the 519 single family homes on the market in South Lake Tahoe, 75 are listed as short sales. Currently 32 of the 75 short sale listings in South Lake Tahoe are in escrow.

With so many homeowners in trouble or upside down on their mortgages, lenders are now realizing that short sales can be a better option than foreclosure. According to Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar“While many complain that lenders are foreclosing too aggressively, and others claim a wave of foreclosure sales is imminent, the data actually shows that lenders are doing everything possible to delay foreclosure. The reality is that we have very few homeowners being foreclosed on when viewed as a percentage of those scheduled to be foreclosed on, delinquent, or upside down on their mortgage.”

Although lenders are taking short sales seriously, the process is still far from seamless. The time that it takes to get an approval on a short sale is one of the biggest challenges that we are facing. It can take from as few as a couple of weeks to over 6 months to get an approval or to have a negotiator assigned to a short sale file. This time can be cut down by having a real estate agent with experience in short sales. It is extremely important to submit a 100% complete short sale package so that the lender will take your file seriously!

So far this year there have been 158 single family homes in South Lake Tahoe that have been reported as sold on the the mls. WIth only 13 out of the 158 homes (8%) sold as short sales, the number of short sale closings is still relatively low. Now that there are 32 short sales in escrow, it will be interesting to see how many of them close in the next few months.

With so many homeowners upside down in their mortgages, it will be essential for lenders to continue to streamline the short sale process. Now that buyers, sellers, and lenders are realizing the benefits of short sales, short sales are here to stay!

South Lake Tahoe Real Estate Review for May 2009

For the third month in a row, the number of new escrows for single family homes on the South Lake Tahoe mls has increased. In May there were 56 single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow, this was up from 43 in April, and up from 38 in March. The total number of houses in South Lake Tahoe that are in escrow is now up to 96. With 20% of our current single family housing inventory in escrow, the South Lake Tahoe real estate market seems to be stabilizing.

Distress sales are still accounting for about half of our current escrows. Out of the 96 houses that are in escrow, 19 are bank owned foreclosures, and 31 are short sales. Out of the 56 new May escrows, 11 are bank owned foreclosures, and 14 are short sales.

The listing prices of the houses that went into escrow in May were also up from the escrows in April.  Both the average list price per square foot and median list price of the new escrows was up slightly.

Statistics for the Pending May Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe for May

• There were 56 new single family houses in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow in May (up from 43 in April)
• The median list price for the homes was $369,700 (up 5% from $349,900 in April)
• The average list price per square foot was $253 (up 3% from $246 in April)
• The median days on the market was 75 (down from 129 in April)
• 11 of the new escrows were bank owned foreclosures (13 foreclosure escrows in April)
• 14 of the new escrows were short sales (15 new short sale escrows in April)

The foreclosure listings in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow in May were priced much lower than the non-foreclosure listings. The average price per square foot for the foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe was only $177. The median list price for the foreclosure listings was $295,000 and the average list price was $296,405. Many of the foreclosure listings had multiple offers on them and went into escrow within just a few days of being listed. There are now currently 19 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that are in escrow.

The new short sales in South Lake Tahoe that went into escrow had a much higher list price per square foot at $249. The median list price for the short sale listings was $479,000 and the average list price was $481,600. The short sales also took longer to sell, the average days on the market was 146.

The number of houses in South Lake Tahoe that actually sold in May was 26, up one home from April. There should be a lot more closed escrows in June from the pending sales from April and May. Escrows are now taking from 45 to 60+ days due to the fact that lenders are now taking longer to push loans through. The average sales price, median sales price, and average price per square foot were all up in May compared to April.

Statistics for the Sold Single Family Homes in South Lake Tahoe for May

• There were 26 houses in South Lake Tahoe that sold in May
• 11 of the sold houses were bank owned foreclosures
• The average sales price was $360,169 (up 13% from April when it was $334,696)
• The median sales price was $315,000 (up 8% from April when it was $291,000)
• The average sales price per square foot was $222 (up 5% from April when it was $210)
• The average days on the  market was 125
• None of the 26 houses sold in May were reported as short sales!

With 31 short sales in South Lake Tahoe currently in escrow, and none that closed escrow in May, short sales are still a bit of a challenge to say the least.

The 11 foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe that sold in May had an average sales price of $187, a median sales price of $240,000, and an average sales price of $261,682. The median days on the market for the sold foreclosures was 69, including the escrow period.

The South Lake Tahoe real estate market is definitely showing signs that the bottom is either near or has passed. The amount of pending sales continues to rise and the median and average sales price has increased over the past month.

Make sure to keep reading Brent and Jills South Lake Tahoe real estate blog for the latest statistics for real estate in South Lake Tahoe!

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