Tag Archives: Realtors

The California Association of Realtors has partnered with Fannie Mae on an initiative designed to help Realtors resolve issues that arise after a short sale offer is made on a Fannie Mae-backed loan. The effort centers around technology from the GSE, the Fannie Mae Short Sale Assistance Desk, which helps brokers and agents shorten the waiting period for approval on Fannie Mae short sale transactions. It also assists real estate professionals with post-contract issues, the existence of a second lien, or problems involving mortgage insurance.

A recent report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reveals interesting information regarding the foreclosure inventory of the hardest hit states. It is pretty well known that Arizona, Nevada, California, and Florida have been most affected by the foreclosure crisis. Together the four states make up 42 percent of the foreclosure volume in the United States. Despite this, NAR estimates it could take as little as seven months to clear the shadow inventory in some of the hardest hit states.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) sought to bring attention to what the organization describes as the state's ""ineffective"" short sale process Thursday by placing an open letter advertisement in California's seven largest daily newspapers. The letter, signed by CAR president Beth L. Peerce, called on lenders and industry regulators to streamline and improve the short sale process.

Maponics, a provider of location-based data, plans to offer a subdivision boundaries product for vast U.S. coverage, mapping more than 500,000 subdivisions by year-end. According to the company, the real estate industry has long recognized that the immediate area surrounding properties significantly impacts home values, but up until now has had no reliable and systematic source for subdivision boundary data.

Ninety-four percent of Realtors surveyed by the California Association of Realtors participated in a short sale transaction during 2010, demonstrating the growing presence of short sale listings in today's distressed real estate environment. Despite increased market interest in the short sale as an alternative to foreclosure, the survey found that fewer than three out of five actually close in California. The trade group says this fact illustrates ""the complexity and difficulty of navigating lenders' and servicers' short sale procedures.""

Despite new rules for short sales under the government's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program which went into effect on February 1, real estate agents responding to a survey said short sale transactions are still taking too long. A survey published recently by property valuations company Equi-Trax reveals the majority of short sales are taking four to nine months to complete, and Realtors say lenders are to blame, although some concede that borrowers need to be better educated about short sales.

The percentage of distressed properties in home purchase transactions climbed to its highest level in nearly a year last month, according to an industry report released Tuesday. The distressed property index tracked as part of the report indicates that the share of sales transactions involving distressed homes climbed to 49.6 percent in January. Comments from real estate agents collected as part of the survey confirms the growing share of distressed properties, particularly in hard-hit markets.

Organizations from every corner of the industry are weighing in on the administration's proposal to reform the nation's housing finance system. A number of groups are throwing their support behind the long-term reform option that calls for a group of private companies to provide guarantees for well underwritten mortgage securities, and the federal government to offer investors a type of reinsurance on these bonds. There are some, though, who say even this more prudent approach will raise borrowing costs and push small businesses out of the market.

According to statistics released by the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR), 51 percent of all existing homes sold in southern Nevada are now purchased with cash. GLVAR president, Paul Bell, said this represents a first for the area housing market. Bell says his organization has been checking with counterparts around the country and has yet to find another major metropolitan area where so many buyers are paying cash for homes.

According to a new report released this week by the Nevada Association of Realtors, nearly one in four Nevada homeowners who have lost their homes to foreclosure admit to ""walking away"" as part of a strategic default. The report also revealed that most of the state's homeowners facing foreclosure were not aware of federal and nonprofit programs designed to help them. Sixty-one percent said they'd never heard of the federal government's HAFA short sale program.