Tag Archives: Realtors

In the servicing sector, compliance was the buzz word in the fourth quarter of 2011, according Equator, a leading software provider for the default servicing industry. And compliance will continue to be top-of-mind throughout 2012, according to the company. ""The needs of our clients have focused on the demands for stricter compliance and Infrastructure Security,"" said John Vella, COO of Equator. Having released its short sale module in 2009, Equator has initiated almost 1.2 million short sales as of the fourth quarter of 2011.

Sales of previously owned homes slipped 3 percent between August and September, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Thursday. That follows a jump of nearly 19 percent between July and August. The decline was widely expected as sales activity follows the typical seasonal cycle and heads lower with the mercury in the thermometer. Distressed homes accounted for 30 percent of sales in September. Eighteen percent were foreclosed homes and 12 percent were pre-foreclosure short sales.

Processing delays have taken their toll on first-time homebuyer interest in short sales, according to the latest HousingPulse Tracking Survey released Monday. First-time homebuyers were a part of 39.7 percent of the short sale transactions completed in August. That's the lowest percentage for this buyer segment ever recorded by the survey. The study found that the average time-on-market for short sales is 16.6 weeks, with the majority of that time spent waiting for approval.

Equator, a Los Angeles-based provider of ecommerce, data, and professional services to the default servicing industry, is releasing a new product designed exclusively for real estate agents. ""This is the first time there's an enterprise-level solution for agents,"" Chris Saitta, CEO of Equator told DSNews.com. Currently, most agents rely on a variety of software, but REvolution will them to manage all their daily tasks through one program.

The state of California is cashing in on the last days of the traditional homebuying season, with sales soaring in August and the median home price touching on its highest reading of the year. The California Association of Realtors puts last month's median price point at a level not seen since last December, and home sales up more than 10 percent from last year. At the same time, unsold housing inventory statewide has declined to five-months' supply.

The REO For Non Profit Mastermind Group, a real estate collective of professional REO agents, and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) will co-host a V.I.P. charity event on Saturday, September 17th at the ICON Ultra Lounge in downtown Los Angeles to benefit two high-profile agencies working to assist struggling homeowners facing foreclosure.

California's pending home sales dipped in July, as did the share of distressed property sales. The California Association of Realtors says 44.5 percent of home sales contracts last month involved distressed properties. That's down from both the previous month and a year earlier. Short sales made up 17.5 percent of total sales. The state's Realtors have sent letters to the largest lenders with ideas on how the process can be improved and calling for their immediate attention.

Short sales are being used more frequently by homeowners, lenders, and investors to avert a foreclosure, and industry data released this week shows that these pre-foreclosure transactions are being pushed through at a faster pace. Freddie Mac says its short sales have risen from about 4 percent of completed workouts in 2000 to nearly 14 percent in 2010. The GSE warns that with the increase in short sale transactions comes an increase in fraud. It's become the top priority for Freddie Mac's fraud investigation unit.

The state of Hawaii has enacted House Bill 320, a statute that permits a licensed real estate broker or real estate salesperson to prepare broker price opinions (BPOs) and charge a fee for their service. Under previous legislation, if a real estate licensee charged a fee for a BPO other than the commission involved in the normal sale of a property, then the licensee was in violation of the state's legal code for real estate appraisals. The change, which took effect in July, came about through a unified effort by a number of industry groups, and it's been a long time coming.

Realtors continue to be dissatisfied with short-sale transactions, with 77 percent categorizing short sales as ""difficult"" or ""extremely difficult"" according to the California Association of Realtors' (CAR) member survey. The current assessment shows an increase of 7 percent from the previous survey conducted in December 2010. Respondents cited servicers' slow responses to short-sale offers as a primary reason for their dissatisfaction. CAR says short sales account for a fifth of all transactions in California.