emerald coast real estate - Rulnick Realty

Destin Real Estate and Homeowner Stability Plan

Wendy Rulnick — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:39:31 +0000

Most of us have read the Treasury Department’s new Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan

After reading the plan, with details to be unveiled on March 4, I want to know- “How will the plan affect Short Sales? ” Most of the plan is focused on aiding homeowners whose primary residence is at risk of foreclosure. Not everyone will be helped by this plan. Some of those who won’t may include homeowners with loans not guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Many have lost jobs or have lost so much income they would not qualify. Other owners may have rental properties that cannot be sustained. In my area on the Emerald Coast of Florida, military families from Eglin Air Force Base or Hurlburt Field are required to relocate to change bases. These airmen often keep their past residence as a rental property. Now they are losing tenants. Why? Many unsold homes go on the rental market. Thus rental rates have declined significantly due to the oversupply of these properties. They can no longer cover their mortgage payments. There are also investors who were not “flippers”. They might have saved their whole lives to buy a condo in Destin, to find that the resort-rental market has declined by 35%. There is no aid to them in the plan. Many areas in Florida and other parts of the country have economies that depend on tourism and the resort industry. Those who will not be assisted by the plan will have to resort to their best alternative, a short sale, or worse, foreclosure.

The Treasury Department states the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan will be effective because it will, among other things, limit “the Impact of Foreclosure When Modification Doesn’t Work: Lenders will receive incentives to take alternatives to foreclosures, like short sales or taking of deeds in lieu of foreclosure. “

In my opinion, to receive incentives to approve short sale, banks must be required to:

Shorten approval time frames to 30 days
Require second mortgage holders to accept a set amount, such as $3000, to release their lien
Consider incentives for approving investment properties that meet certain criteria, as mentioned above
NOT report a “charge off” or “settled for less” to credit reporting bureaus

Further, I believe all who have had short sales should have credit reports revamped to remove the negative impact of the event. If they don’t, perhaps only 10% of borrowers might qualify for a loan at the best rates! If the government is “intervening” at all, then do it right. Thus far, the banks have done little to reduce the backlog of short sales and free up credit. If they are just given an “incentive” without definitive guidelines, then we might expect to see more of the same.

The post Destin Real Estate and Homeowner Stability Plan first appeared on Rulnick Realty.

Alan Greenspan on the Housing Market – I Don’t Agree

Wendy Rulnick — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:07:43 +0000

Yesterday I was riding the bike at Gold’s Gym in Destin FL. One of my sellers, whom I originally met there, popped onto the bike next to me. He said, “Alan Greenspan says the housing market will recover by mid-2009, what do you think?” Greenspan pointed out that there has been a “slower rate of decline” in U.S. housing prices of late. I thought I had noticed the same thing in my Emerald Coast real estate market, here in Northwest Florida. Until the last 30 days, that is. During that time, I think prices have been declining even more steeply. I have been reducing my listing prices by several thousands of dollars, way beyond the norm. Certainly, I have seen some of my listings sell, but far too many have not attracted offers. Based on my intense examination and intuition regarding pricing, it is surprising, if not stunning. My observations are anecdotal, but here are statistics from the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors.

Sales and Inventory Report
Category – Combined Residential Statistics for Entire MLS from 11/1/2007 – 10/31/2008

Month	Year	Monthly Sales	Avg List $	Avg Sale $	Avg $/Sqft	Median Sold $	Avg DOM	% Sold/List	Current Inventory	Months Inventory
November	2007	416	$366,350	$337,422	$190	$225,000	210	92.10%	12928	31.07
December	2007	438	$357,465	$332,160	$206	$240,042	240	92.92%	12681	28.95
January	2008	385	$378,386	$357,163	$224	$250,000	228	94.39%	11863	30.81
February	2008	505	$374,582	$351,138	$233	$259,900	208	93.74%	11723	23.21
March	2008	536	$379,554	$359,452	$229	$245,000	199	94.70%	11686	21.80
April	2008	461	$400,340	$362,789	$199	$236,000	199	90.62%	11509	24.96
May	2008	489	$409,191	$374,629	$197	$249,700	188	91.55%	11436	23.38
June	2008	497	$407,679	$374,634	$196	$229,000	178	91.89%	11253	22.64
July	2008	453	$348,534	$320,267	$169	$225,000	167	91.88%	10881	24.01
August	2008	412	$356,089	$324,816	$166	$220,000	181	91.21%	10574	25.66
September	2008	379	$321,708	$294,281	$158	$199,000	186	91.47%	10331	27.25
October	2008	75	$479,805	$427,512	$205	$215,000	218	89.10%	9960	132.80
Annual:		5046	$375,947	$347,302	$199	$233,900	198	92.38%	11402	27.11

Annual:	2007 – 2008	5046	$375,947	$347,302	$199	$233,900	198	92.38%	11402	27.11
Note: The “Current Inventory” column(s) reflect the number of active(on market) listings on the 15th day of each month. The “Months Inventory” column(s) value(s) equal “Current Inventory” divided by “Monthly Sales”. This reflects how many months it would take to sell out of inventory at the current month’s rate of sale.

Note how the “Months Inventory” statistic has climbed again in September, when it had been gently teetering between 23-25 months since February 2008. Now it’s at its highest level, 27 months, since then. I have to attribute it to the tightening credit market.

The post Alan Greenspan on the Housing Market – I Don’t Agree first appeared on Rulnick Realty.

Short Sales: What’s The Hardship?

Wendy Rulnick — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:38:55 +0000

Short Sales: What’s The Hardship?

What are the hardships behind so many Short Sales? We’ve heard a few reasons on the news lately about why so many people can no longer afford their mortgage payments. We’ve heard mainly “Not qualified to buy the home in the first place” ” Rate re-set to higher payment” “Scammed into getting mortgage”. Well, in my area on the Emerald Coast of Florida, that’s not what I am finding from my Short Sale sellers. I did a quick study of 61 active or recently sold Short Sales from Destin and Santa Rosa Beach to Navarre, Crestview and Fort Walton Beach FL. Here are the summarized hardships:

Loss of Income: 51

Job Transfer: 4

Medical: 3

Divorce: 2

Fraud: 1

Most of my sellers lost their jobs. Or they lost significant income due to the economy. I have sellers who were in construction, building residential homes, laying tile. They have little work. I have salespeople, from real estate to cars, who can no longer make it. Some of the sellers had a combination of income loss and medical bills. Several of them have been forced to move out of the area to find work. A few are military, with no choice but to relocate when the Air Force orders them. Should some of these sellers not have been able to quality for a mortgage? Were they over-leveraged? Perhaps, especially with so many investment properties in my area. But, overall, loss of income is the crux of the problem.

The post Short Sales: What’s The Hardship? first appeared on Rulnick Realty.