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Pace of foreclosures slowed further in April

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Fewer Americans had their homes repossessed by banks or were put on notice for being behind on their mortgage payments in April compared to a year ago.

That would ordinarily suggest improving fortunes for U.S. homeowners, but the decline had less to do with any turnaround in the housing market than with foreclosure processing delays that appear to be getting worse. That is threatening to drag out a housing recovery, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

It’s taking longer for lenders to move against homeowners who have stopped paying their mortgage and to take back homes already in some stage of the foreclosure process. In states like New York, for example, it now takes an average of more than two years for a home to go from the initial stage of foreclosure to being repossessed by a bank, the firm said.

Those delays, partly due to banks working through foreclosure documentation problems that came to light last fall, means it could take many more years for lenders to deal with a backlog of seriously delinquent properties, which numbers up to 3.7 million, by some estimates.

“It’s going to take between three to four years just to get those loans into foreclosure at our current pace,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “And that doesn’t spell good news for the housing market.”

Banks repossessed 69,532 homes last month, down 5 percent from March and down 25 percent compared with April of last year, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks warnings sent to homeowners throughout the foreclosure process.

The number of properties receiving an initial notice of default fell to 63,422, down 14 percent from March and down 39 percent from April 2010.

Homes scheduled for auction for the first time also declined in April, falling to 86,304. That’s down 7 percent from March and 37 percent below April of last year.

A weak housing market, sliding home prices and pressure on lenders to give troubled homeowners more time to work out new payment arrangements or loan terms have all contributed to the longer time frame for foreclosures.

Many banks also have taken steps to revisit thousands of foreclosure cases since last fall, delaying the processing of new foreclosures. The logjam has been compounded by court delays in states like Florida, New York and New Jersey, where a judge must approve foreclosures.

In the first three months of this year, it took an average of 400 days for a U.S. home to go from receiving an initial notice of default to being foreclosed on, RealtyTrac said.

That’s up from an average of 340 days in the same period last year and more than double the 151-day average in the first quarter of 2007.

The delays are even lengthier at the state level. In New York and New Jersey, the foreclosure process took more than 900 days, on average, to run its course in the first quarter – more than three times the average length of time in the first quarter of 2007 for both states.

In Florida, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, the process took an average of 619 days in the first quarter, up from 470 days a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2007, it took an average of 169 days for the process to play out, RealtyTrac said.

Barring a pickup in the pace of foreclosures, it is likely fewer homes will be repossessed this year than in 2010, when lenders took back more than a million, Sharga said.

Despite the drop in foreclosure activity last month, several states continue to have outsized foreclosure rates.

Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 97 households receiving a foreclosure notice in April. It also bucked the overall national trend, as bank repossessions jumped 23 percent from March and climbed 12 percent from April of last year, RealtyTrac said.

Lenders may have elected to pick up the pace of foreclosures in Nevada to take advantage of brisk foreclosure sales in Las Vegas. In March, sales of previously occupied homes in Las Vegas hit a five-year high, with distressed properties accounting for 69 percent of sales, according to DataQuick.

Pinellas County Real Estate Statistics for February 2011

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February 2011 statistics Pinellas County Click Here to download

The real estate market in Pinellas County is showing more signs of stabilization. For the month of
February sales were up for both single family and condo, likely a result of the increases in pending
sales in January. Listings were down across the board and the median sales price remains relatively
unchanged. During the first half of 2010 the first time homebuyer tax credit was impacting closings
while the later tax credit was beginning to affect pending contracts. Since there is no longer a tax
credit, we might have expected sales and contracts to be lower; however sales were up nearly 25%
and pending contracts increase by 17%. Pinellas County’s fire sale prices and low interest rates are
the big driver now in spite of the continued high jobless rate.

For February 2011 single family home sales were up nearly 20% as compared to the same time period
last year. The median sales price for single family homes was down $30,000 or 30% from February
2010, however it remained nearly constant from last month. Listings for single family homes fell 3%
from February 2010. In the first two months of 2010 the median sales price was stagnant, but saw a
modest jump in March.
Condo sales were up almost 24% from February 2010 to February 2011. The median sales price
trended similar to single family homes, declining 28% for the month of February, as compared to
February 2010. However, there was a modest increase from January 2010. Condo listings were down
about 8% from February 2010 to February 2011. This also marks the seventh straight month condo
listings have decreased.

Overall residential market sales increased by almost 25% from February 2010 to February 2011, and
were up 13% from month to month. Overall residential listings were down about 5% since February
2010. The median sales price for residential properties plummeted nearly 29% year over year making
Pinellas County one of the best bargains in the nation.
Cash is still king for the local market, indicating that likely many sales are to investors. There should
start being some modest increases in sales price as the decrease in listings creates more upward
pressure on the sales price. Another bright spot in the market for the month was the modest increase in
non-distressed sales versus a relatively stagnant number of distressed sales.

February 2011 statistics Pinellas County Click Here to download

New home sales jump 17.5% in Dec

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While 2010 was not a stellar year for new home sales, it ended on a positive note: December home sales rose 17.5 percent over November home sales on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In December, there were 329,000 home sales on a seasonally adjusted basis, strongly surpassing economists’ predictions of 299,000 sales.

While a strong uptick in new home sales marked a positive end for 2010, however, the year ended up as the slowest one on record. The estimated total of new homes sold in 2010 was 14.4 percent below the 2009 level, according to the report.

Pinellas County Real Estate Statistics for December 2010

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Click Here for Dec 2010 MLS Stats
Is the real estate recovery finally here? The statistics for December 2010 give us indications that it
may or may not be. Traditionally, sales slump around the holidays; however, December 2010 seems
to have bucked the trend, as condo and single family sales are up double digits across the board. On
the other hand, when you start looking at the types of sales, it becomes more evident that the recovery
may not be here quite yet. In December short sales and foreclosures accounted for nearly half of all
sales, when previous statistics have shown that short sales and foreclosures usually account for just
over one third of all sales. The increase in short sale and foreclosure closings is likely a result of the
expiration of the foreclosure moratorium and banks wanting to get REO properties off their books
before the end of the year.
Sales of all residential properties were up 24.4%, or an additional 244 units in December, as
compared to the same time period last year. The median sale price of all residential sales dropped
from $133,000 to $118,000, or down 11% since December 2009. The increase in short sale and
foreclosure closings for December had a strong impact here.
One small bright spot in the market is that this is the fourth straight month that overall residential
listings have dropped. If January’s statistics show a drop for the fifth consecutive month, this may
show signs of a recovery. In previous years, listings tend to jump in January, when the holiday season
comes to an end and kids go back to school. Overall residential listings were up 7.2% from December
2009 to December 2010.
Single family home sales increased almost 29% in December 2010, as compared to December 2009.
This also marks the fourth straight month of increased single family sales. However, the median sales
price fell for single family homes by almost $15,000, or 11% from December 2009. The drop in the
single family median home price is largely a result of the increased closings of short sales and
foreclosures. For December 2010, more than half of all sales were foreclosures or short sales. Single
family listings rose 6.7%, from 5,928 in December 2009 to 6,327 in December 2010.
Condo sales also fared well in December, as sales increased by 18% or 76 additional units sold from
December 2009. While volume is increasing, the median condo sales price fell 19% from December
2009. This represents a drop of almost $24,000 in the median sales price mostly a result of the
increase of foreclosures and short sales. Condo listings were up less than one percent.<a

U.S. housing prices overall are expected to hit bottom by spring 2011

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U.S. housing prices overall are expected to hit bottom by spring 2011 and begin a gradual rise in 2012, Frank Nothaft, chief economist and vice president of housing lender Freddie Mac said on Wednesday.

“I do think we’ll see these housing prices bottom out, maybe by the spring,” Nothaft said.

Nothaft presented Freddie Mac’s January 2011 Economic Outlook to reporters at the annual International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

Nothaft predicted that potential home buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines will start to get back into the market. He said this prediction is bolstered by historically low mortgage interest rates and other positive economic indicators, a small drop in the rate of unemployment, increases in purchases of durable goods and a slight slowing of serious delinquencies feeding the glut of foreclosed housing stock.

“This is the time to come in the market if you’ve got the financial resources and wherewithal,” Nothaft said.

However, the housing market will continue to recover unevenly around the country with regions of Florida, Nevada and California continuing to slog through the effects of the economic bust, he said.

Homebuilders and suppliers at the home builder event, where attendance is off nearly 50 percent since the show was staged in Orlando in 2005 through 2008, viewed the forecast through the lenses of their home communities’ experience of the recession.

“I’ve been in a crash for four years,” millwork supplier Jeff Thompson of Vero Beach, Florida, told Reuters. “But I’m almost seeing a glimmer of light in getting new projects.”

“We’ve pretty much already bottomed out,” said Jeffrey Capogrossi, a custom homebuilder from Columbia, South Carolina, said. “Now, how long we’re going to stay flat is hard to tell.”

Custom home builder Robert Leslie said his company in Fargo, North Dakota, never stopped growing through the national housing bust.

“Our markets, if anything, just leveled off for awhile. So now, they’re starting to move up,” he said.

Freddie Mac and the National Association of Home Builders are projecting a 20 to 21 percent increase in new housing starts – from 475,000 in 2010 to 575,000 in 2011, according to Nothaft and David Crowe, the NAHB’s chief economist.

“Twenty percent may sound like a really big increase, but keep in mind it comes off a very low base,” Nothaft said.

Justifying the projection for new housing starts, Crowe said the national inventory of new homes is at a 40-year low. In addition, Crowe estimated that 2 million people who normally would have moved into their own homes stayed put through the recession, many of them young adults who remained in their parents’ homes or continued to share living quarters with roommates.

“We have an enormous pent-up demand for households,” Crowe said.

Thompson believes Florida, one of the hardest hit states, is well positioned for a resurgence as a result of the precipitous fall in housing prices and appraisals. “You put all that together and Florida has become affordable again like back in the 1960s, 70s and 80s,” Thompson said. “I think there are a lot of opportunities that are coming our way. We are on the cusp.”

(Editing by Greg McCune)

Pinellas County Real Estate Market Statistics for November 2010

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Click Here for MLS Stats Nov 2010

In November residential unit sales were about the same as November 2009. Right now condo sales are the strongest sector of this market with an increase of more than 12% year over year while sales of single family homes fell by 7.5% since last year. Not too surprisingly, the inventory of single family homes grew by more than 7% and the condo inventory remained at the November 2009 level.
After last month’s spike, the median price for single family homes dropped back to $128,000 for a 12.6% decrease from a year ago. The condo median price also fell by 7.3% to $107,000.
There has been a steady increase in pending contracts for the past six months. In November there were 15.72% more contracts written than a year ago. 56% of these contracts are for bank-owned properties, an increase of over 87% from November 2009. At the same time the 17% of non-bank contracts represent a 17% decrease year over year. In the condo market just over 50% of the contracts are for bank-owned properties, an increase of 92.5% from last year. Bank owned single family properties represent more than 60% of the contracts written, an 82.6% increase from a year ago.
Distressed properties for November 2010 account for just under half of all residential sales. The median sales price for non-distressed properties for the month of November is $160,000, median price of bank-owned properties is 37.5% of the median sales price for non-distressed properties or $60,000 and pre-foreclosure/short-sales are selling 80% of the median sales price for non-distressed properties or $127,000.
Another interesting trend to note is the days on market comparison of short sale properties. So far this year the length of time it takes to close a short sale has actually increased by almost one full month. Days on market for non-distressed properties declined by almost three weeks and bank-owned properties days on market have stayed relatively the same for the year.
It appears that the condo market is the bright spot in the Pinellas County with double digit increases in sales during the month of November 2010 compared to November 2009. It also interesting to note condos are selling at 85% of their list price, and single family homes are selling at 80% of the list price. Cash is king locally as 56% of all sales in Pinellas County are all cash.

Click Here for MLS Stats Nov 2010

New Rules Require Rental Property Owners to Issue 1099's

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The recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act contained one provision that may have escaped the notice of taxpayers who own rental property, but will affect them starting in January. Under the provision, owners of the property who receive rental income will be required to issue Forms 1099 to service providers for payments of $600 or more during the year.

The act subjects recipients of rental income from real estate to the same information-reporting requirements as taxpayers engaged in a trade or business. Thus, rental income recipients making payments of $600 or more to a service provider in the course of earning rental income are required to provide an information return (typically, Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income) to the IRS and to the service provider. This provision will apply to payments made after December 31, 2010, and will cover, for example, payments made to plumbers, painters or accountants in the course of earning the rental income.

While rental property owners will not actually issue the required 1099’s until early 2012, they need to start keeping adequate records of payments starting January 2, 2011, so they will be prepared to issue correct 1099’s. They will also need to obtain the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the service provider, using Form W-9 or a similar form.

Exceptions

The law provides exceptions for individuals who can show that the requirement will create a hardship for them. The IRS is directed to issue regulations on this, but has not done so yet, so there is currently no guidance on what constitutes sufficient hardship to qualify for the exception or how a taxpayer would demonstrate that hardship.

The law also contains an exception for individuals who receive rental income of “not more than a minimal amount”. Again, the IRS is directed to issue regulations to determine what constitutes “not more than a minimal amount” but has not done so yet.

If such guidance is not forthcoming before January 1, all individuals who receive rental income should start keeping records of payments to service providers so they are prepared to issue 1099’s in 2012. The law also contains an exception for members of the military or employees of the intelligence community if substantially all their rental income comes from renting their principal residence on a temporary basis.

Information Return Penalties

Taxpayers should also be aware that in addition to creating a new reporting requirement, the act increases the penalties for failure to file a correct information return. The first-tier penalty increases from $15 to $30; the second-tier penalty increases from $30 to $60; and the third-tier penalty increases from $50 to $100. For small business filers (with average annual gross receipts under $5 million), the calendar-year maximum increases from $25,000 to $75,000 for the first-tier penalty; from $50,000 to $200,000 for the second-tier penalty; and from $100,000 to $500,000 for the third-tier penalty. The minimum penalty for each failure due to intentional disregard increases from $100 to $250.

The increased penalties apply to information returns required to be filed on or after January 1, 2011.

Expanded 1099 Reporting After 2011

Currently, payments to corporations are excepted from the 1099 information reporting requirements, but starting for payments after December 31, 2011, businesses (including, now, individuals who receive rental income) will be required to file an information return for all payments aggregating $600 or more in a calendar year to a single payee, including corporations (other than a payee that is a tax-exempt corporation). This change was made by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was enacted in March. That act also expanded the information reporting requirements to include gross proceeds paid in consideration for property

pending home sales show Strong rebound in October 2010

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Pending home sales jumped 10.4 percent in October, showing another positive uptrend since bottoming in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator, rose to 89.3 based on contracts signed in October from 80.9 in September. The index remains 20.5 percent below a surge to a cyclical peak of 112.4 in October 2009, which was the highest level since May 2006 when it hit 112.6.

The latest surge also reflects market strength, since buyers had an additional push to close quickly in October 2009 to qualify for one version of the first-time homebuyer tax credit that expired in November. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

The data also surprised economists who had expected a decline in pending home sales given current troubles within the housing market. However, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says excellent housing affordability conditions drew in more homebuyers.

“It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels,” Yun says. “The housing market clearly is in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market and consequential boost to household formation will help the recovery process going into 2011. More importantly, a return to more normal loan underwriting standards and removal of unnecessary underwriting fees for very low risk borrowers is needed and could quickly help in the housing and economic recovery.”

Recent loan performance data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac clearly demonstrates very low default rates on recently originated mortgages – much lower that the vintages of 2002 and 2003 before the housing boom.

The PHSI in the Northeast jumped 19.6 percent to 71.3 in October but is 27.3 percent below the tax credit peak in October 2009. In the Midwest, the index surged 27.3 percent in October to 81.7 but is 24.8 percent below a year ago.

Pending home sales in the South rose 7.1 percent to an index of 93.8 but are 18.4 percent below October 2009. In the West, the index slipped 0.4 percent to 104.3 and is 15.6 percent below a year ago.

Near term, Yun expects home sales to continue climbing from their cyclical low this past summer.

“Even so, we now have some consumer concerns regarding the mortgage interest deduction, an important component in housing affordability,” Yun says.

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Florida’s existing condo sales up in 3Q 2010

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Sales of existing condominiums in Florida rose 15 percent in third quarter 2010 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors®. A total of 16,938 existing condos sold statewide in 3Q 2010; during the same period the year before, a total of 14,793 units changed hands.

Fourteen of Florida’s metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) reported higher existing condo sales in the third quarter, according to Florida Realtors. The statewide existing-condo median sales price was $84,000 for the three-month period; in 3Q 2009, it was $106,000 for a decrease of 21 percent.

“A healthy housing market is built on the foundation of a robust economy,” said Dr. Sean Snaith, director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness. “As the economic recovery continues in Florida – and in particular as the labor market improves – the housing market will follow suit. The price decline in the condo market continues to attract domestic and foreign buyers to Florida to take advantage of this buying opportunity.

“The third-quarter single-family and condo Florida resales data reflect a slowdown relative to second-quarter data as the expiration of the first-time homebuyer’s tax credit in April pulled future demand into the second quarter,” Snaith said, adding that the drop-off was expected.

Meanwhile, in the year-to-year quarterly comparison for existing single-family home sales, 41,122 homes sold statewide for the quarter compared to 44,451 homes in 3Q 2009 for a 7 percent decrease. The statewide existing-home median sales price was $135,200 in 3Q 2010; a year earlier, it was $145,300 for a decrease of 7 percent. Sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes, according to the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). The median is a typical market price where half the homes sold for more, half for less.

The University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies’ latest quarterly survey of real estate trends reports that the jobless rate remains a top concern for the future outlook of the state’s real estate industry. The survey polls market research economists, industry executives, real estate scholars and other experts.

Timothy Becker, the center’s director, noted that investment in real estate continues to flow into Florida, though investors are wary about the economy. “The apartment sector is the stellar performer,” he said, adding that conditions continue to improve in the commercial sector. “We’re starting to see stabilization across property types in occupancy, with respondents saying they feel better about what rents are going to look like in the near future.”

Low mortgage rates continued to be available during the third quarter of the year. According to Freddie Mac, the national commitment rate for a 30-year conventional fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.45 percent in 3Q 2010; one year earlier, it averaged 5.16 percent.

© 2010 Florida Realtors®