The short answer to the question are bank owned homes still a bargain in Santa Clara County in 2013 is NO. 

This is a chart of all the single family foreclosures sold in Santa Clara County in 2013. Of the 211 single family bank owned homes the average sales price vs list price was over asking every month this year except for the average of the homes that closed in October. These figures are very similar to the traditional resale of homes in Santa Clara County in 2013.

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Santa Clara County condos/town homes that are bank owned and sold in 2013 also sold over list price. The average sale price was over list price in every month in 2013 except Aug where the average was 98% of list price. 

This is very similar to what happened with traditonal resales of condos in Santa Clara County.

So what happened to the great deals you can get with foreclosures? I am sorry but those days are gone. The inventory of homes for sale in Santa Clara County is so low and the demand so high that almost every listing gets multiple offers, whether it is a traditional resale, short sale, or Santa Clara County foreclosure. Added to that is the fact that there are very few foreclosures that make it to the market anyway. Most of the people who could not afford their mortgages lost their homes years ago. Also, since there has been so much appreciation this year the number of people who owe more on their mortgages than the home is worth is very low. If they can not afford to keep the home is is very easy to sell it and pocket some cash.

- See more at: http://activerain.com/blogsview/4259335/are-santa-clara-county-foreclosures-still-a-bargain-in-2013#sthash.tsfxT3NU.dpuf

If you are looking for a bank owned home in Santa Clara County don't hold your breath. The number of foreclosures in Santa Clara County have plummeted in 2013. Here are the numbers:

Bank Owned Single Family Homes:

Active listings: 13

Pending sales: 18

Closed Escrow in 2013  163

Total single family homes in Santa Clara County

Active listings: 1215

Pending Sales: 1665

Closed escrows in 2012:  4982

 The percentage of single family homes that are foreclosures are:

Active listings: 1 Percent

Pending Sales: 1 Percent

Closed Sales: 3 Percent

Bank Owned Condos/Townhomes

Active listings: 10

Pending sales: 16

Closed sales in 2013: 2026

Total Townhome Sales in 2013

Active listings: 384

Pending Sales: 673

Closed Sales 2013

Percentage of townhomes that are foreclosures

Active listings 2.6%

Pending sales: 2.4%

Closed sales in 2013: 3.3%

Total Sold Foreclosures in 2013: 231

Total Sold foreclosures in the last 6 months of 2012: 579

What do these numbers tell us? Foreclosures are down, by a lot. There are less than half the number of bank owned homes sold in the first six months of 2013 compared to the second six months of 2012. Additionally there are fewer active and pending listings by percentage compared to closed sales in 2013. This leads me to believe there will be even fewer closed sales in the second half of 2013.

There are many reasons for the decreased in foreclosures in 2013. Many of the large banks had settlements with the governent in which they agreed to work on loan modifications and principal reductions instead of foreclosures. Also short sales have been getting approved a lot more than previously rather than being foreclosed.

There is chatter in the foreclosure world that now that the banks have fulfilled their obligations they will begin foreclosing again. While this may be true in some markets, I do not believe it will happen in Santa Clara County. Prices have increased dramatically in Santa Clara County. In many cities we are back to values seen at the peak in early 2008. With these higher values owners can sell if they can not afford the payments, or take advantage of the historically low interest rates and refinance.

So if you are looking for a bargain in Santa Clara County it is probably a good idea to look for homes other than foreclosures. It is unlikely this decrease in bank owned homes in Santa Clara County is going to change in the near future.

If you have any questions about foreclosures or any other type of sale in Santa Clara County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

www.marcymoyer.com

maryc@marcymoyer.com

D.R.E. 01191194

650-619-9285

San Mateo County short Sale/ Foreclosure Update 2013 First Quarter

Looking for a distressed property in San Mateo County? Don't hold your breath. San Mateo County has very few short sales or bank owned properties this year. Here are the numbers:

Number of San Mateo County homes for sale (single family and condos): 589

Active San Mateo County Short Sales: 19

Percentage of San Mateo County homes for sale that are short sales: 3.2%

Active San Mateo County foreclosures: 16

Percentage of San Mateo County homes for sale that are foreclosures: 2.7%

Percentage of total San Mateo County distressed sales: 5.9%

This is not enough to have any effect on total home values. Many cities in San Mateo County have no short sales as home values have reached and exceeded the peak in 2007-2008.

Closed sales in San Mateo County in 2013: 1170

Number of closed San Mateo County short sales in 2013: 138

Percentage closed San Mateo County short sales in 2013: 5.5%

Number of closed San Mateo County foreclosures in 2013: 68

Percentage of closed San Mateo County foreclosures in 2013: 11.8%

The percentage of closed San Mateo County short sales and foreclosures is more a reflection of the past, not what is going on in the market now. San Mateo County short sales can take up to a year to close, and foreclosures can be in the works for years before they hit the market.

The bottom line is, if you are looking for a deal in San Mateo County, you will not likely find it in a short sale or foreclosure, because there are not enough of them and the total inventory is so low the 90% of all homes on the market get multiple offers.

Santa Clara County Short Sale/Foreclosure Update through 3/31/2013

Looking for a distressed property in Santa Clara County? Don't hold your breath. Santa Clara County has very few short sales or bank owned properties this year. Here are the numbers:

Number of Santa Clara County homes for sale (single family and condos): 1123

Active Santa Clara County Short Sales: 32

Percentage of Santa Clara County homes for sale that are short sales: 2.8%

Active Santa Clara County foreclosures: 26

Percentage of Santa Clara County homes for sale that are foreclosures: 2.3%

Percentage of total Santa Clara County distressed sales: 5.1%

This is not enough to have any effect on total home values. Many cities in Santa clara County have no short sales as home values have reached and exceeded the peak in 2007-2008.

Closed sales in Santa Clara County in 2013: 2928

Number of closed Santa Clara County short sales in 2013: 402

Percentage closed Santa Clara County short sales in 2013: 13.7

Number of closed Santa Clara County foreclosures in 2013: 150

Percentage of closed Santa Clara County foreclosures in 2013: 5%

The percentage of closed Santa Clara County short sales and foreclosures is more a reflection of the past, not what is going on in the market now. Santa Clara County short sales can take up to a year to close, and foreclosures can be in the works for years before they hit the market.

The bottom line is, if you are looking for a deal in Santa Clara County, you will not likely find it in a short sale or foreclosure, because their are not enough of them and the total inventory is so low the 90% of all homes on the market get multiple offers.

Request Pay Off Early In A Santa Clara Probate Sale In Foreclosure

1/26/2013

It is a common occurrence in the Silicon Valley for homes that are in Probate to also go into default. For many older home owners there is scant cash    in the bank, they may still have a mortgage, and without a trust a home goes to Probate. When that happens the bills, including the mortgage do not get paid until a Personal Representative is appointed by the court. This can be a lengthy process if there is a disagreement amongst heirs as to who      should be in charge. Unfortunately that is a very common occurrence in Santa Clara probate sales.

So while the relatives are arguing over who rules the Santa Clara Probate roost, the mortgage does not get paid and the lender starts the foreclosure process.

Once at least three payments are missed a Notice of Default may be filed on the Santa Clara Probate Sale. This notice will give you three months to   cure the default. If the owned money on the Santa Clara Probate home is not paid during that three month period a Notice of Trustee Sale can be filed and the Santa Clara Probate home can be sold three weeks after that.

The attorney for the Santa Clara Probate home can go to court and get an order to temporarily stop the foreclosure process while the estate is being settled, but this takes some time as well.

Because the inventory is so low and the demand for homes is so high in Santa Clara, most Santa Clara Probate Sale homes can be sold and  ownership transferred during the Notice of Default period. The defaulted loan on the Santa Clara Probate home can be paid off, and the rest of the equity used to pay the other bills and then distributed to the heirs.

Sounds simple, but sometimes it isn't. Once a loan on a Santa Clara Probate sale goes into default it is transferred to the loss mitigation department. Sometimes that is the equivalent of going into a black hole. These departments are overwhelmed and under staffed. It can take many weeks to get pay  off information from them. In a traditional sale the title company will order pay off information less than a week before closing which is more than enough time to determine exactly how much is owed by the seller to pay off their loan.

In a Santa Clara Probate sale when the loan is in default it can take many weeks to get the pay off information. The title company should start the pay off demand as soon as there is a contract. That way, maybe 30 days later they will have the figures to pay off the loan.

If it is a short escrow period for the Santa Clara Probate Sale it is possible that everyone might be ready to close and there is still no pay off demand   from the lender. When this happens, the escrow can still close and title can be transferred, but the money can not be distributed until the mortgage is payed off, and the estate will have to pay for a mortgage on a home it no longer owns until the bank gets its money.

So if you are involved in a Santa Clara Probate Sale and there is no money to pay the mortgage make sure that the process is started right away to get the pay off demand for the loan or the estate will be paying on the loan after the escrow is closed.

1/17/2013

While prices are rising in the Silicon Valley there are still homes that are underwater and you may need to short sale your South San Jose home. If this is the case, don't wait!

Bank of America has instituted some new policies which can have a major influence on your South San Jose short sale.

Co-operative Short Sales: Bank of America has a program where they will let you know ahead of time how much they are willing to

accept for you South San Jose home in a short sale. Once you agreed to do the short sale they would put a hold on foreclosure

activity and give you some money at close of escrow.

The new policy is that there will be no holds on foreclosure until the offer is fully accepted by Bank of America. What this means is that if you can not make your payments  on your South San Jose home and want to short sell you can not wait. You will not be allowed to stay in your home for months trying to modify your loan and trying to get a new job. Once the notice of default has been recorded you

will have 3 months to get your South San Jose home sold as a short salebefore the notice of trustee sale is recorded. At that point you have another 3 weeks before foreclosure on your South San Jose home.

As any real estate agent familar with south San Jose short sales knows, they take time for approval. Even a Bank of America co-operative short sale can take time. 4 months is not unheard of to obtain approval on a South San Jose Short Sale, so if you can not make your payments, do something or you could lose your home to foreclosure.

If you are the Personal Representative for a Redwood City Home in Probate that has a delinquent mortgage, but there is equity in the home, DON'T BE AN OSTRICH!!!!!!

It is now very common for Redwood City homes that are in Probate to have mortgages. Many homeowners were enticed to refinance

in the last decade because of easy money or low interest rates, many seniors have reverse mortgages on their Redwood City Probate homes, and some people did not refinance because of low interest rates, but because they were helping out family members.

When a mortgagee dies the mortgage still needs to be paid. Death does not eliminate the obligation. So what do you do if the mortgage is late, the home is in foreclosure, and the estate has no money to pay the mortgage? It is very common for Redwood City Probate estates to be house rich but cash poor.

The first thing that has to happen in a probate with this situation is that a personal representative needs to be appointed. This sounds like

a no brainer, but sometimes there are fights within a family as to who that person is going to be, and while people are fighting the bank could be foreclosing. So stop fighting and get someone appointed. 

Once the Personal Representative is appointed he or she should hire a real estate agent. This agent should have experience in both probate and short sales. Probate experience is a no brainer, but the reason for short sale experience is because that person will know who to talk to to postpone the foreclosure.

You will need to give authorization to your agent to speak with the bank and that takes a few days, so do this right away.

Once the postponement is granted get your Redwood City Probate home on the market and get it sold. Postponements generally are only good for 30 days at a time, and you may not get a second one if the home does not have an offer, so don't delay.

If the home has no equity then you should speak with the bank about a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure. You may be able to negotiate the

bank giving the estate $5,000 to $10,000 if you give them the keys and empty out the Redwood City Probate home. However, prices

are appreciating so rapidly right now that you may believe your Redwood City Probate home is underwater when it really isn't.

So, if you have a Redwood City home in Probate and there is no money to pay the mortgage, don't just stand there, do something. Take the necessary steps to get help to make sure the estate's home is not lost to foreclosure. If you hide your head you could lose hundreds of thousand of dollars in equity.

As the year comes to a close you may be wondering what the foreclosure and short sale market looks like in San Mateo Clara County. In a word, things are pretty quiet. The numbers of sales are down. Here is what it looks like:

Closed sales from June 1,2012 to Dec 26, 2012:  

Bank owned: 259

Short Sales: 509

Compared to the first 6 months of 2012:

Bank owned: 387

Short sales: 462

Current Active Sales:

Bank Owned:  17

Short Sales: 22

Current Pending Sales:

Bank Owned: 44

Short Sales: 310

As you can see there has been a large drop off in REO sales with a slight increase in short sales.

I expect a decrease in both short sales and foreclosures as San Mateo County home values increase, loan modifications increase, and the Homeoner's Bill of Rights takes effect in 2013. As prices increase fewer homeowners are underwater, and the need for short sales and foreclosures decrease. Also, the tax exemption of the debt forgiveness on short sales and foreclosures expires at the end of 2012. This will be a big incentive for homeowners to try to hold on until they are no longer underwater.

As the year comes to a close you may be wondering what the foreclosure and short sale market looks like in Santa Clara County. In a word, things are pretty quiet. The numbers of sales are down. Here is what it looks like:

Closed sales from June 1,2012 to Dec 26, 2012:  

Bank owned: 579

Short Sales: 1743

Compared to the first 6 months of 2012:

Bank owned: 978

Short sales: 1603

Current Active Sales:

Bank Owned:  33

Short Sales: 76

Current Pending Sales:

Bank Owned: 54

Short Sales: 1044

As you can see there has been a large drop off in REO sales with a slight increase in short sales.

I expect a decrease in both short sales and foreclosures as Santa Clara home values increase, loan modifications increase, and the Homeoner's Bill of Rights takes effect in 2013. As prices increase fewer homeowners are underwater, and the need for short sales and foreclosures decrease. Also, the tax exemption of the debt forgiveness on short sales and foreclosures expires at the end of 2012. This will be a big incentive for homeowners to try to hold on until they are no longer underwater.

In Los Altos Hills from Jan 1, 2012 until June 30, 2012 there were:

1 closed short sales

0 closed bank owned homes

Total sales during this time period were 45

Total % Short Sales: 2.2%

Total % REO Sales: 0%

Total Percentage  Los Altos Hills Distressed Properties: 2.2%

The low number of distressed property sales in Los Altos Hills is consistent with the other high prices neighborhoods in Silicon Valley. These areas are showing strong sales, good appreciation, and plenty of buyers with enough cash and income to purchase. Compared to the same time period in 2011 there were 2 closed short sales and 5 foreclosures with 52 sales for a total of 13.5% sales being distressed. 2012 is definitely different.

In Portola Valley from Jan 1, 2012 until June 30, 2012 there were:

0 closed short sales

1 closed bank owned homes

Total sales during this time period were 32

Total % Short Sales: 0%

Total % REO Sales: 3.2%

Total Percentage  Portola Valley Distressed Properties: 3.2%

Obviously Portola Valley is not a hotbed of distressed property activity. The one foreclosure was on a small house on Aliso in Ladera which sold for $1,075,000, a great price for that neighborhood. It is however a fabulous place to look for a home if you want a large lot, an incredible community feel, and plenty of local services as well as recreational activities.

In Sunnyvale from Jan 1, 2012 until June 30, 2012 there were:

58 closed short sales

32 closed bank owned homes

Total sales during this time period were 447

Total % Short Sales: 12.9%

Total % REO Sales: 7.1%

Total Percentage  Sunnyvale Distressed Properties: 20%

20% of all Sunnyvale sales being distressed is enough to still have some effect on the overall market. However, as inventory is still so low unless these homes are truly physically distressed, which is more common with bank owned homes at this level, it probably will not have a long lived effect. It is interesting to see there are almost twice as many short sales as bank owned sales.

Ok, so it is bad enough that banks have been unwilling to reduce principle but things can get worse. My client received a Notice of Default last February and at that point she decided to try to to get the loan modification. In November she was finally offered the loan mod, which she turned down because not only did she not get the pricnciple reduced, but all the missed payments and late payments were added on to the back end of the mortgage.

So on Dec 20th she got a Notice of Trustee Sale and on Dec 26th signed a listing agreement to short sale the Redwood City  home. Here's the problem. While getting an offer before the sale date of Jan. 12th would be hard, but possible, the Mortgage Servicer, Carrington Mortgage said no deal. THEY DO NOT POSTPONE TRUSTEE SALES FOR SHORT SALES.  That is harsh. Not only that but in order to do a HAFA Short Sale and get the auto postponement you need to initialte it 60 days before the Trustee Sale Date.

So now, this person is going to have her home foreclosed. I am very sorry for her, but maybe someone can learn a lesson from this.  

Do not put your head in the sand!!!!! If you can not make your payments do something the first month it happens, not a year later. If you have a change of circumstances, lose your job, get divorced, your loan resets, have a health problem, do something right away. If you want to keep your home and can make payments if they are lowered then apply for a loan mod. Don't do it after you get the notice of default, because by then it may be too late. Some banks will allow you to postpone a sale up to 3 days before the sale, but not all. If you can not make payments and need to short sell, do it right away, not at the last minute. Don't take chances with your financial future.