Short Sale Tip!

We have seen a steady rise in Short sale closings over the last 90 days. This last month in July, we had the number of Short sale closings be within 1 percent of traditional closings. So what that is saying is that you are now seeing as many Short Sale closings as traditional closings. This tells us that the Banks and Lender Servicers that have these listings are getting more realistic and focused on moving their assets.

Banks such as Wachovia have committed to 14 day response on any Short sale answer which in turn gives the consumer confidence in making that offer. The one thing we have learned in Title, as we have done over 14,000 Transactions YTD, a long illness is a sure death, time kills all deals. So if you want to get transactions done, commit to a response time for answers and then live up to the expectation you set!!

Steve de Laveaga

Sr. VP Sales and Marketing

Fidelity National Title Arizona

Email: steve.delaveaga@fnf.com

Short Sales and Seller Frustrations-How Realtors Can Help.

Although it is true that short sales are complicated transactions and often times fall apart at the end of the transaction, there is a positive light to be shed on this.

It is proven time and time again, packages that are complete, accurate and concise are being accepted at an overwhelming rate. It is imperative to find a professional real estate agent that is an expert in distressed properties. Throughout the country agents are being educated by a company that gives certification know as “certified distressed property experts”, CDPE. Bank executives consistently have said that these packages are put at the top of the pile.

Being part of the solution In being as educated as possible is the first step to resolving our housing crisis.

This Comment Is Follow Up For the USA Today Piece Regarding Home Sellers and Their Frustrations with Short Sales- Click Here To Read More.

Melissa Shapiro
AVP/Director Of Sales
Fidelity National Title
60 E. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, AZ 85281
melissa.shapiro@fnf.com

“With residential foreclosure filings still trending upward, the market should also be prepared for default on a number of commercial properties. It isn’t limited to the neighborhood strip mall or small retail shopping center, even large developments are falling at an rising pace.

The question is who sees this as a travesty, and who sees this as an opportunity! Banks and lenders are less inclined to approve a short sale on a commercial property, and even more reluctant to enter into a loan modification. However, they will certainly entertain the foreclosure process since the anti-deficiency judgment statute in Arizona will allow for recovery of the debt.

Now may be the time to learn how to bid at an auction on the courthouse steps, since the number of retail and commercial properties available at sale will only grow. Fidelity has classes designed to teach investors how to gather information on the foreclosure process, evaluate a property potential, and successfully bid on them at auction.

Feel free to contact Mary Frances Coleman, attorney and Manager of the Default Services Division at 480.214.4500 for more information.”

Click Here For More Information On This Topic!

Mary Frances Coleman
JDAVP/Default Services Division Manager
Fidelity National Title Insurance Company
60 East Rio Salado Parkway
11th Floor
Tempe, Arizona 85281
480.214.4559 (Direct)
mfcoleman@fnf.com

Fidelity Releases Metro Phoenix Real Estate Trends and Predictions

Market causes increased demand for real estate agents to have
CDPE designation and short sale expertise

Phoenix, Ariz., Aug. 3, 2009 – Fidelity National Title, one of Arizona's largest title insurance and escrow service companies, today announced that in June, 2009, the median home resale price increased for the first time since 2007, which is a direct result of increasing trends of multiple offers on properties and a large reduction in active listing inventory, especially bank-owned (REO) properties. Overall pricing in Greater Phoenix ceased its sharp decline in April, and continued to rise through the rest of second quarter.

According to MIchael Orr, founder of The Cromford Report, several sectors are still seeing price declines, including properties over $350,000, condominiums and mobile homes. To date, recovery is strongest in Avondale, Glendale, Maricopa, South Phoenix, West Phoenix and Queen Creek - areas most dominated by the 2008 glut of lender-owned homes that also suffered the most severe price declines. Scottsdale differs from Metro Phoenix in that it has seen only a moderate increase in demand and prices continue to fall. It has a predominance of luxury homes and condos, which are both sectors with excess supply and are not yet in a recovery phase.

Foreclosures have not slowed as unemployment and economic uncertainties are still impacting homeowners' ability to make payments. There are a large number of consumers behind on their payments and seeking short sales or loan modifications. June and July has seen a solid increase in the number of short sales as consumers, real estate agents and lenders begin to realize the benefits over foreclosure. Short sale activity has increased substantially as consumers are learning how to prevent foreclosure, and as lenders and banks recognize the benefits of short sales to mitigate their losses.

The largest constraint on sales volume has been the availability of obtaining finance, which has constrained many buyers' ability to purchase the homes they want. Credit approval guidelines are stricter than at any time in recent history. The lack of attractive finance for homes above $400,000 is a critical factor prohibiting recovery of the high end of the market. As a result, cash buyers dominate sales– which heavily favors investors when competing for the most attractively priced homes.

(more)
The Genworth Mortgage Corporation Metropolitan Statistical Areas Declining/Distressed Markets Update from July 15, 2009, reflects that 14 states are considered distressed or declining in their entirety: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. Arizona is the first to show signs of stabilization.

"We have a large amount of property that has yet to find its way into the marketplace," stated Fidelity Senior Vice President Steve de Laveaga. "We believe that there will be 3 primary avenues of property distribution from the distressed side: REO, short sale and investor-based trust sales."

The Market's Impact on Real Estate Agents
As the market continues to wildly fluctuate from month to month, lenders, realtors and title companies struggle to adequately maintain service and staff levels.

Also, consumers have become hungrier to learn ways in which to save themselves from foreclosure, and buyers are more actively seeking short sale purchase opportunities. Therefore, the demand has increased sharply for real estate agents with short sale expertise on both the seller and buyer side of the transaction.

The Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation is rapidly becoming an important credential for real estate professionals to have, due to increasing demand for this expertise from consumers, banks and lenders.

This information is released in partnership The Cromford Report, a daily report tracking the residential real estate trends of the Metropolitan Phoenix area.

About Fidelity National Title Insurance Company of Maricopa and Pinal Counties
Fidelity National Title of Maricopa and Pinal Counties was established in 1981 and is one of Arizona's largest providers of title insurance and escrow services. It has maintained a steady physical and financial base in Arizona for almost thirty years, remaining rock solid through decades of market swings. It is protected under the umbrella of Fidelity National Title Group, which holds over $2.8 billion in reserves.

Fidelity is one of Arizona's leading resources for real estate agent continued training. For a full calendar of upcoming events for real estate agents, please visit the website at http://www.blogger.com/Users/Carrie/AppData/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/Z8HLXU18/www.fntarizona.com. Fidelity also offers a new real estate blog, Fidelity Big Mouth - a resource aimed at helping real estate agents and lenders digest the current real estate market. To subscribe, visit http://www.blogger.com/Users/Carrie/AppData/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/Z8HLXU18/www.BIGmouthrealestateblog.com.

Fidelity National Title Group
Founded in 1848, Fidelity National Title is the world's largest title insurance company, issuing insurance policies and escrow services throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and 50 countries. It is also one of the nation's largest providers of title insurance and escrow services, issuing approximately HALF of the residential and commercial title insurance policies in the United States, and is one of the foremost experts in the area of HUD, short sale, REO and foreclosed properties.

Fidelity National Title Group is ranked at #264 on the Fortune 500, an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations. Fidelity National Title Group is a subsidiary of holding company Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance, claims management services and information services. For more information, visit http://www.blogger.com/Users/Carrie/AppData/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/Z8HLXU18/www.fnf.com.

Metro Phoenix home sales, prices climb in June

"We all know that sales volume in the Phoenix market has been solid, but according to this article, for the first time since late ’07 the median home price has inched north! An increase in median home prices for the first time in over a year!!! That’s an important snippet of news for our market and a bright spot to pay close attention to! While it will take time to see home values rise significantly and I’m sure we have many months of topsy-turvy trends to observe; I hope this is the beginnings of a positive market trend for Arizona homeowners. Plus, this article provides a great snapshot of the most recent pre-foreclosure, foreclosure and notice of trustee’s sales data as well as current inventory status." Said Bernadette Espinosa, Fidelity National Title with regards to the following article.

Here are some more positive signs from metropolitan Phoenix's housing market, which may not be recovering but doesn't appear to be deteriorating any more. Home sales climbed again in June to reach 9,614, according to the Information Market/Cromford Report survey. That's an 11 percent increase from May's home sales. June is the sixth straight month home sales have climbed in the Valley.
The median Valley resale home price also climbed in June, the first monthly price increase since late 2007. Last month, the median ticked up to $125,000 from $122,000 in May.
Foreclosures also climbed in June after dropping off for a few months. There were 5,149 trustee sales or foreclosures in the Valley, compared to 3,809 in May. Pre-foreclosures, or notice of trustee sales, continue to hover around 8,700.

But so far the additional foreclosures aren't creating an oversupply problem for the housing market.
Mike Orr, publisher of the Cromford Report, said the number of lender-owned properties listed for sale in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service fell to 5,150 in June, from 5,475 in May.

“So the supply was huge, but the demand was even greater,” said Orr about Valley foreclosure homes.
Also, the average price-per-square-foot of foreclosures sold by lenders during June climbed to $65.64 in June, from $63.77 in May.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 03:13 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/CatherineReagor/57175


Bernadette Espinosa
Business Development
602-448-9907 Cell
Bernadette.Espinosa@fnf.com
www.BernadetteEspinosaFNT.com
"I'm now a CDPE!" -- Certified Distressed Property Expert, www.cdpenow.com.

REO PROPERTY UPDATE

Active Listings Distressed (% of total) REO Only (% of Distressed)

Valley Wide- 32,852 12,311 or 37% 4,564 or 37%

Scottsdale- 4,606 955 or 21% 270 or 29%

Paradise Valley- 562 61 or 11% 12 or 20%

We are seeing a dwindling of inventory, and a varying way of how the Lenders/Servicers and Banks are now distributing the property. The reality is, even if 25,000 REO homes below 250K came on the market next week, we would have that inventory absorbed in the next 90 days. We are seeing multiple offers on every decently priced REO property and we are seeing buyers become frustrated, as they are willing, have cash offers and made offers above or at asking price and still can’t get a home. What we need is transparency, this issue CANNOT be solved by Banks or Government working in isolation, but rather Banks and Government in partnership with the community and citizens to make sure we can indeed solve the issues of the increasing delinquencies.

Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing FNT Maricopa
Office Ph. 480-214-4500
Fax: 480-214-1743
email: steve.delaveaga@fnf.com
www.fidelityphoenix.com

Good news on the horizon!

The press has finally run out of bad news to report!

Inventory still at an all time low – multiple offers on properties which our raising values creating neighborhood stabilization.

Read in good health!

Noted Melissa Shapiro, VP of Sales with Fidelity National Title, melissa.shapiro@fnf.com

Phoenix-area Home Prices Have “Reached a Turning Point”ASU Study:

Estimates Show Third Month of Slowing Declines

TEMPE, Ariz. (June 15, 2009) — Phoenix-area homeowners can take some comfort from a new Arizona State University study that indicates the Valley housing market is finally starting to turn around.

The Arizona State University-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) measures changes in average Phoenix-area home prices from year to year. The latest report shows a record 37-percent drop in the index from March 2008 to March 2009. However, that’s stagnant from the same 37-percent fall noted from February 2008 to February 2009. It’s also followed by preliminary estimates of a lesser 35-percent drop for April 2008 to April 2009, and a 33-percent dip from May 2008 to May 2009.

“If they hold up, the April and May figures would be the first evidence that the housing market has reached a turning point,” says Karl Guntermann, the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, who calculates the ASU-RSI with research associate Adam Nowak. “This indicates the rate of decline is slowing, and even though actual home prices continue to drop, they’re falling by much smaller amounts than they typically have during the past 18 months.”

The index has now declined for 25 months in a row, the longest drop in Valley history. From March 2008 to March 2009, Glendale experienced the worst fall of any local city at 40 percent. Tempe saw the mildest decline in the index at 18 percent.

Preliminary estimates show the median Phoenix-area home price at $115,000 in May. That would put prices back at the same level as October 1998.

“The large number of foreclosed properties being sold at distressed price levels suggests that the median price is unlikely to increase significantly in the near future,” says Guntermann, who points out the positive, that this makes homes in the area more affordable.

The ASU-RSI is based on repeat sales, the most reliable way to estimate price changes in the housing market. Repeat sales compare the prices of a single house against itself at different points in time, instead of comparing different homes with different quality factors.

The ASU-RSI is produced through the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

The current report and archived reports are available at the Division of Real Estate – Repeat Sales Reports. Further ASU-RSI analysis is available at http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu.

Source:W. P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSThe W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the top-ranked and largest business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its research productivity and its distinguished faculty members, including a Nobel Prize winner. Students come from 75 countries and include more than 60 National Merit Scholars. For more information please visit wpcarey.asu.edu andhttp://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/