Stuart Shienfeld Earns NAR Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification

Stuart Shienfeld Earns NAR Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification

Buyers and Sellers Benefit from REALTOR® Expertise in Distressed Sales



Las Vegas, NV 12/05/2010 — Stuart Shienfeld with Easy Street Realty has earned the nationally recognized Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource certification. The National Association of REALTORS® offers the SFR certification to REALTORS® who want to help both buyers and sellers navigate these complicated transactions, as demand for professional expertise with distressed sales grows.



According to a recent NAR survey, nearly one-third of all existing homes sold recently were either short sales or foreclosures. For many real estate professionals, short sales and foreclosures are the new “traditional” transaction. REALTORS® who have earned the SFR certification know how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales as well as help buyers pursue short sale and foreclosure opportunities.



“As leading advocates for homeownership, REALTORS® believe that any family that loses its home to foreclosure is one family too many, but unfortunately, there are situations in which people just cannot afford to keep their homes, and a foreclosure or a short sale results,” said 2009 NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “Foreclosures and short sales can offer opportunities for home buyers and benefit the larger community, as well, but it’s extremely important to have the help of a real estate professional like a REALTOR® who has earned the SFR certification for these kinds of purchases.”



The certification program includes training on how to qualify sellers for short sales, negotiate with lenders, protect buyers, and limit risk, and provides resources to help REALTORS® stay current on national and state-specific information as the market for these distressed properties evolves.

Stuart Shienfeld

Easy Street Realty

702-406-2382

realestateinvegas@gmail.com

www.stuartshienfeld.com

Las Vegas & Henderson Real Estate Seems To Be Stabilizing

Home prices have increased in some zip codes in Las Vegas. This is definitely a sign of home prices starting to stabilize says Stuart Shienfeld, Las Vegas real estate agent. 15 zip codes showed double digit increases while only 7 zip codes showed double digit declines.

Existing Las Vegas home sales slid 16.9% from
last month to 4,128. That's also 19% below last year's level.

The median price for an existing home sold in July was $120,000. That price
is below both June (-2.4%) and the previous July (-1.6%). But, it is
consistent with data over the last 16 months.

But, more importantly, the median price per square foot of an existing home
sold in this market has been above 2009 levels for the last four months.
The current median price per square foot of an existing home sold in July was
$79.78.
The 1,907 foreclosures in July were somewhat higher than June figures (+28%). Yet,
that number was 19% below last July. In fact, five of the seven months in
this year have seen lower foreclosure levels than corresponding months in
2009.

The 13% rise of available listings in July to 12,772 is the first time this
year that any month has been higher than its corresponding month in 2009.
Yet, even at this figure, this inventory represents just 3.1 months of supply
at current sales rates.
Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.32 percent for the week.
Comparing the information for Median List Price vs. Median Sales Price for Traditional, Bank Owned and Short Sales we see that the traditional listings are selling at a very high percentage (78%) of the average list price and the average list price is much higher ($224,900) than either REO or Short Sale properties.

The REO and Short Sale average List Price are almost the same, but the average Sale Price for REO properties is lower. It is interesting that the Short Sales properties' Median List Price is the same as the Median Sale Price.
Short sale closings continue to rise due to more cooperation by the banks holding the paper. With increasing unemployment rates, short sales will continue to dominate the Las Vegas housing market says, Stuart Shienfeld.

Las Vegas The Short Sale Capital

Las Vegas and the state may be changing from the nation’s foreclosure capital to the nations short sale capital say realtor Stuart Sheinfeld
Short sales averaged about 8% of total existing-home closings last year, but averaged 25% of the market by the end of the year and in early January
Short sales are becoming the trend as banks try to find ways to avoid letting homes go into foreclosure.
The most undervalued market is Las Vegas where homes sell for 41.4% below fair market.
The Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas in Henderson will close its doors May 2.
Casino Monte Lago at Lake Las Vegas will close at midnight March 14.

SALES:
--->Resales are up BIG!
The number of existing homes sold in 2009 was 48,075, a 57% increase over 2008 and the third highest total in history. The 4,502 sales in December's made it the 3rd highest month of the year.


INVENTORY:
--->All inventory elements continue to decline.
The number of foreclosures in inventory slid to 11,248 in December. That's the lowest total since March 2008. The reason that inventory is declining is simple:
In six of the last eight months, the number of foreclosures sold was larger than the number of foreclosures created.
The 10,262 homes in resale inventory in December represents just 2.6 months of supply. December's resale inventory is the second lowest total since March, 2005.
PRICES:
--->Resale prices declined in December
Resale prices remained in their narrow range, dropping from $125,000 last month to $120,000 in December. Existing home prices have bounced between those two numbers since April.

High-rise condo stats
• Allure — 190 of 427 units unsold; 40 in default; 10 bank owned.
• Juhl — 309 of 344 unsold.
• Newport Lofts — 23 of 168 unsold; 51 in default, 12 bank owned.
• One Queensridge Place — 85 of 219 unsold; 8 in default.
• Panorama Tower 3 — 334 of 372 unsold.
• Sky Las Vegas — 79 of 405 unsold; 50 in default; 5 bank owned.
• Streamline Tower — 248 of 275 unsold.
• Turnberry Towers West — 255 of 318 unsold.
• MGM Signature 3 — 84 of 576 unsold; 105 in default; 17 bank owned.
• Palms Place — 204 of 599 unsold.
• Trump International — 977 of 1,282 unsold.

Realtor Stuart Sheinfeld has been using his new Apple IPAD to show more listings while out with clients.


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Las Vegas & Henderson Housing Inventory is Declining

Las Vegas housing inventory is declining. Investors in Las Vegas & Henderson don’t seem to be going away. Some buyers are facing a daunting task of 30, 50 even 100 offers on bank owned properties, says a local real estate agent Stuart Shienfeld. The public property records show that 45 percent of the Las Vegas buyers in August purchased homes with cash. This has forced most buyers to start putting offers on short sales which can take up to 6 months to close. Short sales in Las Vegas are making up more than 50% of homes on the market; nearly 7,800 short-sale units are under contract, either contingent or pending lending approval.
With so much competition for Las Vegas real estate, new homes are becoming a viable option again. For home buyers that qualify for the $8000 tax credit new homes could be the only option. If a buyer wants to take advantage they need to be under contract within the next 30 days. The tax credit is set to expire on November 31,2009. A $8,000 tax credit is huge when the median existing home price is less than $130,000. The Realtors association has lobbied Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., and U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and they have lobbied for an extension of the tax credit in to 2010.
• Current Supply stays at 2.9 months
• REO inventory is DOWN
• Interest rates are averaging 5%-5.50%
• 2 months left to take advantage of the $8000.00 tax credit. Needs to close by 11/31/09
• 5 straight months of 4000+ home sales
• Over 55% of ALL NEW LISTINGS last less than a month on the market
The lack of foreclosure inventory, which is declining in Las Vegas could keep sales low & competition high. People buying in this market could look like geniuses in the next couple years.

Las Vegas Home Buying Frenzy

May Las Vegas housing data suggests that we possibly reached the bottom of the residential recession in the 2nd quarter of this year. I haven’t seen a home buying frenzy like this since 2004, says Las Vegas real estate agent Stuart Shienfeld.
Foreclosures have dominated the housing market with more than 60 percent of the sales each month being bank-owned properties.
With sales at their highest level since June 2006 the first-time homebuyers and investors snatching up Las Vegas inventory, say realtor Stuart Shienfeld.
There were 5,276 bank-owned single-family homes listed for sale in the valley and of those 2,623 had contingent offers, Smith says. That leaves an inventory of 2,653. About half of those homes don’t have offers.
The downturn in the stock market combined with the growing affordability of purchasing a home has prompted increased interest in using IRAs and 401K’s to help fund the purchase.
The number of resale homes on the market as listed by real estate agents continues to decline. During the past year, the number has dipped 36.7 percent or 8,109 units, lowering the inventory to less than 19,000 homes. The inventory has dropped for 13 consecutive weeks with 6,700 fewer properties listed during that time. The number of vacant homes is just under 7,500, a drop of 49 percent.
The number of foreclosures in May was 1,769, a 26% decrease from last year. This was the third month that foreclosure purchases surpassed the number of new foreclosures coming on the market.
New listings are down 18.1% from April 2009 and the number of units sold, are up 1.8% from last month. The average days on the market for homes are hovering for less than 60 days. That is an average of almost 65%.
There are very few REO homes that are currently available without offers to buy. You really need to move quickly to get your offer in. When you do you should offer you’re highest & best offer, says Stuart Sheinfeld. Some banks will do a multiple offer sheet and some don’t, so I wouldn’t take the chance of losing the property.

Las Vegas Existing Homes Sales Surpass Boom Levels

With super low interest rates, an $8000 tax credit & affordable home prices, existing sales soar.
April 2009 Change from March 2009 Change from April 2008
#units sold 3,198 +7.3% +78.3%

First time home buyers are taking advantage of these factors & realizing that their new home payments are cheaper than rent. FHA financing which allows buyers to only put down 3.5% on their 1st home accounted for a whopping 49% of the March sales.
Investors & 2nd home buyers were responsible for 36% of the sales in March. The big attraction for investors is that the mortgage, taxes & insurance is less than what the potential rental income for the property may be.

We are seeing more & more multiple offers on homes, sometimes as many as 10-15 offers. Stuart Shienfeld, a local realtor says, “The homes that have very little repair or upgrade work are flying off the shelves”
Time on Market April 09 March 09 April 08
0-30 Days 43.7% 37.8% 36.1%
31-60 Days 16.4% 17.9% 16.9%
61-90 Days 11.3% 14.9% 14.4%

Contact me today to find out how to take advantage of this Booming Market

Buyers Gobble up Las Vegas REO’s

The Las Vegas housing market is chewing through excess inventory of foreclosures, which now account for about 80 percent of resale homes.
The inventory of single-family home listings dropped sharply from 23,803 in January to 20,623 in August. The average Days on the Market went from 93 to 62 days during the same time frame.
The population of Clark County is still growing at a furious pace. In 2007, the population was at a cool 2,000,000, now it is estimated at 2,075,000 that is an increase of 6,250 people a month moving to the valley. Stuart Sheinfeld, Realtor in Las Vegas noted “With bank owned homes going for as little as $50/sq ft this makes a great time for 1st time homeowners and investors to get back in the market.” Especially when there is so much lending uncertainty on the horizon
The estimated current housing supply is at 7.3 months
When buying a REO or bank owned home here are a few things to know:
1. Property is being conveyed “AS IS/WHERE IS” condition. There will be no warranties, expressed or implied as to the condition of the property. Seller’s limits of liability to make any repairs to the property will be zero ($0). Seller will most likely not complete or compensate for any repairs.
2. Since Seller(s) do not have the means to provide HOA Association documentation, Buyer(s) are responsible for ordering & paying for the HOA documents; should a fee exist, to satisfy any and all due diligences per the CCR’s requirements to purchase a property in an association.
3. The actual selling price of this transaction will be determined upon getting an acceptable “net proceeds” required notification from the Seller’s Lender(s) and adding the Lenders acceptable costs to that bottom line.
4. The Lenders provided closing date is firm. There will be a monetary increase placed on the Buyers to compensate for additional interest or fees incurred by the Lender(s) for closing after the required date. REO’s are time sensitive and agents must understand that extensions are usually not honored by loss mitigation departments.
5. The Lender(s) may decide not to pay for Buyer’s Appraisal, Home Warranty or other “Buyers Closing Costs.”
6. Any required upfront payments will be paid for by the Buyer(s).
Most of all the list price is not always the price the bank is willing to accept. If the home is turn-key then you can bet there will be multiple offers and most likely be bought for as much as 120% of list price.
More info go to http://www.elitevegasrealestate.com

Short Sale Frustration

Purchasing a short sale property which requires the seller’s lender approval is very complex situation. Even if you are working with the seller, however, the lender must approve the final numbers. We are asking them to accept less than what may be currently owed to them on the property.

If you submit an offer on a short sale property they usually should be submitted to the bank as they come in. This is not always the case since some real estate agents wait to submit groups of offers at once. This can delay an offer for at least a week to 10 days. Once it is submitted, it will take at a minimum 30-90 days to get a response, all depending on the institution that holds the note. Hopefully the seller has received approval for the short sale. If not, this process will take at least 45 days longer. You will need patience with this process!!!

Short sales, may change in the negotiation process in getting a final approval for the sale. The buyer will most likely have to pay for any reports, inspections &/or repair items. The buyer may be responsible for ordering & paying for the HOA documents; should a fee exist, to satisfy any and all due diligences per the CCR’s requirements to purchase a property in an association.

The lenders provided closing date is firm. The actual selling price of this transaction will be determined upon getting an acceptable “net proceeds” required notification from the seller’s lender and adding the lenders acceptable costs to that bottom line.

Short sales are time sensitive and agents must understand that extensions are usually not honored by loss mitigation departments; especially if there is a bank sale date scheduled.

Short sales can be a very frustrating transaction for most buyers. You may fall in love with a property and submit a generous offer on it compared to the comps in the area and still not get it. The worst part is not knowing for months if your offer was accepted or not and not even getting a chance to submit a counter-offer.

I always explain this scenario to my clients. With the numbers showing that foreclosures have doubled in Las Vegas from a year ago and the next wave of adjustable-rate mortgage resets could deepen the misery for an already severely depressed housing market. Almost 1.5 million loans, representing more than 40% of the outstanding loans of subprime ARMs, are scheduled to reset this year, according to the Federal Reserve.

For more information on short sales, foreclosures, reo’s, & Las Vegas real estate contact Stuart Sheinfeld at www.elitevegasrealestate.com