Jim Freeman Named Local Listing Broker For Western Washington State
HUD, otherwise know as the Department of Housing and Urban Development after seven years of development has initiated major changes in the systems used to liquidate HUD housing inventory. The new system known as P260 combines new communications and reporting technology to speed up the process of listing and marketing homes acquired by HUD mainly through loan defaults and foreclosures. HUD is the agency responsible for managing and liquidating homes previously acquired by homeowners utilizing FHA mortgage insurance and other federal government backed home loan programs. Serious observers believe that the federal government may need to exit explicit and implicit grantees of home loans altogether in order to restore balance and confidence of bond buyers in the secondary mortgage market by leaving the field completely to lenders able to originate home loans with closer to historical yields and default rates.
With the failure of the housing finance system beginning in 2007 the FHA insured loans have grown to an estimated 40% of market share in 2010. This compares to approximately 3% by comparison in 2006. FHA loan programs were utilized by the government to bolster the supply of home acquisition financing, particularly for first time home buyers whose market share of the home sales figures have grown in parallel. Federal home loan programs and loans sold to the GSEs, fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to be the only source of home financing until such time as the federal government decides how to end the losses debited to the treasury through loan defaults experienced by loans with government guarantees.
Home prices are still falling in most major markets around the country including Washington State. This means that loans originated in the early years of the current housing recession suffered asset value deterioration with the rest of the market and some of those loans defaulted when previously qualified buyers lost their ability to pay. Other borrowers that retained their capacity to pay defaulted because their home was worth less than what they owed. These are called strategic defaults.
Borrowers using loans insured by FHA are able to purchase a home with as little as 3.5% down payment and sellers are able to pay for the buyers closing costs up to 3.5% of the loan amount if they so choose. This arrangement is very attractive for borrowers needing leverage to purchase a home but when values drop much at all it is difficult for the lenders and the FHA insurance fund to make up the difference when liquidating houses for sale because of the lengthy foreclosure process and high cost of re-sale with standard market excise taxes, escrow fees, insurance, commissions and other costs.
Because HUD expects inventories to rise and with a desire to support healthy communities with responsible home ownership HUD has created the P-260 system for getting newly acquired homes to market by contracting with new regional asset managers, field service managers and local listing brokers.
Jim Freeman has been named as a local listing broker for western Washington State. As a managing broker for Coldwell Banker Park Shore working under contract with asset manager PEMCO Ltd, Jim will be helping buyers to connect with superb offers by HUD for affordable housing. To get more information and to obtain periodically updated lists of these low cost houses for sale please visit HUD homes in Washington.
The Remaining Growth Market in the Real Estate Investment Sector
Care Professionals and Investors Meet Up To Fulfill Rapidly Growing Demand In Assisted Living
Americans Over 65 To Grow By 35% between 2015 and 2025
Sarah's Place, a Successful Adult Family Home in Port Orchard
The metrics for the housing industry are pretty bleak. Recent statistics form the National Association of Realtors indicate that nationally homes sales declined 27% from a year ago in July. The July total closings for Kitsap County in 2009 were 284 units and only 204 in July of 2010, a decline of about 28%. The number of pending sales in July 2010 totaled 376, a decline of 70 from 346 in July of 2010 or 20%.
This is of course great news for home buyers and to a lesser extent for real estate investors. The number of families that have lost their homes due to foreclosure has risen, a lot. Because most of them cannot qualify for a new home loan they are forced back into the rental market creating more demand for rental housing. This trend should continue to play out over the next 2-3 years but the growth in demand for rental housing will also be constrained by the continuing loss of incomes through job losses and business failures.
The untold good news for the real estate market in the coming decades concerns the aging of the population. In a recent economic report by First Research, a unit of Wells Fargo Bank, they indicated that the number of Americans over 65 will grow between 2015 and 2025 by 35%. The age at which these seniors enter into assisted living facilities will likely stretch out as the average life span increases but eventually aging baby boom generation will need various forms of assisted living options including in home care, adult family homes, skilled nursing facilities and nursing homes.
Institutional care facilities will be constrained by their funding model which depends largely on Medicare and Medicaid payments. Given the current fiscal crisis with state and federal governments revenues from these sources are more likely to decline that increase in the next decade or more. Most states have resorted to creating less costly, neighborhood based, small care facilities also know as adult family homes to close the care gap and give non-profit and for-profit entities a longer leash to solve the problem.
Recent investigative news reports in Washington have uncovered some concerns about the operation of a segment of these homes such as regulatory non-compliance. Although licensing standards and operations are rather strict and enforcement is constant the shear size of the current and coming demand has encouraged some operators to rush into the market with sub-standard living units and a lack of management and marketing skills needed to attain economic sustainability and the highest standards of quality care. However, the laws of supply and demand will prevail and individuals may have the best opportunity ever in today’s low cost environment to position themselves to be leaders in quality of care and provide themselves with long term sustainable income.
Jim Freeman, a managing Broker, and Ellie Renne, associate broker with Coldwell Banker Park Shore Real Estate in Port Orchard, WA have launched a service to help current future owners of adult family homes and assisted living facilities to start, acquire, sell or improve adult family home businesses. For more information please visit www.AssistedLivingAssistant.com.
Bainbridge Island architectural firm Miles Yanick & Company has been selected to design the Bayview Building in Gig Harbor. The building will be an addition to the Arabella’s Landing Complex and will provide office space for the adjoining marinas and marine-related retail space. The building features under-building parking, a large pedestrian promenade above the parking and an observation tower for the general public.
Miles Yanick & Company is a full service Architectural, Land Planning and Interior Design firm serving Kitsap County and Western Washington. They can be contacted by phone at 206-842-6516 or email at office@milesyanick.com.
It’s no secret. Foreclosures and short sales in Kitsap set the price for everyone else. Why?
According to the June, 2010 Kitsap Market Statistical Summary there were 1,297 closed sales of existing homes for the year ending 6/30/2010. In a separate study I discovered that a total of 708 of those closings were classified as bank owned properties or required third party approval (aka short sales). Let’s do the arithmetic. That is 708 divided by 1,297 or 55% of all sales were closed by these highly motivated sellers.
So what about sales that were not in the distressed category? Well, anybody selling in this market must meet the price competition. If non-distressed home sellers want to sell in this market they must meet the price competition by the banks. Why would any rational buyer pay more if there were a good supply of real alternatives at a lower price?
Why Buyers of Homes In Kitsap Can Expect Good Opportunities
Click On This Image To Get Your Free List of Kitsap or Gig Harbor Foreclosures or Bank Owned Properties
Trends for residential sales are not yet breaking positively for Kitsap County. The active listing inventory of homes in June 2010 was at 1,879 versus 1,758 for June 2009. Median asking price was $319,000 compared to $350,000 one year ago. Median days on market was 126 for June 2010 versus 133 one year ago.
The number of pending sales was 239 in June 2010 and 372 in June 2009. Their respective ratios were 13% and 21% showing a precipitous drop. Pending sales ration are near term indicators of sales activity and the near term direction of price trends. The median price for pending sales for June 2010 was $265,000 and $246,125 a year ago. This is a sign perhaps of increased activity in move up sales. Days on market was 107 for June 2010 and 86 for June 2009.
Closed sales in June 2010 were up slightly for June 2010 at 266 units vs. 249 for June 2009. There is a more impressive difference in the Year To Date tally with 1,297 for YTD 2010 and 1,090 one year ago. The median closed price was $236,000 in June 2010 and $245,000 in June 2009. Days on market were 156 in June 2010 and 83 in June 2009.
This is likely because the lid has come off prices asked by lenders for foreclosures in Kitsap and short sales. I guess so when you consider that in the last twelve months the number of closings tagged as bank owned properties and third party approval required totaled 627 or 48%. Sure looks like those lenders are setting the price for everyone else.
Home Loan Rates Are At Record Lows.
Loan rates available to qualified buyers on July 15th, 2010, even those with zero down were between 4.5% and 4.75%. This means that if you were to obtain a loan for the median priced closed home in Kitsap in June, 2010 for $236,000 for 100% of the purchase price that your payment of principle and interest for a 30 year fixed rate loan would be $1,195.78. Throw in $300 per month for taxes and insurance and that might be say $1,496 per month for your housing expense which is about the same rate you would need to pay in rent for most of these homes selling at the median.
These are truly unusual times for buyers. How much longer will this perfect storm of conditions last?
Conveniently Located Commercial Property Optimized For Local Business
Anderson Properties has announced that they have made special warehouse office condos for sale or lease at 650 Bovela Lane in Poulsbo, WA. Each unit is approximately 1,692 square feet and have various existing configurations of office improvements and warehouse space. They are ideally suited for commercial real estate uses or storage. Located just off Viking Avenue at Bovela Lane you can reach Highway 3 at Finn Hill in under 10 minutes.
Some units are already leased and may be purchased as investment property. Special SBA financing is available along with potential seller financing. For more details about these units or to request a list of commercial industrial Kitsap real estate please visit:
Here is a “different view” of a foreclosure listing in Port Orchard. If you like this kind of view I would be interested in finding out. YouTube allows you vote or comment so feel free.
Robert Shiller Ponders the Future of The Housing Market
Robert Shiller of the Case-Shiller Housing Market Index
Real estate investors, lenders, brokers and increasingly homeowners need to track home values more closely to make decisions that have outsize effects in their personal financial lives and collectively on the economy. One of the most watched housing indices is something called the Case-Shiller Index developed by Yale economist and author Robert Shiller and his graduate student, Mr. Case. The index is so closely watched because it tracks price movements of actual homes in major markets over time rather than rely on statistical medians that cannot correct for differences in the types of homes that are developed and sold in regional or SMSA markets in different market cycles.
To understand real estate market cycles I highly recommend reading a book by author Robert Campbell. Campbell also publishes a bi-monthly real estate market timing newsletter the predictions from which I share with my clients.
But, for more insight from Robert Shiller check out this recent interview with Robert Shiller by the Motley Fool:
Federal Reserve policymakers are worried that the recovery in the economy may lose steam going forward, according to minutes from a recent policy meeting, . “While participants saw incoming information as broadly consistent with continued strengthening of economic activity, they also highlighted a variety of factors that would be likely to restrain the overall pace of recovery, especially in light of the waning effects of fiscal stimulus and inventory rebalancing over coming quarters,” the minutes said. Fed members apparently believed the bank’s policy of “exceptionally low rates” for “an extended period” is explicitly contingent on the evolution of the economy rather than on the passage of any fixed amount of calendar time.” The central bank’s current policy does not limit the Fed from tightening or maintaining its monetary policy, they said.
Fixer Uppers,
Bank Foreclosures,
Distress Sales,
Company Owned Properties,
Free List With Pictures,
Foreclosures_In_Kitsap
360-616-7924,
Coldwell Banker Park Shore Real Estate
Fair Housing Equal Opportunity Broker
Recommended Reading: Learn How To Understand Real Estate Market Cycles
The following is a brief overview and analysis of the combined single-family home and condo market within Kitsap County, Washington for February 2012, provided by Rich Jacobson of Keller Williams West Sound Realty, in Silverdale, WA. Related posts: Kitsap County WA Real Estate Market Report for June 2011 Kitsap County WA Real Estate Market Report for July 20 […]
9009 Martin Avenue in Silverdale WA is a 4BR 4BTH home with nearly 4000 square feet situated in peaceful Silverdale highlands and backs up to a seasonal creek.... Related posts: Another Quality Silverdale WA Home in desirable Crystal Creek Fire in Silverdale WA destroys several popular local businesses […]
A devastating fire broke out yesterday in Silverdale WA at The Desert Sun Tanning Salon, located in the west end of the commercial complex that is shared with Forza and several other area businesses. Related posts: Keller Williams Property Hub is coming to Kitsap County WA […]
