HOME SALES SHOW SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN MARCH COMPARED TO MARCH 2008 WITH BIGEGST SINGLE MONTHLY GAINS IN LAST 12 MONTHS



March 2009 results showed for the first time that housing sales are starting to gain traction in all regions across the country. March 2009 housing sales were down only 5.8 percent compared to March 2008 which is best performance on a year over year basis in the last 18 months. While the average price of homes sold fell 14.7% in March 2009 from March 2008, this… Continue

As a result of the May 2008 settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Association of Realtors®, ForSaleByOwner.com will be the nation's first "by owner" real estate Web site to enable home sellers to advertise their home on Realtor.com without appearing on a local Multiple Listing Service (MLS).



"The DOJ-NAR settlement benefited consumers by giving them access to REALTOR.com without the expensive cost of a commission fee," said Greg Healy, vice president of… Continue

JPMorgan Chase & Co. on Oct. 31st announced a loan modification plan that will help as many as 400,000 customers avoid foreclosure. JPMorgan, which has already modified about $40 billion in loans, will not put any loans into foreclosure as it expands its program over the next 90 days. Chase said that within the next 90 days it plans to open 24 new regional counseling centers, hire 300 additional loan counselors, introduce new financing alternatives, proactively reach out to borrowers to… Continue

This article in the weekly Realtrends update caught my eye. The flood of foreclosures and short sales has not crested yet according to this piece. This "new twist" in lender requirements for a short sale may actually add REOs to our inventories. Let's be sure our short sale sellers are aware of this potentiality.



"Increasingly, sellers seeking short sales are encountering a new twist. Lenders are agreeing to let some short sales go through, but they want the home owners… Continue

Areas throughout Western and Southern Nevada into the Sacramento Valley and points south are suffering from very high inventories of unsold single family homes and condos. All of this while South Lake Tahoe, CA inventories are presently leaning more towards historical averages.



As of this writing the single family unsold inventory is just 387, while the condos on the market number 64 per the South Lake Tahoe MLS. Anyone in the business here since 1980 or earlier would attest to the… Continue