Report that Veterans Can’t Get Mortgages They Need
By hdnelson
Jody Kahn at John Burns Real Estate Consulting filed this report based on interviews with construction executives. In essence it boils down to saying that difficulties with getting VA appraisals to come in at value are affecting many new construction home sales. This reflects the overall problems in the construction industry, the inability of home builders to compete on price with distressed property sales and a resale market that is still falling in price. Our experience in residential resale is that buyers of well priced homes are able to get VA financing.
The article contains several assertions that VA appraisers are purposely using the lowest comparable sales, do not take into account the the amenities selected by the buyer, come from out of area and don’t have knowledge of the real estate market they are working in, and are unresponsive to challenges to the appraisal value. Our experience is that we are familiar with most VA appraisers, and that it helps if we, as representatives of the seller, provide them with comparable sales when the appraisal is done. Most issues we have seen recently with appraisals are conditions called for by the underwriter after the appraisal has been turned in.
See the report from John Burns Real Estate.
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By hdnelson
Each month we try to compare some reports about the national real estate market to what we see in our local markets. While nationally the blog Calculated Risk reported that short sales increased significantly in the 4th quarter, we only saw 27% (a very modest rise if any) of last year’s short sales close in Q4. There was also a report from Marc Hanson that the percentage of REO (bank owned) sales In December fell in California as an overall percentage of sales in that market. In our market the number of closed sales that were bank owned rose from 38 in November to 43 in December (up 12%). Our market agrees with the article that $200-300k is the new normal for homebuilders. The article shows that the percentage of sales in the west under $300k was 42% in 2007, but is now 65%. In Kitsap County, the percentage of sales under $300k was 54% (1945 of 3615 total sales) in 2007 and in 2011 was 72% (1829 of 2538 total sales). More at http://tinyurl.com/7pljyjx
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By hdnelson
The number of closed sales in Kitsap County in January fell about 37% from December and was about 6% lower than a year ago. Pending sales rose about 42% compared to last month and were about 16% higher than a year ago. In December, there were 195 closed sales and 191 pending sales. In January there were 123 closed sales and 275 pending sales. 48% of the closed sales were distressed properties (compared to 32% last month). 46% of the pending sales were distressed properties (compared with 38% last month). Among closed distressed sales, bank owned sales were more than 3 times the number of short sales closed. This month we will report that the median price dropped sharply. This reflects the higher percentage of sales that were distress properties. More at http://www.prowserealestate.com/Blog/Kitsap-Real-Estate-Market-Report-February-2012
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By hdnelson
Prowse and Company’s January Waterfront Update is out - see the graphs and download the latest newsletter and stats, as well as our current waterfront listings. Prowse and Company’s January Waterfront Update is out - see the graphs and download the latest newsletter and stats, as well as our current waterfront listings. Closed waterfront sales fell 33% in December compared to November and were down 9% compared to a year ago. Though December sales were down, sales on whole were better in 2011 than in recent years, particularly in the last quarter. December’s listing inventory lags last year by 25% and also fell 24% compared to November. Listing inven- tory is at a 5 year low. Pending sales were the same as last month. December’s inventory turnover rate is about 12 months. This is still definitely a buyer’s market. See more at http://bprowse.com/kitsap_waterfront
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