Shortage of Short Sales

SoCal's Housing Recovery has made it hard for investors and savvy home buyers to find deals on Short Sales. 

Today in the East Valley (San Bernardino, Colton-Grand Terrace, Loma Linda, Highland, Redlands and Yucaipa) there are only 48 short sale listings compared to 449 standard listings.

Short sales often offer buyers the chance to buy homes below market value.  Often that's because the properties are distressed and need repairs or maintenance that may have been deferred.   

The inventory of short sales is back to normal levels even though there are many home owners who owe more than their home is worth.  One reason -- there are still many homes in some stage of foreclosure but the lenders are continuing to allow the owners to reside there even though they are in default.

With home prices up more than 30% since the first of the year many owners and lenders are waiting for home values to rise so that these homes have equity and eventually sold for more money. 

Also impacting the Short Sale Listing volume are bulk sales that lenders made during the past year to dump these "toxic" assets to companies that specialize in improving and selling them.

Buying or selling Short Sales is easier and less time consuming that it used to be.  Many lenders have streamlined the process so buyers can make offers, get them accepted and close in 60-90 days. Many lenders offer incentives to home owners who cooperatively participate in a Short Sale transaction. 

Let us know if you have questions about buying or selling Short Sales.

Timing the market

Timing is everything.  Buy low and sell high, right?

Let's look at Redlands where home prices jumped more than $30,000 or 10% in June.  And interest rates rose another 15%.  The time to buy is now.

But many buyers need to sell their home to move up, downsize or be closer to work.  Many sellers are watching home prices and are holding, anticipating continued increases. Waiting may make sense but its likely the cost of buying will go up too.

Inventories are improving and so are sales with 210 closed sales in Redlands in June.  There are similar success stories for Colton-Grand Terrace, Highland and Yucaipa.

  

Scarcity

Low inventories and high buyer demand have created scarcity in Southern California.

Besides the obvious - that sellers can expect more money for their homes - this imbalance has also made it easier to sell homes quickly and without much hassle.

Homes priced right will sell in almost any market condition.  But today and until scarcity ceases owners are able to sell homes that may not be in great condition or the best location.

The window of opportunity will close when more homes are listed for sale.  There are signs of that already happening.  The bump in interest rates and pent up demand for some owners to sell and buy their next home will cause more to list and sell.