Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Thursday, September 30, 2010
One in five homes sold in Utah in second quarter were foreclosures
Click here for the Salt Lake Tribune article.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Utah remains in top 10 states for foreclosures
Video Courtesy of KSL.com
September 16th, 2010 @ 8:00am
SALT LAKE CITY -- The number of homes lost to foreclosure nationwide jumped nearly 4 percent in August. Utah is still in the top 10 for foreclosures, and the experts say the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Related:
US homes lost to foreclosure up 25 pct on year Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis.
The numbers from RealtyTrac, Inc. show there were more repossessed homes in August than in any other month since the mortgage crisis began three years ago. The report shows 95,364 homes were foreclosed -- that's up 25 percent from August 2009.
There is some good news. The number of properties entering foreclosure actually slowed for the seventh month in a row. Experts say that is due to lenders allowing borrowers who miss their payments to stay in their homes longer.
Highest foreclosure rates
- Nevada
- Florida
- Arizona
- California
- Idaho
- Utah
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Illinois
- Hawaii
Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac senior vice president, says the number of foreclosures may continue to increase before the economy stabilizes. He predicts at best we'll see another record-level year of foreclosures in 2011 before the numbers begin to improve.
In Utah, one in every 230 housing units received a foreclosure filing in August. That's slightly worse than the one in 242 homes foreclosed the previous month.
More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to RealtyTrac. The firm estimates more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year.
Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate last month, with one in every 84 households receiving a foreclosure notice.
------
Story compiled with contributions from Andrew Adams and The Associated Press.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
How much is your home worth?
If you’re like most homeowners in Utah these days, you are probably wondering just how much (or little) your home is worth.
But determining your property’s value — three years into one of the worst real estate downturns ever seen — is far from easy.
It doesn’t matter what you paid for your home. It also doesn’t matter how much you owe on your mortgage. What your neighbor sold his home for six months ago? Nope. Also irrelevant is what the home down the street is listed for now.
So how do you get an accurate snapshot of your home’s value if you’re considering selling or refinancing to take advantage of low mortgage rates? Here are some of the ways to put a price tag on the largest investment you’ll probably ever make — and insights on just how accurate those methods really are:
—
Appraisal » It’s the most expensive of the options, but it’s also probably the most accurate way to gauge how much your home is worth. For about $300 to $500, appraisers take the recent selling prices of comparable properties in your area and adjust for any differences. A full appraisal requires an examination of the exterior and interior of a property.
“Your home is worth only what someone is actually willing is to pay for it at any point in time,” said Ron White, a residential appraiser in Salt Lake City.
An appraisal is the best guess of what that price is. But in this type of market, even appraisers are having a difficult time pinpointing a property’s value. That’s because prices in many areas are still falling, and in some neighborhoods there are so few homes actually selling that there are few comparables.
“It is very difficult,” White said. “I used to be able to go into an area and find multiple comparable sales. Now, sometimes, if I’m able to find a handful of sales, I’m very lucky.”
At the height of the market, full appraisals weren’t so crucial. In fact, many lenders ordered so-called drive-by appraisals when borrowers were refinancing in which appraisers viewed the property only from the outside. “The problem is that you can’t see the condition of the home, and you may not know how much of the basement is finished,” White said.
These days, full appraisals are more the norm. And so is the shock over how far values have fallen.
At the beginning of the downturn in mid-2007 and 2008, many homeowners had inflated views of what their properties were worth and refused to accept reality, Realtors say.
Today, most sellers are fully aware of what has happened to the prices of homes, including their own, although many are frustrated or upset when they see the bottom line on paper.
—
Recent comparable sales » The next best thing to an appraisal is to look at selling prices for properties comparable to and near your property. The key is to stick with those as similar as possible to your own in terms of square footage, amenities and lot size. Any real estate agent can provide this information.
Selecting properties that have sold recently is important along the Wasatch Front, where prices have been falling. “I have properties listed in the $400,000s and $500,000s that sold for $1 million four years ago,” said Micah Pearson, a Realtor with Keller Williams Utah Realty in Salt Lake City.
Next Page »Friday, August 27, 2010
Utah foreclosure rate climbs
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/50172091-79/foreclosure-percent-mortgage-homes.html.csp
Paul Sakuma | The Assoviated Press Metro areas with the highest levels of foreclosure activity, including Las Vegas; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; and Modesto, Calif., actually saw declines in filings over the past year.
© 2010 The Salt Lake Tribune
Paul Sakuma | The Assoviated Press Metro areas with the highest levels of foreclosure activity, including Las Vegas; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla.; and Modesto, Calif., actually saw declines in filings over the past year.
More than 8 percent of Utah households with a mortgage were at risk of foreclosure this summer, reflecting continued weakness in the state’s economy and housing market.
Nationally, nearly 10 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment as of June, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday.
While some aspects of the quarterly report show improvement in problem loans both in Utah and the nation as a whole, the number of people losing their homes to foreclosure remains discouragingly high.
And the percentage of delinquent loans — those at least one month past due — continues to climb both in Utah and nationally. Many delinquencies result in foreclosures later on.
As of June, about 4.6 percent of all borrowers nationally were in foreclosure. In Utah, only about 3.4 percent of about 439,000 homeowners with a mortgage were in the process of losing their homes to foreclosure. While Utah’s foreclosure rate is lower than the national average, the state’s rate is climbing and is up from just under 3 percent last year. Utah is ranked 24th in the nation in foreclosures.
“Ultimately the housing story, whether it is delinquencies, home sales or housing starts, is an employment story,” Jay Brinkmann, the trade group’s top economist, said in a statement. “Only when we see a consistent increase in employment will we see an increase in sales and starts, and a sustained improvement in the delinquency numbers.”
In addition to the poor job market, foreclosures also have been climbing due to falling home prices. When prices are falling, as they are in most areas of the Wasatch Front, more homeowners end up owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
According to another report out Thursday, about 19.3 percent of all residential properties in Salt Lake City with a mortgage were in a so-called “negative equity” situation in the second quarter.
An additional 6.3 percent were approaching the point at which they would owe more on their homes than their homes are worth, according to California-based business information firm CoreLogic.
Think that’s a lot of folks who are “under water?”
In Nevada, an estimated 68 percent of all of its mortgaged properties are underwater, followed by Arizona (50 percent), Florida (46 percent), Michigan (38 percent) and California (33 percent).
Those homeowners are at greater risk of getting in a financial bind should they lose a job or face some other financial hardship and have to sell their property.
“A substantial number of people owe more on their homes than they are worth, and they continue to walk away,” said Colorado economist Tucker Hart Adams.
Adams said another factor driving delinquencies are all those risky loans with undesirable terms made during the height of the market. A number of borrowers with those loans can’t refinance into super-low fixed rate loans and will eventually lose their properties to foreclosure.
For a number of reasons, "I think we’re a long way from recovery,” she said.
Government efforts also haven’t made much of a difference in preventing foreclosures, experts say. Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration’s main mortgage-relief program have been cut loose through July, the Treasury Department said last week. The program is intended to help those at risk of foreclosure by lowering their monthly mortgage payments.
Only about a third of those who started the program have received permanent loan modifications and are making their payments on time.
lesley@sltrib.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.
—
Nationally 1 in 10 mortgages in trouble
Mortgage defaults high • One in 10 American households with a mortgage was at risk of foreclosure this summer, and the crisis could worsen if jobs remain scarce.
Worrisome sign • The number of homeowners starting to have problems with their mortgages rose after trending downward last year.
Modestly encouraging news • The number of homes in the foreclosure process fell slightly, the first drop in four years.
© 2010 The Salt Lake Tribune
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Latest on Utah's Real Estate Market
Salt Lake Tribune (blog)
... posting as many deals as I would have liked to in the past few days, but I've been busier than usual this week reporting on Utah's real estate market. ...
See all stories on this topic »
Salt Lake Tribune
“I would have thought we'd be seeing some improvement [in the housing market] by July,” said Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah's Bureau of ..
Utah's foreclosure rate climbs
Salt Lake Tribune
Utah is ranked 24th-highest among all states in foreclosures. “Ultimately the housing story, whether it is delinquencies, home sales or housing starts, ...
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Salt Lake County drop in July home sales mirrors U.S. figures
Salt Lake County drop in July home sales mirrors U.S. figures
Published: Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 9:21 p.m. MDT
SALT LAKE CITY — July home sales in Salt Lake County dropped by about one-third compared to a year ago, mirroring a national downward trend.
But that's no reason to be "Henny Penny sky is falling," said Salt Lake Board of Realtors President Bill Heiner.
"I think Utah is in a much better position than the rest of the nation," he said Tuesday. "Our job numbers have increased as well, so I have to be little more positive than the national media."
Heiner pointed to mortgage rates hovering near 4 percent as one reason for his optimism. He expects the market to look better and better through the end of the year, although homes will continue to take a long time to sell.
According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, the drop to just 718 home sales in July is the lowest since electronic records started in 1996.
Nationally, sales of single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses fell by more than 27 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million, the National Association of Realtors said. July posted the largest monthly drop on record since 1968, and sharp declines were recorded in all regions of the country.
Realtors both nationally and locally pointed to now-expired government tax credits as a reason for the end-of-summer decline.
"There were a lot of people who were on the fence," Heiner said of first-time homebuyers who purchased existing homes this spring. "Those people who were on the fence got off. I think that we're in a lull from that."
Throughout the nation, sales were particularly weak among homes in the lower- to mid-priced ranges. In Utah, however, 60 percent of the home sales in July were closed at $300,000 or less. Of those, 124 were priced between $100,000 and $149,000, and 140 went for between $250,000 and $299,999. Only three homes priced over $1 million were sold.
Nationally, the median home price was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.
One reason the market is hurting is that buyers and sellers are in a standoff over prices. Many sellers are reluctant to lower their prices, and buyers are hesitating because they think home prices haven't bottomed out.
"Price is king right now," Heiner said. "It's because of the mind-set of the buyers. They want to knock 10 percent to 15 percent, and sellers can only go so low."
For some, the plunge in home sales magnified fears about the broader economy.
"The housing market is undermining the already faltering wider economic recovery," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics. "With the increasingly inevitable double dip in prices yet to come, things could yet get a lot worse."
Contributing: Associated Press
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700059816/Salt-Lake-County-drop-in-July-home-sales-mirrors-US-figures.html
Published: Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010 9:21 p.m. MDT
SALT LAKE CITY — July home sales in Salt Lake County dropped by about one-third compared to a year ago, mirroring a national downward trend.
But that's no reason to be "Henny Penny sky is falling," said Salt Lake Board of Realtors President Bill Heiner.
"I think Utah is in a much better position than the rest of the nation," he said Tuesday. "Our job numbers have increased as well, so I have to be little more positive than the national media."
Heiner pointed to mortgage rates hovering near 4 percent as one reason for his optimism. He expects the market to look better and better through the end of the year, although homes will continue to take a long time to sell.
According to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, the drop to just 718 home sales in July is the lowest since electronic records started in 1996.
Nationally, sales of single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses fell by more than 27 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million, the National Association of Realtors said. July posted the largest monthly drop on record since 1968, and sharp declines were recorded in all regions of the country.
Realtors both nationally and locally pointed to now-expired government tax credits as a reason for the end-of-summer decline.
"There were a lot of people who were on the fence," Heiner said of first-time homebuyers who purchased existing homes this spring. "Those people who were on the fence got off. I think that we're in a lull from that."
Throughout the nation, sales were particularly weak among homes in the lower- to mid-priced ranges. In Utah, however, 60 percent of the home sales in July were closed at $300,000 or less. Of those, 124 were priced between $100,000 and $149,000, and 140 went for between $250,000 and $299,999. Only three homes priced over $1 million were sold.
Nationally, the median home price was $182,600 in July, up 0.7 percent from a year ago.
One reason the market is hurting is that buyers and sellers are in a standoff over prices. Many sellers are reluctant to lower their prices, and buyers are hesitating because they think home prices haven't bottomed out.
"Price is king right now," Heiner said. "It's because of the mind-set of the buyers. They want to knock 10 percent to 15 percent, and sellers can only go so low."
For some, the plunge in home sales magnified fears about the broader economy.
"The housing market is undermining the already faltering wider economic recovery," said Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics. "With the increasingly inevitable double dip in prices yet to come, things could yet get a lot worse."
Contributing: Associated Press
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700059816/Salt-Lake-County-drop-in-July-home-sales-mirrors-US-figures.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)