Foreclosure Sales Continue to Plummet

Posted on April 19, 2012 by John Reagan

For the second month in a row we’ve seen a dramatic drop in the number of properties sold at foreclosure, or “trustee sale”, auctions. Foreclosure sales in California are down 16.7 percent from February to March 2012 and down 53.1 percent from March a year ago. A total of 86,487 sales were scheduled to occur in California, but of those 80.0 percent postponed, and 10.6 percent were cancelled, leaving just 8,392 that were actually sold. Third parties, typically investors, purchased a record 38.6% of the properties that did sell in California.

Foreclosure starts rose in most states, with the largest increases occurring in Washington, California and Nevada. This, at least temporarily, reverses a downward trend, but even with the increase the volume of new foreclosures remains significantly down year-over-year in all the states we cover.

The increase in foreclosure starts is especially interesting in Nevada. Bank foreclosures came to an almost complete halt there after the passage of Assembly Bill 284, which made significant changes to Nevada’s foreclosure laws. The increase this month is directly attributable to new foreclosure starts by Fannie Mae, which is one of very few lenders to have filed any new foreclosures in Nevada since September 2011. Even with the increase by Fannie Mae it is still homeowner associations that are initiating the vast majority of foreclosures in Nevada.

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California to Enforce Overlooked Property Tax Law as a Source of Revenue

Posted on March 23, 2012 by John Reagan

One of our real estate predictions will soon have an impact on your tax return.

At the end of 2010, Sean O’Toole predicted that states would to look to property taxes to make up budget shortfalls. During 2011, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) proposed a change to Schedule CA to require the information necessary to enforce an overlooked area of the real estate tax deduction.

The real estate tax deduction applies to ad valorem taxes, the real estate tax amount based on the assessed value of a property. Taxes based on a direct levy or special assessment, such as Mello-Roos or various services provided to specific properties are generally not deductible.

However, many taxpayers are not aware of this distinction and in practice most individuals or their tax preparers include the total property tax on Schedule CA. Until recently the FTB didn’t have the capability to determine whether the reported number included non-deductible taxes, but a computer system planned for 2012 will give the FTB that capability.

The FTB had planned to enforce compliance stating this year by adding three lines to the 2011 state tax returns that would require property owners to show their parcel number, total property tax bill and the deductible amount. On November 1, 2011 the FTB announced the decision to delay the change to Schedule CA for a year and use 2012 to educate taxpayers and preparers on the rules. The board encourages voluntary compliance for 2011 tax returns and plans to enforce the rules on the 2012 Schedule CA.

As part of the education effort, the FTB created a page on their website called Understanding the Real Estate Tax Deduction that explains the rules and provides an example tax bill with the ad valorem taxes and direct levies or special assessments broken down.

For the 2011 tax year, some preparers are requiring their clients to bring in the county property tax statement before they will include the deduction in the Schedule CA.

The FTB estimates that the change will bring in an additional $200 million of revenue per year and that voluntary compliance could bring in $20 million this year.

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California February Home Sales

Posted on March 17, 2012 by John Reagan

An estimated 29,630 new and resale houses and condos were sold across California last month. That was up 5.4 percent from 28,111 in January, and up 8.5 percent from 27,320 in February 2011.

A slight increase in sales from January to February is normal for the season. Last month’s sales were the strongest for a February since 31,228 homes were sold in 2007. On a year-over-year basis, sales have increased the past seven months. Statewide sales for the month of February have varied from a low of 20,513 in 2008 to a high of 48,409 in 2004, while the average is 32,017. DataQuick’s statistics go back to 1988.

The median price paid for a California home last month was $239,000, up 1.3 percent from $236,000 in January, and down 2.0 percent from $244,000 for February a year ago. The median has decreased on a year-over-year basis for the last 17 months. The median’s low point for the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009, while its peak was $484,000 in early 2007.

Distressed property sales – the combination of foreclosure resales and “short sales” – continued to make up more than half of California’s resale market.

Of the existing homes sold last month, 34.3 percent were properties that had been foreclosed on during the past year. That was unchanged from January and down from 40.1 percent in February a year ago. The high point for the current cycle was in February 2009 at 58.5 percent.

Short sales – transactions where the sale price fell short of what was owed on the property – made up an estimated 20.9 percent of the resale market last month. That was down from 21.2 percent the month before and up from 18.7 percent a year earlier. Two years ago short sales made up an estimated 17.5 percent of the resale market.

The typical mortgage payment that home buyers committed themselves to paying last month was $901. That was up slightly from January’s $893, which was the lowest since $882 in February 1999. Adjusted for inflation, last month’s typical payment was 59.8 percent below the 1989 peak of the prior real estate cycle, and 67.4 percent below the 2006 peak of the current cycle.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Indicators of market distress continue to move in different directions. Foreclosure activity is high, but well below peak levels. Financing with multiple mortgages is low, down payment sizes are stable, and cash and non-owner occupied buying remain at or near record levels, DataQuick reported.

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Foreclosure Activity Continues to Fall

Posted on March 13, 2012 by John Reagan

The “foreclosure wave” many predicted at the end of last year is beginning to look more like a drought, as foreclosure sales dropped significantly in February. Although sales to 3rd Parties, typically investors, were down month-over-month, as a percentage of all sales 3rd Parties purchased a record 37.6 percent of foreclosures, up from 20.3 percent a year earlier, and just 2.2 percent in February 2008.

Further eliminating any possibility of a foreclosure wave for months to come, was a substantial drop in new foreclosure filings in California, Nevada, and Washington. Arizona saw a modest increase in foreclosure starts, while Oregon jumped a dramatic 39.4 percent. Despite the size of the increase, it simply offset a drop in January, and showed little change in comparison to earlier months. Nevada remains far below the average number of foreclosure starts; and the dramatic changes to their foreclosure laws will likely drag out the Nevada foreclosure process for years to come.

Unlike years past, February’s drop in sales was not due to the short month. Thanks to the Leap Year, California had only one less business day than usual in February (because of the Abraham Lincoln’s birthday observation). The other states do not observe Lincoln’s birthday, and so had the same number of business days as other months.

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California REALTORS® applaud Obama’s proposal to help troubled homeowners

Posted on March 9, 2012 by John Reagan

LOS ANGELES (Feb. 2) – The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ (C.A.R.) applauds President Obama’s proposal to help millions of underwater homeowners who are current on their mortgage to refinance.

“We are pleased that President Obama understands that a recovery in the housing market is essential to a recovery in the nation’s economy,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold.  “Allowing homeowners whose homes are not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to refinance could benefit additional homeowners who are struggling to keep up with their mortgage payments and help thousands of California families who are paying far above the current rate.”

President Obama’s proposal would help eligible, underwater homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments to refinance or modify their loan into safer, more affordable mortgages and take advantage of historically low interest rates.  Under the plan, California households could save more than $3,000 a year, which could potentially have a positive impact on consumer spending.

The president’s plan also included a Federal Housing Finance Administration pilot program to transition Real Estate Owned (REO) properties into rental housing.  While C.A.R. recognizes that this plan may be beneficial in markets where REO inventory is high, the Association opposes its implementation in California, given low inventory and high demand, even in the state’s hardest hit areas.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States, with more than 160,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

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