Nationally Sales of New Homes Increase to Match Two-Year High

[caption id="attachment_4864" align="alignright" width="300"] New Home Building on the Rise[/caption]

The operative word here is, national sales of new homes rose more than projected in July to match a two-year high. An important fact to remember is that real estate is geographical in nature and while the west may have stunning increases, elsewhere in the U.S. may not be as stellar.

THE NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Sales climbed 3.6 percent to a 372,000 annual pace, following a 359,000 rate in June that was higher than previously estimated, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. Last month’s rate was the same as in May, which was the strongest since April 2010. The median forecast of 72 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a rise to 365,000.

Buyers are returning to the market to take advantage of cheaper properties and record-low mortgage rates, helping to boost orders at new home builders. Competition exists from foreclosures, unemployment exceeding 8 percent, and limited credit pose hurdles to a more pronounced rebound.

Some prognosticators believe the demand could continue to climb right on into 2013.

• Sales of new houses were up 25 percent from a year ago – Source: Commerce Department


• The median price for a new house decreased 2.5 percent in July from the same month last year, to $224,200.


• The value of all U.S. homes climbed 1.8 percent in the second quarter from the previous three months, the biggest gain since late 2005. Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency

Sales of new homes, tabulated when contracts are signed, are considered a timelier barometer than purchases of previously owned dwellings, which are calculated when a contract closes. Newly constructed houses accounted for 6.7 percent of the residential market in 2011, down from a high of 15 percent during the boom of the past decade.

The NAR figures also showed distressed sales, comprised of foreclosures and short sales, in which the lender agrees to a transaction for less than the balance of the mortgage, accounted for 24 percent of existing-home purchases. The share was less than the prior month and down from 29 percent in July 2011. Of those, 12 percent were foreclosed houses and 12 percent were short sales.

You can review the local August 2012 financials for the Scottsdale real estate area at Maricopa County Real Estate Market Watch.

Nationally Sales of New Homes Increase to Match Two-Year High

Short Sales Takes a Fast Track

Bank of America Improves Short Sale Procedures

Bank of America is making changes to its short sale procedures and introducing an improved task flow within the short sale technology module from an private online system called Equator. The goal: to reduce the timeframe for a short sale decision to less than three weeks.

Starting Saturday, April 14, real estate professionals working with BofA will be required to submit five documents for short sales initiated with an offer:

• Purchase Contract including Buyer’s Acknowledgment and Disclosure


• HUD-1


• IRS Form 4506-T


• Bank of America Short Sale Addendum, which includes the Agent Certification form


• Bank of America Third-Party Authorization Form

The acknowledgement and disclosure form, short sale addendum, and the form for third-party authorization are available through the company’s online Agent Resource Center.

The third-party authorization form is a new standardized document developed specifically for BofA. Previously, the lender accepted third-party authorization forms in differing formats and from a variety of sources when transacting a short sale.

Bank of America says it recognized a need for greater compliance and consistency with this important document and has now created its own form to standardize the third-party authorization process. The two-page document requires signed acknowledgments from all borrowers and designated representatives in a short sale. Beginning April 14, BofA will accept only the official Bank of America Third-Party Authorization Form for short sales.

The bank’s new short sale process will enable real estate agents, brokers, attorneys, and other short sale specialists involved in pre-foreclosure transactions to complete tasks such as document collection, valuations, and underwriting simultaneously. With these steps running concurrently, the timeline from initiation to closing is reduced. In fact, Bank of America says it will now be able to provide a decision on a short sale offer in 20 days. Typically, BofA’s short sale process has taken anywhere from 45 days upwards.

In continuing to streamline the decision process, should the buyer walk away from the sale, Bank of America is giving agents five days to submit a backup offer. Previously, the backup offer window was 14 days. Interested buyers are limited to two counteroffers and will receive a response from the lender within three days. BofA notes that all email messaging between designated selling agents and their Bank of America short sale specialist will continue to occur within the Equator system. Agents will receive a standard notice via email to log into the system and retrieve their messages.

Bank of America’s short sale and REO executive Bob Hora says the company expects short sales to continue to increase and is taking steps to ensure it is providing decisions quickly and real estate agents are alerted of status as soon as possible.

If your underwater of experiencing the pressure of a possible foreclosure, give our team a call for help. Want to know more before you call> Visit  Short Sale Help at http://www.shortsalehelpscottsdalemetroarea.com

Short Sales Takes a Fast Track