The attached link will bring up a very good presentation from NAR on a new short sale program. It would appear the government is trying to reduce the time and uncertainty involved in this process. Although no panacea and not without some kinks, it appears to be a step in the right direction towards getting these difficult transactions done in a timely fashion. We will see.

http://blog.aaronline.com/2010/04/new-short-sale-rules-kick-in-on-monday/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AARBlog+%28Blog.AAROnline.com%29

Charlie

Some days you wake up and you just don't know what the day will bring. A week ago I was having a more or less normal Saturday with a mixture of real estate and personal time. On my way back to my ranch, I had a voicemail message from the owner of Realty Executives Southern Arizona inviting me to two meetings on Tuesday. There had been some rumors of change so I was somewhat prepared for "news". No clarifications came over the transom before I set out for Tucson with one of the other agents from my office.

Very shortly into his opening remarks, Anthony announced that he had reached an agreement with Keller Williams Realty and that they had formed Keller Williams Southern Arizona. A bit of unrest ensued in the room as we all waited for more. It came fast and with lots to digest. This luncheon for the more noticeable folks in the company was followed by another general meeting that went on the rest of the afternoon. We were informed by KW leadership about the new company and encouraged to move our licenses as soon as possible and that there would be another meeting the following morning.

Truthfully, I consider KW one of the very best national brands and since Realty Executives International did not seem to be keeping up with its competition in delivering more and better tools to the agents, I am actually quite happy with the change. I applaud our management team for being proactive on behalf of their agents. So onward under a new name with great enthusiasm I go. Come on along with me!

The following link takes you to an article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal about global warming. It is yet another explanation, but perhaps more plausible. http://ow.ly/12gus

The national real estate markets, save for commercial, are generally looking very positive. Financing is still an issue and selling one home to buy another is still not the easiest task to complete. Nevertheless, the overall trend seems strong and sustainable.

The Mountain Empire market is still undergoing some adjustment as there have not been nearly enough purchases of homes to offset the replacement inventory. Last year there were about 70 homes in our area listed in the Tucson MLS. The other day the total was 102! The normal level should be in the 60's, or about 1 1/2 years. (Normal for urban markets is about 6 months which is about where Tucson is.) So, we have a great buyer's market with many choices in all price ranges. The way we are absorbing inventory (not!) leads me to think it will be a year to two years before we are close to normal levels. -- As for land, it is still hardly selling at this point. This fact is the result of too many homes on the market and too few buyers in general.
In summary: If you are a seller, you must be patient and you must make sure your home or lot is priced right. If you are a buyer, you won't see a better time than now in our market.If you have spare cash to invest, think about land. If you are thinking of relocating here, aggressively price your current home so you can take advantage of the excellent inventory we now have.

Have a wonderful week!

The attached article provides some good information on the housing market through November. This is a national perspective and not necessarily your market or our Mountain Empire market.

Let me know what you think.

It's 12/27/2009. Twenty-Ten is just hours away. I'm well into my thinking and planning for next year, but I am still reflecting on the year almost past.
All of us in the real estate business were faced with new and challenging opportunities this year. It wasn't so much that we didn't know it was coming, but most of us are optimists and accepting the reality of fewer buyers in the market - and many fewer they were in the Mountain Empire - was really uncharted territory. We hunkered down and readjusted all our marketing and promotional efforts to bring in buyers to our overabundant inventory. It was a real buying opportunity!

Well a couple of things happened: Active home listings climbed from 79 to 95 and total transactions (homes and land) were almost identical to 2008 and half of 2007. So our inventory is still way out of balance and actually moving in the wrong direction. Tucson, on the other hand, is now virtually in balance with about a six months supply of homes versus our three year supply!

In order to see this market return to normal, we need the target markets from whence our buyers come to come back in balance like Tucson so they can sell their current homes. Even though interest rates are still historically low, lenders are not lending without reasonable down payments and very good credit. Cash is king!

I believe our market is poised to begin a sustained rebound by mid-year, if not sooner. We have traditionally lagged Tucson by six months or so and that market "normalized" in the third quarter. I am excited to have so many opportunities for my buyer clients and I believe my sellers will be happy as well!

I am currently in Alexandria, VA in the middle of a blizzard awaiting the arrival of my second granddaughter. It started snowing around 9 last night and when I woke up this morning there was a good 3" or more. About 11:30 we headed out for a late breakfast at a locals restaurant and then made a stop at Trader Joe's for some provisions, just in case we can't get out for a day or two. Also, it's my birthday. We were supposed to go over to the kids for a celebration, but common sense says to stay put. Looking down on the city below, it seems most people are following that advice. Not what the merchants want to hear! The visibility is down to about a 1/4 mile or less and the snow is probably 9" or more, but I can't tell for sure from my covered patio. Ihere it is in the 60's and sunny in Elgin. I'd like to be there, but I want to be here when Melanie shows up.

Some days the sunrise is so expansive, the only way to photograph it is to take a movie. I hope you enjoy this little clip. http://twitfs.com/y6ow

First of all, "statistics" is a misnomer. With a total of 3 transactions, it is hard to have any "statistics". But, that's better than last year when there were 2 transactions!