New Status Field Added to Property Details
Recently, our MLS added a new field to our data file called Status and I believe we are the only Central Coast real estate website to display this info for properties. When you display the details for a property, you’ll now see “StatusType” displayed at the end of the list under “Additional Features”.
The possible choices for StatusType are:
Active
Contingent
Contingent REO
Contingent SS (Short Sale)
Active means that the property is on the market with no accepted offers.
Contingent means that there is an accepted offer but it is contingent on something else happening (usually a property the Buyer has that has to sell first). Someone else can submit an offer on a contingent property and if the Seller likes the new offer better, they can allow the first Buyer an opportunity to remove their contingency. If they can’t/won’t, the Seller can cancel the first offer and accept the new offer.
Contingent REO is used at the time the bank/asset manager gives a verbal acceptance. The property is then changed to Pending when the listing agent receives a fully executed purchase contract. When a property goes to Pending status, it no longer appears on the MLS Search.
Contingent-SS is used at the time the seller signs a purchase contract for a Short Sale listing. It’s changed to Pending when the listing agent receives written short sale lender approval.
The StatusType field is particularly useful in Short Sales because banks can take months to respond to submitted purchase contracts.
We will be enhancing our REO and Short Sale Listing Reports to indicate the Status of these properties on the report as well.
Median Home Price Article
As I predicted earlier this month, I read an article yesterday about the median home price in SLO County increasing that didn’t mention anything about a lower percentage of REO homes (with much lower median home prices) as being a reason.
Another article about the median home prices going up in SF and LA did include that more higher-end homes selling in May was the reason for this.
“The jump was attributed to an increase in sales of homes financed by “jumbo” mortgages above $417,000. Sales of homes requiring jumbo mortgages accounted for 25.5 percent of the Bay Area’s home sales in May, the highest since October.”
Auctions Revisited
I heard through the grapevine that someone might try to generate interest in listings that aren’t selling by listing them at a low price on the MLS and classifying them as an auction. The idea is to get offers but the Seller can reject all of them if they are not what the Seller wants, even if they are way above what the list price is on the MLS.
If you’re a Seller and considering something like this you’ll want to be careful when using the MLS. If you put your home on the MLS at a price and another agent brings in an offer from a Buyer at that list price, the Seller may be liable to pay the Buyer Agent a commission even if you don’t take that offer. The minimum that will happen is that you’ll make a lot of Buyers and Buyer Agents unhappy that they are wasting their time putting offers together that the Seller won’t consider taking.
If a home isn’t selling, there are reasons for that. Trying a marketing gimmick using the MLS isn’t the route I’d take. I’d identify the reasons why it isn’t selling and fix those things.
Interesting REO Opportunities
A couple REOs came on the market recently in SLO County neighorhoods that haven’t had that many. Check out our New Listings report. The REOs have the city name in blue.
Mid-month MLS Stats Check
Through yesterday (15th) for SLO County:
New Residential Listings – 214
Pending – 142
Back on Market – 99
The following table lists the homes that have gone Pending Sale in SLO County since June 1st.
73 Percent of California Foreclosures Delayed
According to Foreclosure Radar’s May 2009 California Report, Lendors have voluntarily delayed 73% of scheduled foreclosures.
Download and read their PDF report here
Guadalupe Restaurant On Short List
The Far Western Tavern in Guadalupe is on Sunset Magazines “Top 10 Barbecues in the West”. I’ve never been there but will plan on checking it out sometime this summer!
Tire Pros – SLO
I want to give a shout out to Tire Pros on Higuera in San Luis Obispo (by Smart and Final). I took my daughters shopping in downtown SLO today and noticed my tire pressure warning light was on my new Prius. Turns out there was a nail in one of my back tires. I stopped by Tire Pros and they fixed it within the time they said it would take them. They also wouldn’t accept payment for the flat fix and just asked me to remember them when I needed tires.
Thanks Tire Pros!
Cuesta/Stewart Title Sued by 400 investors
The Tribune just posted an article on their website about a suit against Cuesta Title (Stewart Title) by 400 investors alleging they aided Hurst Financial in a Ponzi scheme.
Flood of Foreclosures
For a few months now, there has been talk that the banks have been holding off putting foreclosures(REOs) on the market and that there will be a flood of them “coming soon”. I’ve been monitoring some Realtor message boards and agents around the country have yet to see indication that the banks are (or soon are) releasing the flood. Some think the banks won’t release a ton of them at once which will just drive down prices yet again which wouldn’t be a good business decision for the banks. Maybe they are waiting to see if inventory levels decrease before releasing them?
If you monitor our New Listings report, you’ll see that we do have REOs (the ones with the city name in blue) coming on the market but they’ve been pretty constant.
Not sure what the answer is….
