February 16th, 2011 by Harvey Blankfeld
Available inventory remains stable. Prices remain stable for listings under $200,000. Listings above that are still experiencing some small drops. Short sales dominate our market but traditional sellers are making up a bigger portion of our current inventory than we’ve seen in recent years. We’ve seen some small improvement in appraisals where the appraisers seem to be giving value to the condition of the property.
Tags: banks, buying homes, home appraisals, inventory, las vegas, market, negotiate, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Appraisals, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
October 15th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
We are seeing a recurring issue in trying to close deals when there is a third party approval required (Short Sale). The lender (servicer, investor, MI company, etc) is countering the offer with an inflated value on the property. When we challenge the counter by pointing out that the comparable properties don’t support their inflated counter offer the lender invariably replies that the value was based on their appraisal. I find that reply to be somewhat insulting, but I can’t challenge it. I also believe that more times than not it’s actually not an appraisal but a BPO (Broker’s Price Opinion). That means the bank asked another Real Estate agent about the value and paid a minimal amount to get it. Then again, the bank might just be pulling a number out of thin air and claiming it’s an appraisal as we would never actually see the appraisal.
The way we have succesfully moved forward under these circumstances is to encourage the buyer to accept the counter and invest in an appraisal from their own lender. We sometimes extend the buyers additional diligence so they don’t have to spend money on an inspection if they don’t go forward on the deal. What this does is gives us an actual appraised value on the home and the lender that has to approve the short sale is faced with the reality of that appraisal. The short sale lender has reduced to the appraised value each time we have done this and the buyer has been able to close the deal at a true value.
There is some risk on behalf of the buyer, because if the appraisal comes in at the inflated number, then the buyer has to choose whether to move forward or not. I would point out that if an appraiser brought in the value, it is most likely accurate as most appraisers these days find it very easy to bring values in low.
Just another twist in our ever evolving real estate market!
Tags: banks, buyers, home appraisals, las vegas, lenders, negotiate, real estate, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Appraisals, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
October 11th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Subject:Las Vegas Realtor
Dear Willa –
I saw your message in today’s ePro email regarding a buyer for Las Vegas. I referred one of my buyers to Harvey Blankfeld, CRS, ABR. He’s with Prudential Americana and his team is the Brown Blankfeld Group. His phone number is 702-203-1165. His email is Harvey@BrownBlankfeld.com. My client loved Harvey and is very happy with the purchase she made in Las Vegas. I think you would be very comfortable that your client is in good hands with Harvey.
You’re welcome to call me if you have any questions at 310-791-3620. If I don’t pick up, please leave a message as I will be paged and will respond as quickly as I can.
Cordially,
Karen Williams
Prudential California Realty
Los Angeles
Tags: agents, buyers, buying homes, downward market, las vegas, market, real estate, realtors, referral, sellers, selling homes, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
October 5th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
Inventory is increasing due to a growing number of REO’s (Foreclosures). Activity has fallen off since the tax credit has expired. Las Vegas home prices are holding steady but we believe that prices may fall over the next several months as inventory continues to grow and activity continues to decrease as we head into the holiday season. Short sales still remain predominant listing type in our multiple listing service. While the banks are becoming more proficient at short sales, they are still dealing with many, many changes.
Tags: buyers, buying homes, downward market, inventory, las vegas, market, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Foreclosures, Las Vegas Home Sales, Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
July 2nd, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
While pricing remains stable, inventories have grown since the removal of the federal tax credit. We are stil selling to those that were not eligible to those that were not eligible for the tax credit but the demand has decreased. Short sales are dominating our market. More buyers are willing to wait the extended periods it takes to close. Investors are still seeking great deals.
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, buying homes, las vegas, market, real estate, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
June 4th, 2010 by Harvey Blankfeld
While inventory remains tight and low, lenders and appraisers are keeping prices low as well. Activity is still strong. Inventory levels indicate a seller’s market but pricing continues to favor buyers.
Tags: buyers, buying homes, las vegas, lenders, market, real estate, sellers, selling homes, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
May 1st, 2010 by Christina Yeakel
As I write the May Newsletter, I am sitting here at my office desk, looking out the spacious window that views a flowering plum tree and a multitude of blossoming shrubs and trees whose names have long escaped me. I am quite fortunate to have an office that allows me to keep in touch with the beauty of the outdoor landscape. This view has inspired me on many an occasion.
Today the sun is shining brightly, the sky is peppered with beautiful cumulus clouds that seem to be stuck in slow motion, I can even hear a passing covey of quail that are well hidden from sight, but have made their presence known with their distinctive calling. The desert is truly a beautiful place to live and work!
What is so unique about today is that when I turned on the radio to capture the latest financial headline, all I heard were warnings about our dire circumstances nationally and particularly for Southern Nevada. When you drill down to the sources of reporting, you find bits of truth designed to capture your attention, but they contain little substance or veracity. Real estate is normally at the focus of these commentaries. If you believe these forecasters of economic gloom, owners would never sell their house; renters would never become first time buyers; and investors would park their disposable cash in cd’s and wait for the next decade to take risk.
Oh, by the way, the weather forecast for today was for thunderstorms and high winds; another forecast gone awry.
Tags: balance, economy, las vegas, Personal Development, real estate, spring, trends
Posted in Personal Development | 2 Comments »
April 8th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
The meaning of the word “contingent” with regard to a real estate sale has changed dramatically over the years. Originally, when I first started selling real estate the term “contingent” was used when the house was sold “contingent on the buyer selling his existing home”. These buyers could be “bumped” from the transaction by a buyer without a home to sell. There was usually a “first right of refusal” with a time period where the first buyer would either remove the contingency and make the earnest money non-refundable (only when they felt the sale of their existing home was a sure thing), or the transaction was canceled and the home was sold to the second buyer.
Next, the word “contingent” was used primarily because the sale was contingent upon the buyer completing something during their due diligence period such as an inspection or an appraisal. These buyers could not be bumped and a second buyer could write a back-up offer.
Now, the word “contingent” still applies to the case above but the primary use of the term is for a contingency on the part of the seller- short sale approval. Obviously, in this case, the second person interested in the property can do nothing about it unless the first buyer cancels because they have lost interest or don’t want to wait for the approval process.
Agents need to educate their buyers because the contingent properties still show as “available” in the MLS and on REALTOR.COM. This is very confusing to the general public. I recently had a buyer asked me “Why don’t you send me everything that meets my criteria. You are leaving out all the good properties!” After a detailed discussion, we discovered he was interested in “contingent properties” and thought he could step in front of those buyers because he has cash and no home to sell. This is not the case.
I could have lost a buyer because he thought I was only sending him certain properties and not the ones he liked the best. What “contingent” means in the current market needs to be one of the first discussions we have with our buyers. This is an important step in the education process and will alleviate headaches for all parties involved.
Tags: agents, buyers, buying homes, contingency, las vegas, market, real estate, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales | No Comments »
March 25th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
Years ago, when the world was in balance and real estate agents were in step with each other, an offer was written for a client and then presented to the seller. The offer was either accepted, rejected, or countered in a timely manner. Everyone knew what was going on and the clients viewed the agents as professional, responsive, and knowledgeable.
Now that banks control a large portion of our market, the agents have educated the buyers to know that it may be weeks for a reply or you may never hear at all! (The listing status may just be changed to “no longer available” in the computer). Why are we dealing with short sales in the same manner which is disrespectful to other agents and their clients?????
In a short sale, the seller of the property (NOT the bank with the mortgage!) signs the offer. Have we not prepared our sellers to be available to accept an offer?? The seller should be encouraged to sign an offer with a buyer that has these important qualifications:
1. Time to wait for the short sale to be approved.
2. Education that some of the costs they ask for may be turned down by the bank approving the short sale.
3. An “at list” offer- not a crazy bidding war offer. The bank with the short sale may ask for more so the buyer’s agent needs to prepare the buyers that they may have to increase their offer.
4. A professional agent that addresses the above items in the letter accompanying the offer.
5. An investor’s offer may not be the best offer because generally, they are making more than one offer.
6. Finally, EARNEST money with the offer and a willingness to place it in escrow!
Let’s answer (in a timely manner), the buyers that are willing to give us an offer that comes closest to meeting the criteria above! Let’s see some professionalism in real estate in cases where we have some control.
Tags: agents, banks, buyers, buying homes, downward market, las vegas, market, mortgage, negotiate, real estate, sellers, selling homes, short sales, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Short Sales | No Comments »
March 24th, 2010 by Shelley Brown
Hear ye, hear ye!! For all those buyers looking for property in this crazy market, believe the cold, hard facts!!!
FACTS
- Believe that there are multiple offers!
- Believe that you are not the only buyer paying cash. Over 50% of the sales are cash.
- Make an offer TODAY if you like the house. It will not be there tomorrow.
- Real estate agents only get paid if the deal closes. They want to give you good advice to make something happen for you.
- We care about selling you the right house at the right price. We want future business from you!!!
Only the buyers that hustle get a property in today’s Las Vegas real estate market. Don’t be left out in the cold!
Tags: buyers, buying homes, las vegas, market, real estate, trends
Posted in Las Vegas Home Sales, Uncategorized | No Comments »
