Foreclosure Update

According to a release on INMAN News on Friday loans entered the foreclosure process at a record rate during the fourth quarter, and things are likely to get worse before they get better, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

Although reductions in short-term interest rates have lessened the shock of interest-rate resets for many borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, falling home prices are leaving more homeowners with little or no equity in their homes -- and less incentive to keep up on their mortgage payments.

Foreclosure Update

According to a release on INMAN News on Friday loans entered the foreclosure process at a record rate during the fourth quarter, and things are likely to get worse before they get better, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association said today.

Although reductions in short-term interest rates have lessened the shock of interest-rate resets for many borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, falling home prices are leaving more homeowners with little or no equity in their homes -- and less incentive to keep up on their mortgage payments.

Charlottesville VA Real Estate Market Update

Charlottesville Real Estate Market Update

Currently Active Properties: 2,372
Median Price of Active Properties: $324,995
Average Days on Market for Active Properties: 148

Sold in February: 141
Median Price of Solds: $260,000
Average Days on Market for Solds: 138
Total Volume of Sold Property: $54,527,788

What can we derive from these numbers? Well, there was over 54 million dollars of sold property in the month of February in the Charlottesville Area (which includes Charlottesville, Albemarle, Green, Louisa, Fluvanna, and Orange). We can obtain the months of inventory by taking the number of sold properties in February and dividing that into the number of active properties. So 2372/141 = 16.8 months of inventory in the Charlottesville Area. The good news is that this number is down from 20.1 months of inventory that we had at the end of January. This show the market is slowly inproving on a monthly basis.

There could be a number of reasons for this. First, its an election year, and history shows that during election years, intrest rates drop, and there is generally a boost in the economy. This year is no different. Interest rates did drop and after they hit rock bottom and started to slightly rise again, real estate picked up.

We'll see if this trend remains.

Browse Charlottesville Real Estate
The statistics used came directly from CAAR (The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors).

Charlottesville VA Real Estate Market Update

Charlottesville Real Estate Market Update

Currently Active Properties: 2,372
Median Price of Active Properties: $324,995
Average Days on Market for Active Properties: 148

Sold in February: 141
Median Price of Solds: $260,000
Average Days on Market for Solds: 138
Total Volume of Sold Property: $54,527,788

What can we derive from these numbers? Well, there was over 54 million dollars of sold property in the month of February in the Charlottesville Area (which includes Charlottesville, Albemarle, Green, Louisa, Fluvanna, and Orange). We can obtain the months of inventory by taking the number of sold properties in February and dividing that into the number of active properties. So 2372/141 = 16.8 months of inventory in the Charlottesville Area. The good news is that this number is down from 20.1 months of inventory that we had at the end of January. This show the market is slowly inproving on a monthly basis.

There could be a number of reasons for this. First, its an election year, and history shows that during election years, intrest rates drop, and there is generally a boost in the economy. This year is no different. Interest rates did drop and after they hit rock bottom and started to slightly rise again, real estate picked up.

We'll see if this trend remains.

Browse Charlottesville Real Estate
The statistics used came directly from CAAR (The Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors).

Foreclosures Even Affecting the Rich - Lender to Michael Jackson: Pay up or Beat It

Foreclosures are even affecting the Rich right now. Last month the Hearst mansion went to auction, and now it looks like Neverland Ranch, home of Michael Jackson will be going to autcion.

Lender to Michael Jackson: Pay up or Beat It

"On March 19, at 1:00 p.m., Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos,
Calif., is scheduled for a public auction at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse
at 1100 Anacapa Street. The opening bid is estimated to be at least $20,000,000.
The sprawling Jackson estate — located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road — sits on
2,800 acres of rolling hills in California’s wine county north of Santa Barbara.
Financial Title Co. filed the notice of trustee’s sale with the Santa Barbara
County Superior Court on Feb. 26. The auction notice for the property was
recently posted on RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure
properties." - RisMedia

I wonder where this carousel is going to stop before its over...

Foreclosures Even Affecting the Rich - Lender to Michael Jackson: Pay up or Beat It

Foreclosures are even affecting the Rich right now. Last month the Hearst mansion went to auction, and now it looks like Neverland Ranch, home of Michael Jackson will be going to autcion.

Lender to Michael Jackson: Pay up or Beat It

"On March 19, at 1:00 p.m., Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos,
Calif., is scheduled for a public auction at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse
at 1100 Anacapa Street. The opening bid is estimated to be at least $20,000,000.
The sprawling Jackson estate — located at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Road — sits on
2,800 acres of rolling hills in California’s wine county north of Santa Barbara.
Financial Title Co. filed the notice of trustee’s sale with the Santa Barbara
County Superior Court on Feb. 26. The auction notice for the property was
recently posted on RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure
properties." - RisMedia

I wonder where this carousel is going to stop before its over...

Home Builders Go 'Green'

Home Builders Go 'Green' To Seek New Selling Point (Full Article)

We have seen this all over the board in our area, especially in area like Spring Creek by Zions Crossroads. Looks like we have the same problem in the nation.

"The Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly released their monthly report on new home sales early Wednesday morning.

The report showed new home sales declined once again, this time to a seasonally adjusted annual

rate of 588,000 units. The revised December figure was 605,000 houses for a month-over-month drop of 2.8 percent. The January 2008 figure is 33.9 percent below the January 2007 estimate of 890,000 sales. " - Jim Carlton From The Wall Street Journal Online

Rob Alley of the Avery Group at Roy Wheeler Realty Co.