The short sales are selling, although not nearly so quickly.  Since January 1, the MLS shows that 1,445 short sales have closed.  There are currently 2,385 in escrow, and 3,015 available as active listings.  The problem with trying to analyze the short sales is that there is no consistency.  Some agents keep properties in the active status, and continue to show them long after they have received offers, while others put them immediately into “backup” status, but really have no idea what the lender will take or when it might close.  This process typically takes so long that by the time the lender gives an answer, either the value has fallen below the buyer’s offer, or the buyer has found another property and withdraws his offer. 

There are 5,964 properties classified as “equity” sellers, but 43% of those, are priced at over a million dollars!  For more modest home buyers, there are currently only 1,211 homes priced under $500,000 and 2,229 priced between $500,000 and $1 Million.  (These numbers don’t add up because some of these are range-priced, so they get counted in 2 categories.) 

I’m now hearing lots of stories of multiple offers for REO properties, as well as on the lower priced non-distressed properties.  I really hope that the real estate decline is coming to an end and that the market will stabilize, but it’s still too early to tell.  The moratorium on foreclosures ended on April 1, 2009 and the number of homes that are starting the foreclosure process has increased.  Since it takes almost 4 months to foreclose, we won’t have a lot of data to report until early August.  

If you are a first time buyer, the combination of the $8,000 tax credit and low interest rates make it very tempting to buy now.  You just need to make sure that the home you buy is one that will meet your needs for several (5 to 7) years because there is no guarantee that once the market “recovers” it will begin to appreciate again!

Search ALL the homes for sale in the Southern California MLS  (there must be at least one that you like!)

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