Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VIII

Well it is time for my eighth installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! Curious what has happened in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I am anxious to see if 2011 continues the way it seemed to begin -- to bring a high volume of active short sale listings, and more importantly, more closed short sales. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties, and over the nearly two years I have been tracking this information, it seems my hypothesis has been proven to be true. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last installment...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 354 active listings there. 244/390 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $212,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 65.3% last installment, vs. 62.6% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 312. YTD closed in 2011 - 105....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 59.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 199 active listings there. 117/199 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $165,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 53.4% last installment, vs. 58.8% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and an increase over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 109. YTD closed in 2011 - 49....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 36.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 180 active listings there. 105/180 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was also $160,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 51.0% last installment, vs. 58.3% this month = DECREASE over the control data, and an increase over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 57. YTD closed in 2011 - 27....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 48.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 132 active listings there. 43/132 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $265,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 42.5% last installment, vs. 32.6% this month. INCREASE over the control data and decrease over last month. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 16. YTD closed in 2011 - 5....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 12.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 102 active listings there. 21/102 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $348,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 27.6% last installment, vs. 20.6% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and decrease over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 23. YTD closed in 2011 - 8....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 8.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 85 active listings there. 17/85 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in April 2011 was $369,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 23.1% last month, vs. 20.0 this month. INCREASE over the control data, and decrease over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 15. YTD closed in 2011 - 13....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 3.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 3 of them experienced a decrease in the number of active short sale listings from last installment, while 3 experienced an increase over the control data...interesting. It appears that areas with higher median sales prices are showing an increase in short sale activity, while the areas with the lower median prices are showing a decrease in short sale activity. AND while I have not specifically been tracking this data, it appears that there are an increasing number of Foreclosure / REO listings on the market...you will note in a few of the areas I am tracking, if you combine the number of short sale listings and foreclosures, that accounts for nearly 75% or more of the total listings in that area! That's a HUGE percentage of the overall micro-market. Since I just started tracking that statistic for this little project, we will have to see how those numbers compare in the future. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment...until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part V
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VI
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VII

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VII

Yes, it is time for my seventh installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! I am sure ya'll are just on the edge of your seats to find out just what has transpired in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I am anxious to see if 2011 continues to bring a high volume of active short sale listings, and more importantly, more closed short sales. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties, and thus far I think my hypothesis has been proven to be true. Starting in this installment, just for kicks and for the sake of comparison, I am going to track the numbers of active Foreclosure / REO listings. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last installment...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 354 active listings there. 231/354 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was $244,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 71.9% last installment, vs. 65.3% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 312. YTD closed in 2011 - 9....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 60.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 232 active listings there. 126/232 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was $164,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 64.0% last installment, vs. 54.3% this month. DECREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 109. YTD closed in 2011 - 1....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 57.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 143 active listings there. 73/143 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was also $161,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 51.5% last installment, vs. 51.0% this month = DECREASE over the control data. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 57. YTD closed in 2011 - 1....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 36.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 134 active listings there. 57/134 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was $248,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 29.7% last installment, vs. 42.5% this month. BIG INCREASE over the control data and last month. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 37. YTD closed in 2011 - 0....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 12.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 87 active listings there. 24/87 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was $307,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 16.9% last installment, vs. 27.6% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and increase over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 23. YTD closed in 2011 - 0....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 6.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 78 active listings there. 18/78 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2010 was $391,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 21.1% last month, vs. 23.1 this month. INCREASE over the control data, and over the last installment. Number of 2010 closed short sales - 15. YTD closed in 2011 - 0....Active Foreclosure / REO listings - 6.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 3 of them experienced a decrease in the number of active short sale listings from last installment, while 3 experienced an increase over the control data...interesting. It appears that areas with higher median sales prices are starting to show an increase in short sale activity, while the areas with the lower median prices are showing a decrease in short sale activity. AND while I have not specifically been tracking this data, it appears that there are an increasing number of Foreclosure / REO listings on the market. Since I just started tracking that statistic for this little project, we will have to see how those numbers compare in the future. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment...until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part V
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VI

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part VI

Yes, it is for my sixth installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! I am sure ya'll are just on the edge of your seats to find out just what has transpired in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I am anxious to see if 2010 continues to bring a high volume of active short sale listings, and more importantly, more closed short sales. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties, and thus far I think my hypothesis has been proven to be true. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last installment...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 342 active listings there. 246/342 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2010 was $235,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 75.1% last installment, vs. 71.9% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 245. YTD closed in 2010 - 56.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 175 active listings there. 112/175 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2010 was $171,000 according to Trendgraphix (a significant decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 68.2% last installment, vs. 64.0% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and a decrease over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 85. YTD closed in 2010 - 16.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 136 active listings there. 70/136 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2009 was also $170,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease from last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 59.5% last installment, vs. 51.5% this month = BIG DECREASE over the control data. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 65. YTD closed in 2010 - 20.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 165 active listings there. 49/165 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2010 was $214,000 according to Trendgraphix (a big decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 29.3% last installment, vs. 29.7% this month. INCREASE over the control data and last month. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 18. YTD closed in 2010 - 5.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 77 active listings there. 13/77 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2010 was $330,000 according to Trendgraphix (big decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 25.9% last installment, vs. 16.9% this month. INCREASE over the control data, and a slight increase over the last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 15. YTD closed in 2010 - 4.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 71 active listings there. 15/71 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in February 2010 was $339,000 according to Trendgraphix (a increase over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 21.1% last month, vs. 21.1 this month. INCREASE over the control data, but a no change over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 11. YTD closed in 2010 - 0.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 5 of them experienced a decrease in the number of active short sale listings from last installment, while 5 experienced an increase over the control data...interesting. Unfortunately, I do not think that this incremental decrease from last installment will continue as a ongoing trend. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment....and I have been the top listing agent in my office for two months in a row (January & February). Until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part V

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part V

Time for my fifth installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! I am sure ya'll are just on the edge of your seats to find out just what has transpired in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I have deliberately allowed more time to pass between Part IV and Part V, so that we can see if a trend has truly emerged and also see what the YTD totals for 2009 are. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last month...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 325 active listings there. 244/325 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2009 was $245,000 according to Trendgraphix (an increase over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 68.3% last installment, vs. 75.1% this month. BIG INCREASE over the control data, and a more significant increase over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 245.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 170 active listings there. 116/170 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2009 was $196,000 according to Trendgraphix (a significant decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 67.3% last installment, vs. 68.2% this month. BIG INCREASE over the control data, and a slight increase over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 85.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 121 active listings there. 72/121 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was also $181,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease from last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 74.1% last installment, vs. 59.5% this month = BIG DECREASE. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 65.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 140 active listings there. 41/140 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2009 was $451,000 according to Trendgraphix (a big increase over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 25.8% last installment, vs. 29.3% this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 18.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 54 active listings there. 14/54 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2009 was $424,000 according to Trendgraphix (big increase over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 25.0% last installment, vs. 25.9% this month. BIG INCREASE over the control data, and a slight increase over the last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 15.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 57 active listings there. 12/57 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in December 2009 was $310,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 22.6% last month, vs. 21.1 this month. Still a BIG INCREASE over the control data, but a slight decrease over last installment. Number of 2009 closed short sales - 11.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 4 of them experienced an increase in the number of active short sale listings from last installment, while 5 experienced an increase over the control data...the majority of the zip codes posted pretty large proportional increases, and the one decreasing zip code I am tracking posted a huge proportional decrease. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment...in fact I closed an Arden short sale last week, and I have another Sacramento short sale closing next week. Until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV

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Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part IV

Time for my fourth installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! I am sure ya'll are just on the edge of your seats to find out just what has transpired in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area since the last time? I have deliberately allowed more time to pass between Part III and Part IV, so that we can see if a trend has truly emerged. For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last month...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 332 active listings there. 227/332 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was $230,000 according to Trendgraphix (an decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 72.5% last installment, vs. 68.3% this month. BIG DECREASE over the control data, but a more significant decrease over last installment. Number of YTD closed short sales - 203.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 156 active listings there. 105/156 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was $215,000 according to Trendgraphix (a significant increase over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 68.5% last installment, vs. 67.3% this month. BIG INCREASE over the control data, and a slight decrease over last installment. Number of YTD closed short sales - 76.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 124 active listings there. 92/124 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was also $190,000 according to Trendgraphix (an increase from last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 63.3% last installment, vs. 74.1% this month = BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 52.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 151 active listings there. 39/151 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was $260,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 21.6% last installment, vs. 25.8% this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 16.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 60 active listings there. 15/60 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in Octobet 2009 was $352,000 according to Trendgraphix (slight decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 21.7% last installment, vs. 25.0% this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 14.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 62 active listings there. 14/62 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in October 2009 was $348,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease over last installment). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 13.9% last month, vs. 22.6 this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 9.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 5 of them experienced an increase in the number of active short sale listings...the majority of the zip codes posted pretty large proportional increases, and the one decreasing zip code I am tracking posted a pretty large proportional decrease. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment...and I have one Natomas short sale closing tomorrow. Until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part III

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment - Part III

Time for my third installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment! I am sure ya'll are just on the edge of your seats to find out just what has transpired in the world of short sales in our Sacramento metro area? For those of you not following along at home, or perhaps if you are reading this for the first time, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). I have continued to list more short sale properties. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment and also to last month...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 268 active listings there. 188/268 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was $233,000 according to Trendgraphix (an increase over last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 72.5% last month, vs. 70.1% this month. INCREASE over the control data, but a decrease over last month. Number of YTD closed short sales - 122.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 124 active listings there. 85/124 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was $199,000 according to Trendgraphix (a slight decrease over last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 55.6% last month, vs. 68.5% this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 54.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 101 active listings there. 64/101 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was also $184,000 according to Trendgraphix (unchanged from last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 63.3% last month, vs. 63.3% this month = INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 30.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 161 active listings there. 34/161 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was $285,000 according to Trendgraphix (a decrease over last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 15.8% last month, vs. 21.1% this month. BIG INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 11.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 83 active listings there. 18/83 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was $365,000 according to Trendgraphix (slight decrease over last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 21.5% last month, vs. 21.7% this month. INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 9.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 72 active listings there. 10/72 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in July 2009 was $404,000 according to Trendgraphix (an increase over last month). The result vs. the control data? Control data was 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 20.0% last month, vs. 13.9 this month. BIG DECREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 5.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 5 of them experienced an increase in the number of active short sale listings...2 of the zip codes posted pretty large proportional increases, and the one decreasing zip code I am tracking posted a very large proportional decrease. My phone definitely keeps ringing and I continue to receive emails - I am fielding lots of inquiries from homeowners looking for more information and insight from my short sale experience...buyers too are really curious about the short sale process since they are encountering so many short sale listings in our marketplace. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I closed many of my own short sale listings since the last installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment.

Until next time!

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part I
Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, Part II

Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment - Part II

So exactly one month after the first post of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, I am curious to see exactly what has transpired in the world of short sales in our metro area?

Just to recap, my short sale experiment is tracking a few different Sacramento zip codes to see what how the short sale activity increases or decreases over time as compared with traditional resale listings (where there is a seller with equity in a "normal transaction") and to bank-owned resale transactions. My hypothesis at the start of this experiment last month: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our greater Sacramento marketplace (overall percentage of listings). For the sake of reference, I am also going to add the number of year-to-date closed short sales in each zip code. Let's see how this new data compares to the "control data" for the experiment...

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 280 active listings there. 203/280 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was $228,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 68.6% of all active listings in 95624 were short sales, vs. 72.5% this month = INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 103.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 126 active listings there. 74/133 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was $200,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 60.3% of all active listings in 95610 were short sales, vs. 55.6% this month = DECREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 46.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 90 active listings there. 57/90 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was also $184,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 62.2% of all active listings in 95826 were short sales, vs. 63.3% this month = INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 22.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 165 active listings there. 26/165 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was $330,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 17.0% of all active listings in 95864 were short sales, vs. 15.8% this month = DECREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 8.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 79 active listings there. 17/79 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was $368,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 16.0% of all active listings in 95818 were short sales, vs. 21.5% this month = INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 9.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 71 active listings there. 14/70 listings are short sales. The median price in that zip code in June 2009 was $394,000 according to Trendgraphix. The result vs. the control data from last month? Last month, 19.7% of all active listings in 95819 were short sales, vs. 20.0% this month = INCREASE. Number of YTD closed short sales - 4.

So in summary - of the six Sacramento area zip codes I am tracking for my experiment, 4 of them experienced an increase in the number of active short sale listings.

I can tell you from my vast personal short sale experience...in the last few weeks since I posted the first installment of Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment, the number of inquiries from sellers looking for information regarding the possible short sale of their homes has remained very consistent, and I have new short sale listings coming to market this month. Also (you will be aware of this if you follow me on Twitter or Facebook), I have received written approval for 4 separate short sale transactions in the last couple weeks! I expect more short sale approvals in the coming weeks for my other listings...

Sacramento Short Sales on the rise..."Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment!"

There has been a lot of buzz lately about just how many short sales are on the market in Sacramento. I can tell you that I have a growing number of short sale listings myself. For me, there is not too much difference in negotiating 5 short sales or 25...I am dealing with the same lenders repetitively, and I have developed a great system to negotiate them. The number of short sales vs. bank owned properties vs. traditional sellers on the market right now is pretty interesting. So interesting, in fact, that I am going to do a little recurring experiment. Let's call it "Erin's Sacramento Short Sale Experiment."

I am no scientist (I took bone-head science - astronomy in college, ok?), but I am going to take a few zip codes and dissect them. How many short sales are there right now? How many will there be in the same areas in a few months?...and over time? What percentage of all of the listings will be short sales? My hypothesis: the number of short sales will grow over time, as will their dominance in our marketplace (overall percentage of listings).

So for my experiment, let's look at the zip codes 95624, 95610, 95826, 95818, and 95819. We'll call this sample (as of today's MLS data) the "control data" for my experiment. We will revisit these cross sections over the next few months, and see how this plays out. Oooh! How fun!!

95624 is the section of Elk Grove closest to Hwy 99. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 290 active listings there. 199/290 listings are short sales. That is more than two-thirds of the inventory there!! The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was $234,000 according to Trendgraphix.

95610 is a section of Citrus Heights. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 126 active listings there. 76/126 listings are short sales. Slightly less than two-thirds of the inventory there. The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was $208,000 according to Trendgraphix.

95826 is a section of Rosemont and College Greens. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 90 active listings there. 56/90 listings are short sales. Slightly less than two-thirds of the inventory there. The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was also $208,000 according to Trendgraphix.

95864 is a section of Sierra Oaks, Arden Park, and Arden Manor. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 147 active listings there. 25/147 listings are short sales. Slightly less than one-fifth of the inventory there. The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was $430,000 according to Trendgraphix.

95818 is a section of Midtown, Land Park, and Curtis Park. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 75 active listings there. 12/75 listings are short sales. Slightly less than one-fifth of the inventory there. The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was $382,000 according to Trendgraphix.

95819 is a section of East Sacramento. As of right this second according to MLS, there are a total of 71 active listings there. 14/71 listings are short sales. Slightly less than one-fifth of the inventory there. The median price in that zip code in May 2009 was $378,000 according to Trendgraphix.

Welp...let's see how this takes shape over time!

Ask Erin: I made an offer on a short sale. How long will I have to wait for the lender to accept my offer?

I was shopping at Target this evening, and one of my buyer clients called me while I was eyeing some really neat new tupperware.

About four weeks ago, we made an offer on the home of their dreams...a great home in Rocklin. The listing agent does lots of short sales, and the two lenders involved (there is a first and a second mortgage) are both I have closed Sacramento short sales with in the past. I have had numerous conversations with my clients about timelines, expectations, the process, etc. Their offer is in "first position" - meaning, it was "cleanly" written (straightforward terms), and it is the "highest and best" offer (short sale lender considers their offer the best combination of offered price and terms). They are extremely excited about this house, and have taken several steps to make sure that as soon as lender approval is issued they can jump ASAP (downpayment funds are ready, they have provided ALL documentation to their lender, made arrangements for renting their house that they do not need to sell in order to purchase this one)...so all we need is approval, right?

RIGHT! As a buyer of a short sale, you really have little influence or control over what happens. My advice to you, if you have made an offer on a short sale?

• Offer a realistic price - determine this offered price with your Realtor. Asking price on short sales often times does not reflect what the short sale lender is willing to accept, nor does it necessarily reflect the property's market value. Often times this price is artificially low, to attract lots of attention.
• Make sure that you write a straightforward offer. Do not ask for exotic terms in your offer. Write your offer with relatively short contingency time periods - these time periods generally begin once the lender delivers written acceptance of the short sale. Acknowledge and expect to take the property in its current condition. Be sure to have your agent use form SSA, the Short Sale Addendum, with your offer.
• Try to inspect the property thoroughly while the lender is analyzing the file. This does not necessarily mean that you should pay for a full-blown home inspection (unless you want to), but keeping in mind you will be purchasing the property "as-is" make sure you are comfortable with the condition of the house. Ask the seller to provide you with any reports or disclosures available.
• Make sure your Realtor checks in regularly with the listing agent. Ask for updates regarding the steps the lender is taking to analyze the file. It is very important that the listing agent knows that your offer is still on the table. In the world of short sales, offers come and go frequently.
• Get your lending squared away. Provide any and all documentation required by your lender to process your financing. The short sale lender(s) may not give you a full 30 days to close your escrow.
• Expect to "hurry up and wait." Unfortunately, depending on many variables, short sale approvals can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 months, and everything in between. Those are normal timelines.

Good luck...try not to get too impatient.