Seller Information Category
Short Sale Defiencies Forgiven
For many California real estate sellers who find themselves in a short sale situation due to falling home values, there is a black cloud following them after a successful close of escrow on a short sale. In many cases, there is the possibility of the short sale lender or collection agency serving notice or even a lawsuit to collect all or a percentage of the forgiven debt. This is cause for many sleepless nights for those who have completed short sales without getting key wording on their short sale approval letters prohibiting such action.
In early October, Governor Schwartznegger signed into law SB 931. This bill will require a first lien holder who has approved a short sale payment to accept that amount as full payment for the outstanding balance of the loan and prohibits the lender from pursuing an additional deficiency judgment. This covers ALL first mortgages, even if the borrower has refinanced or taken cash out. It covers 1 to 4 unit dwellings, owner or non-owner occupied.
Finally, this bill will go into effect until January 1, 2011. A big caveat: this only applies to the first lien holder. Junior lien holders may still pursue the borrower for a deficiency judgment. Anyone going through a real estate short sale or foreclosure should consult with a real estate attorney and a tax expert.
Who’s Selling Luxury Real Estate in South County?
Within the past year, which local real estate company was involved in the vast majority of residential real estate sales in south Santa Clara County that sold for over $1,300,000? Intero Real Estate Services sold most of the high-end homes in the towns of Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin. In the past year, there have been 15 residences that sold for over $1,300,000. Of those 15, Intero Real Estate Services represented either the buyer, the seller or both in 13 of the transactions. Thirteen out of fifteen. Intero dominates in the luxury real estate market in South Santa Clara County.
Other real estate companies like to profess that they are more qualified to sell luxury real estate, but actions speak louder than words.
Morgan Hill Seller’s Market?
What a difference a year makes! A year ago many residences sat languishing on the market while buyers were waiting on the sidelines. Fast forward to the present day: large numbers of well-qualified, motivated buyers are combing the sparse south Santa Clara County real estate inventory and now sellers are sitting on the sidelines! With the low real estate inventory in Morgan Hill and the rest of south Santa Clara County, is it a seller’s market? Let’s look at the data:
The first graph shows the number of residences for sale in Morgan Hill. As can be seen clearly, the number in the past few months has been quite low relative to the past two years. This data is backed up by the second graph which shows the months of inventory for active residential listings on the Morgan Hill real estate market. The months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell all of the inventory currently on the market using current number of sales per month to determine this number.
With these two graphs in mind, sellers should feel confident in listing their homes in this current market. However, as with any market, pricing is the number one factor in whether your home will sell and how quickly it will sell.
The third graph shows the average sale price for single family residences in Morgan Hill over the past two years. Although it does look like prices have inched up over the past few months, sellers should beware asking exhorbitant prices for their homes – if they are serious about selling their home.
Inventory will gradually increase over the next months in Morgan Hill. But for those sellers currently on the market with a well-priced listing — enjoy your opportunity to choose from the multiple offers you are quickly receiving!
Gretchen Merrick
cell (408) 892 9015
