Foreclosureshave become more and more prevalent across the country, including right at home here in Hampton Roads, Virginia. In the first three months of 2008, foreclosed homes were about 4.17% of all residential sales. Short Sales, REO’s, and bank owned properties were accounted for in that analysis.

In 2009, for the same quarter as 2008, foreclosures nearly quadrupled to 17.7%. The cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Newport News made up the majority of that figure by having 75% of the foreclosures in our local market.

In the month of March of this year 2009, 16.6% or 190 sales were contributed to foreclosed sales. That’s higher than the first quarter of 2008, as there were only 171 distressed home sales.  Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Newport News made up 68% of the foreclosure sales in March of 2009.

Foreclosures are the first step for us to have normalization in our markets. It’s a positive sign that they are being purchased and that the inventory is moving. With many buyers trying to find the right deal, there is something for everyone, whether your a first time home buyer, or an investor. There has not been a better time to purchase, interest rates are low, the inventory is high, and there are some fantastic deals. For more info on foreclosures or to contact me in reference to helping you find the right deal, visit JoshSellsVirginia.com.

All across the country, we are experiencing an overload of bank owned and foreclosed homes on the market for sale. With that saturation of listings for sale in an already slower market, it makes it harder to sell a home. It also gives great benefit to buyers looking for great deals, as usually they are offered at bargain prices. We have seen a national rise in these types of sales as they are giving some of the better deals and squeezing out a lot of home owners who are just trying to get their home sold!

Nearly 20% of homes sold in 2008 were REO sales. Short Sales made up an additional 11%, in which the home owner owes more than what the house is worth. In certain areas of California, almost 54% of all transactions were foreclosures and nearly 3% were short sales.

With these new opportunities available to take advantage of, keep in mind that there is more due dilligence required with inspections and financing, as well as making sure you understand the banks terms and required waiting time as with short sales. If you patient and accepting of the red tape associated with these deals, you will great a great home at a great price.

For more information on these type of deals or to view foreclosure listings, please visit JoshSellsVirginia.

Hampton Roads is comprised of seven different cities. It’s one of the largest military areas in the country, which is why the real estate market here is so stable. Buyers and Sellers enjoy the benefits of getting good value for the money on purchase or sale of their home here locally. We are below the national average for foreclosure rates, roughly about 3%, and market home pricing stability, right at about a 5% market correction. For more detailed information about the area or anything concerning real estate, please visit JoshSellsVirginia.

Specializing in Hampton Roads Real Estate

Virginia Realtor® for Virginia Beach Real Estate, Chesapeake Real Estate, Norfolk Real Estate, Portsmouth Real Estate, Hampton Real Estate, Newport News Real Estate.

As we all know, the real estate market has been in a buyer’s market for the last couple of years. Last year, we experienced the mortgage meltdown crisis and all the media hype that has followed. Many people ask whether the bottom is yet to come or if we have hit it yet.

There is no simple answer to this question as it is a very complex and variable situation. There are indicators however of certain trends that we may want to pay attention to. One of the most oblivious indicators is the supply of real estate vs. the number of qualified buyers. Another factor that we must pay attention to is the overall economy and how it’s impact is effecting potential buyers from homeownership. Financing is another contributing factor which will directly impact a buyer’s ability to get a loan. Let’s look at these factors in closer detail:

First and foremost, the current inventory is a huge determiner. Keep in mind that each market in the country is different, and there is not one answer for all. Here locally in Hampton Roads, the markets have been in much better shape than others nationally. A large factor to that is our strong military presence. Over the last months, our supply of listings has been shrinking. This could be looked at in a couple of different views. First, it could be a lag in the market due to end of year and holiday season, or secondly, it could be viewed that due to the interest rate cuts and time, that the buyer pool has increased and available listings cannot keep up with buyer demands, in effect dropping the number of available homes. Time will be the deciding factor, but real estate is a supply and demand cycle.

The economy has been in decline for the last year. We began to feel the effects of a recession long before the government had announced the recession. At this point in time, if we go back to when we first felt the recession, it’s been about a year. The average national recession lasts roughly 12 months, or one year. This recession however is not just limited to the United States, it has affected the world globally due primarily because our economies are tied together in so many aspects. The average global recession lasts 18 months. If we have been in a recession for a year, and the average global recession lasts 18 months, then we have about another 6 months before we see improvements. Keep in mind, that this is just speculation at this point based upon past trends.

Financing has been topsy turby for the last 6 months. When the first wave of foreclosures hit, most lending institutions gave a knee jerk reaction and have tightened lending requirements dramatically. Once this process had occurred, the listing inventory went out of control, making the real estate market even slower than it had been. Due to this unforeseen issue, the Federal Reserve decided to cut rates. After several rate cuts, they dropped interest rates to historic lows once again. In doing so, they have helped many people once again be able to qualify for a mortgage and afford their homes. However this time, the risks we had previously with ARMS and Interest Only programs are out the window. Also, as mentioned, qualifications have been tightened.

With all of these indicators, I have personally come to the conclusion that the bottom is here, or may have already passed. These indicators have shown me that real estate is making a recovery, and only more time will completely cure the ailment. There have been many speculation reports that summer of 2009 will be the turning point, and based upon my conclusions for Hampton Roads, Virginia, I agree. To view local market trends, please visit www.joshsellsvirginia.com

Starting January 1st, FHA is now requiring 3.5% downpayment, up from 3% previously. Here locally in the Hampton Roads area, and covering the cities of Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth and the peninsula’s Hampton and Newport News, FHA lending limits have just increased to 458k, up from 419K previously.

One other new item to cover is purchasing a new property and renting out your old residence can no longer be done with just providing a lease to the mortgage company. FHA is requiring that you be able to qualify for both mortgages in order to purchase another.

To get more info on this subject or other mortgage topics, please feel free to visit www.JoshSellsVirginia.com

For all of our Veterans and active duty military, Va Loan limits have been increased.

Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Hampton Roads have been raised.

Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads Veteran property owners who are contemplating a refinance could benefit from this change.

See the home loan increase below:

2009 VA home loan limit for Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Hampton Roads is now $498,750 up from $417,000.

VA Home Mortgage Loan Limits provided by VA-Home-Loans-Today.com

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Loan Guaranty program does not impose a maximum amount that an eligible veteran may borrow using a VA-guaranteed loan. However, the following county “limits” must be used to calculate VA’s maximum guaranty amount for a particular county.

You can also get more info on this topic at www.JoshSellsVirginia.com

For all the buyers and investors out there speculating on the real estate market and waiting to find the right opportunity to jump in and take advantage of the great deals out there, this may be the time to do it. JoshSellsVirginia.com is Hampton Roads’s local resource for anything that is real estate related, including both local and national market updates. I encourage anyone who is interested in knowing how the real estate market is transitioning to go to my Market Update page and hear what some of the projected forecast numbers look like. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.

I speak to a lot of clients on a regular basis, and one question I hear frequently is “When will the real estate market shift back?” That’s a question that is on everyone’s mind. So let’s explore it and see if we can make any sense of it.

Real estate is driven by supply and demand. When there are more homes available than there are buyer’s buying, you are consequently in a buyer’s market, like we are in now. When there are more buyers than there are seller’s selling, you are in a seller’s market.

Buyer’s markets are good for buyers because they can get good deals on homes, sellers will typically pay more in closing costs and are more reasonable on pricing. Seller’s markets are good for sellers because housing prices appreciate because the demand is so high, just as in buyers markets, housing prices stagnate or correct because demand is lower. Sellers will get better deals in sellers markets and will typically make more money on the sale with a faster sale time.

We have been in our current market now for about 3 years. The average cyclical market time is between 3-7 years, depending on the economy and other factors such as mortgages and interest rates. It’s been expected that the market should regain it’s footing after the elections and start leveling some. However, that is just speculation at this point. We will not see the effects on our markets until we know how regulations will impact us, referring to capital gains, housing regulations, mortgage regulations, ect.

To keep things in prospective, we should be very close to rebounding from this housing correction, that is to say, as long as rates remain low, real estate taxes are kept as is or lowered, and the economy picks back up. However, if your currently looking to purchase, don’t let the real estate information scare you into not purchasing, because the more properties saturating the market, the harder it will be for us to make a comeback. Everyone has a part in this, including you!

As we have all been witnessing over the last three weeks. The stock market has taken a tremendous hit. A reported 2 Trillion has been lost, possibly more, taken from everyone across the country that has money invested in 401K’s, stocks, mutual funds, ect……

There are conflicting comments on the volitility of the stock market, some are saying it’s a great time to get in, and others are saying to get out. Hedge Funds are some of the largest personal market investments out there, with minimum investment capital needed in the millions of dollars. It has been reported that 50% of all hedge funds have pulled out, which is one of the reasons we have see between 500-800 point drops in the DOW.

Personally, my opinion is that there is too much to risk in the stock market until we see some stability return, once that occurs, I would get in and ride the wave up, but as we can see now, it’s like gambling on the craps table.

Commodities have been a safer bet. Things like energy, gold, silver and even real estate are types of commodities. Commodities are tangible items mainly. I personally have a hoard of gold and silver I’m holding onto just in case the dollar tanks and we temporarily return to the barter system or need to exchange it for other currency. Which by the way, shouldn’t happen. I am still very optimistic about real estate, and it’s not because Im biased being a Realtor, it’s because I know that the real estate market is cyclical and it’s a tangible thing that everyone needs and relies on. Everyone will need a place to lay their head and over the long haul, it will rebound and continue to appreciate, whereas, with stocks, you don’t know if that company or particular stock will even be around in the next 5-10 years. Roughly about 30% of the stocks from the late ninety’s to early 2000’s are no longer in existence.

Real Estate must be a long term investment. Sure there are times in markets like we’ve just seen where you can purchase and flip to make good money, but you need to make sure that your in it for the long haul, and if the situation arises to where  you can sell for profit, then take it! Don’t buy into the media hype about real estate, the market is correcting itself. There are markets worse than others, but here in Hampton Roads, we have a fairly secure and stable market. If the media scares potential buyers from buying the surplus of listings out there, then it can be more detrimental for the correction period and take even longer for us to correct ourselves.

Main point of my topic is don’t Panic! Continue to look for the good deals out there and just remember that if your getting a good deal in this market when we’ve seen decreases in prices of 2%-7%, then when the market does fully correct itself, you have just built in equity that you can hold for later purposes. Also, real estate is too important for our country to let fall to the wayside, every measure will be taken to ensure that real estate is fundamentally sound and secure. So, jump in, and get a good deal out there, there are plenty to look at and see, and call on me to help negotiate you the best deal.

You can check out my site at www.JoshSellsVirginia.com for more info and market updates.

In today’s market, the most desireable and obtainable loans are the government backed loans. In total contrast to how the market was 4 or 5 years ago, where VA loans were frowned upon, they have become the norm.

The three most common loan products being used in our marketplace are the VA, FHA and the VHDA loans. The VA loan deals with military persons whether currently active or not, and offers 100% financing and very competitive interest rates with no mortgage insurance. FHA loans are open to everyone who qualifies and offers 3% down payment with competitive interest rates but does require mortgage insurance. Lastly, the VHDA loan program is targeted to first time home buyers, but offers a staggering 102% financing but once again, requires mortgage insurance.

Conventional products have just become not as applicable as of late because of the amount needed for downpayment and the higher mortgage insurance premiums. They are still being used for certain applications, but just becoming more and more out of reach.

If you are active or prior military, your best bet is to use your VA loan, one major misconception about it is that you CAN use it more than once. Actually, you can use it as many times as you want as long as you don’t go over 417,000K.

If you don’t have a military background but have purchased before and have some money to put on a downpayment, then your best bet is to go FHA. You will have the MIP to deal with, but for everything else that’s available to you, this will probably work the best.

If your a first time home buyer, and don’t have much if any money, they are still offering the VHDA first time home buyer program, which is great. It will give you a competitive 30yr. fixed rate with a competitive interest rate and you will need little to no money.

For more information on any of these topics, visit my website at www.JoshSellsVirginia.com