How Many Foreclosures Are Closing Escrow in Santa Maria, California?*
In the Santa Maria – Orcutt California area, there are currently 667 active, contingent, or pending homes and condos for sale. Of those 667 homes, 167 are foreclosure listings. Of those 167 REO listings, 7 are “contingent REOs.” A contingent REO is a foreclosure listing with a verbally accepted offer. 64 of of those 167 foreclosure listings are already “pending,” which means that they have fully ratified contracts. So, despite all the negative information about buying a foreclosure, buyers are still making offers on Santa Maria CA foreclosures.
Looking at closed REO/foreclosure sales in Santa Maria – Orcutt since the beginning of the year, 120 foreclosures have closed. Closed foreclosures in Santa Maria and Orcutt spent an average of 62 days on market. The average list price for those closed foreclosure homes was $205,100, and the average sold price was $200,801. So, Santa Maria foreclosures are closing for 97.9% of their list price despite the perception that foreclosures sell for deep discounts from their list price. The overall average during that same time frame was a $245,118 list price and a $239,001 sold price. So, foreclosures are selling for lower prices on average, but they are also selling for near their asking price.
Tni LeBlanc is an independent Real Estate Broker, Attorney, Short Sale Agent and Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) serving the Santa Maria, Orcutt and Five Cities area of the Central Coast of California. If you are interested in a list of available foreclosures in the Central Coast area, contact her office at (805) 938-9950.
* SFR/Condo/PUDs only. Based on the information from the Central Coast Regional MLS. The Association, the Multiple Listing Service, nor Mint Properties guarantees or is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Data maintained by the Association or its MLS may not reflect all real estate activity in the real estate market. Nothing in this article is intended to solicit listings currently under contract with another broker. This article offers no legal or tax advice. Those considering a short sale are advised to consult with their own attorney for legal advice, and their tax professional for tax advice prior to entering into a short sale listing agreement. Mint Properties is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
In July 2006, Mint Properties opened an office in the Mission Creek Plaza on Santa Maria Way. Tni’s stated aim is to offer the highest quality representation and professional service to her clients. Independence affords her the ability to avoid a volume driven approach; the result is prompt, reliable, individualized service coupled with straightforward advice. Indeed, she brings the same level of professionalism to real estate as she did to the law.
So many of the first time home buyers in the Santa Maria market today are concerned about whether they will qualify for the $8000 tax credit. Short sale purchases can qualify for the credit , so long as the buyer qualifies for the credit in general. (You should check withb your tax professional on this issue). However, because the timelines on short sales are somewhat undetermined, they can fail to close by the deadline for the tax credit. Right now, it is my understanding that in order to qualify a buyer must have a confirmed contract by April 30th. In the case of a short sale purchase, this means the buyer must have a signed contract and bank approval of the short sale in hand in order to qualify for the tax credit. And, the transaction must close by June 30th.
Short sales dominate the Santa Maria and Orcutt CA market. Simply put, short sales are sales where the owner owes more than the house is currently worth. Currently, 50% of the active listings in Santa Maria and Orcutt are short sales. However, 60% of the homes sold in the past 30 days are bank owned homes (REOs), and only 10% of sold homes in the last month were short sales.
1) Be prepared for an “as-is” purchase. Many times there is deferred maintenance on short sale listings. Often owners in financial distress stop performing maintenance on the home either willfully and because they lack the funds. You can ask a short sale seller to make repairs, but often they are unable or unwilling to do so since they are losing their home. You can also approach the short sale lender and ask that they allow the cost of the repairs to be deducted from their “net” but often the answer will be no, even if the repairs are required by your lender in order to originate your new loan.
