I was reading “The Stockton Record” this morning as I usually do with my morning coffee…And I was again hit with the same old housing news! Will it ever end?

Reports show years of weakness for housing

New home sales are at 50-year low

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes fell to a six-month low in August. The fourth straight monthly decline during the peak buying season suggests the housing market is years away from a recovery.

The Commerce Department said Monday that new home sales fell 2.3 percent to a sea­sonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000. That’s less than half the roughly 700,000 that econ­omists say must be sold to sus­tain a healthy housing market.

New homes sales are on pace for the worst year since the government began keeping records a half-century ago.

High unemployment, larger required down payments and tougher lending standards are preventing many people from buying homes. Plunging stocks and a growing fear that the U.S. could tip back into another reces­sion are also keeping people from entering the housing market.

Last year was also the fifth straight year that sales have fallen. It followed five straight years of record highs, when housing was booming.

Foreclosures and short sales — when lenders accept less for a house than a mortgage is worth — are forcing prices down. Those homes are selling at an average discount of 20 percent, and they are lowering neighboring home values. That’s made many re­sales a bargain compared with new homes, creating an average 30 percent disparity in prices.

All home sales remain weak. The August sales pace for pre­viously occupied homes was 5.03 million. That’s slightly above last year’s sales, which were the fewest since 1997. Economists say roughly 6 million older homes need to be sold each year to sus­tain a healthy housing market.

Home prices have dropped more since the recession started, on a percentage basis, than during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It took 19 years for prices to fully recover after the Depression.

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Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

I am very fortunate to be a member of the “Realty World” family and would like to share a little to my Customers, Clients and Realty Professionals. Why Realty World?

Thursday, September 15th 2011 ~ Realty World sponsored a special event “Leveraging the Power of Facebook” hosted by Nicole Nicolay, Co-Founder of Agent Evolution.  The event was all about Facebook when it comes to your real estate business…and how to easily connect and stay top of mind with your sphere. I found the session fast moving and interesting.

Our listings are syndicated to 550+ national Web sites and also featured at the top of Yahoo Real Estate, Zillow and Trulia.com. As of July 2011, Trulia ended the month with 16.5 million monthly unique visitors. That is why our listings get more exposure!

I would like to give a “thank you” to Rolando Valverde with Realty World Financial Services for helping many of my new customers with mortgage loan qualifications and approvals.   800.732.5414 x315   rolando.valverde@rwnc.com

Realty World – Dave Thurman

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business $299.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

IT’S FINALLY HERE! ARE YOU READY FOR THE BEST EXPO YET?

The biggest real estate of the event is finally upon us! CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2011 starts on Tuesday, Sept. 20, with PRE EXPO at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, and continues through Thursday, Sept. 22. This is an event that you simply can’t afford to miss. The free professional development and abundant networking opportunities that EXPO offers will help you achieve a competitive edge in the market and show you how to increase your bottom line.

Come to EXPO for:

• Social media training
• Sales tips
• Technology tools and trends
• A look at the economic landscape
• Financing insight for clients
• Short sales, REO, and foreclosure knowledge
• And more!

To see a complete schedule of PRE EXPO and EXPO sessions, and an exhibitor list, visit expo.car.org. Additional fees apply to special events such as PRE EXPO, luncheons, and certification classes. Take your business to the next level at CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2011!

Register online for CALIFORNIA REALTOR® EXPO 2011 and PRE EXPO by visiting http://expo.car.org/, or calling toll-free (800) 242-2732. You also may register onsite at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

See you in San Jose!

Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

August 2010 there were 1237 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to August 2011 where there was a decrease to 1044 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in August 2010  was 364 and in August 2011 the number of homes sold increased to 392. In August 2010 there were 422 pending sales which increased to 632 in August 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports

Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

July 2010 there were 1168 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to July 2011 where there was a decrease to 1053 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in July 2010  was 407 and in July 2011 the number of homes sold decreased to 354. In July 2010 there were 398 pending sales which increased to 544 in July 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports

On Saturday, August 27, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business $299.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

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• Real Estate Investment
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• Long Realty Welcomes Bryan Murphy to Oro Valley Office

Thriving in a Difficult Economy

Even in times of economic turmoil, like we’re experiencing now, some Shaklee distributors have made a couple of hundred extra dollars each month.

Others have put their kids through college, traveled to places they had never dared to dream of visiting.

They have become healthier than ever, bought homes, become millionaires, retired comfortably, retired cushily, started foundations and dreamed bigger than they’ve ever dreamed before.

Shaklee has grown in every single prior recession since 1956.

• Social Marketing

• Why Shaklee

• Live Your Dream

We get it. Life can be better. You can live healthier, you can make a healthier income, and you can do it by making people and the planet healthier too.

Related articles

• East Stockton Real Estate
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• Join Shaklee as a $750 GOLD Ambassador

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman – Shaklee

For release:
July 21, 2011

Short-sale process broken, pushing Central Valley families into foreclosure,
REALTOR® survey shows
Latest lender satisfaction survey highlights glaring issues in short-sale process

FRESNO, CALIF.  (July 21) – More than half of Central Valley REALTORS® characterized closing short-sale transactions as “difficult” or “extremely difficult,” according to a Lender Satisfaction Survey conducted by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  The survey gauges REALTORS®’ experience working with lenders in their most recent transaction.  The majority of those surveyed dealt with short-sale transactions – transactions in which the lender or lenders agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the current homeowner.

“The survey results demonstrate the ongoing problems homeowners are experiencing with onerous short-sale procedures on the part of lenders and servicers,” said C.A.R. Treasurer Don Faught, who presented the findings today at a news conference in Fresno, Calif.  “Despite assurances by lenders in recent months that they would improve their short-sale processes, clearly, not enough is being done.  Lenders are out of touch with the realities of the market and the consequences to struggling homeowners, and the result is unnecessary foreclosures that only make California’s economic problems worse, hindering a desperately needed recovery.”

The top three obstacles REALTORS® most frequently cited in working with lenders and servicers during the short-sale process include lenders’ slow response time to a short-sale package,  repeated requests for documentation, and poor communication with lender representatives.  Some REALTORS® even indicated that the lender foreclosed on the home before the short-sale transaction could be completed.

Some specific REALTOR® comments from the survey include:  “Bank will not come down on price; home needs work, but the bank is being unrealistic.”  “Banks say they want to help work things out on short sales, but to be honest, I don’t believe they care.”  “The whole process is completely flawed.”   “The bank took over four months to give approval.  They refused to pay common seller closing costs and repeatedly demanded paperwork that had been sent previously.”

Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of REALTORS®  said it took more than 60 days for lenders or servicers to return a written response on the approval or disapproval of the short-sale agreement submitted.  And, half of respondents said it took the lender more than five days to return any form of communication.

Overall satisfaction with the lenders REALTORS® worked with in their most recent short-sale transaction remains extremely poor, with 77 percent saying they were “not satisfied” or “not at all satisfied.”  Moreover, almost nine in 10 (88 percent) REALTORS® said they were “not likely” or “not at all likely” to refer buyers to the lender to finance future home purchases. [more from C.A.R.]

The above article was reprinted from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)

Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

June 2010 there were 1088 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to June 2011 where there was a decrease to 1062 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in June 2010  was 496 and in June 2011 the number of homes sold decreased to 354. In June 2010 there were 430 pending sales which increased to 616 in May 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports