The tale of the Trojan Horse recounts the story of a huge wooden horse constructed by the Greeks in order to lull the Trojans into a false sense of security. Inside this wooden horse were hidden Greek warriors, and as the Greek army pretended to sail away from the city of Troy after a ten-year war, the supposedly victorious Trojans pulled the Horse into their city to celebrate their victory. But that night, the soldiers inside the Horse crept out of hiding, opened the gates to the city of Troy allowing the Greek army to enter and destroy the city. Guess what. The Trojan Horse is back, only this time it comes disguised as the real estate short sale.

Short Sales are the trojan horse threatening the destruction of the housing market. I never thought that I would come to that conclusion but a look at the statistics are both shocking and revealing regarding short sales and what they’ve done to the housing market here in my home town of Grants Pass. Our local market area has currently a total of 1240 properties that were listed in the month of June, 2010. During that 30 day period we sold 84 properties, we had another 84 go pending, and 34 more became contingent sales. That’s not bad but by no means good. The amazing part is that short sales represented 10% of the total inventory for sale and yet out of over 100 properties that were listed as short sales, there were only 4 that actually sold. That’s a mere 3/10 of 1% of the total activity in the market. Sadly, short sales are influencing the price of all the other properties in the market, contaminating everything around them because short sellers have no stake in the outcome of the sale.

Let me explain. Continue reading Short Sales and the Trojan Horse

There is good news and bad news for the southern Oregon housing market. First, the good news: Sales volume and prices are up slightly to moderately and days-on-market and number-of-homes for sale are down. All this bodes well for a continuing recovery. Business was fairly brisk for home sales in Grants Pass and the Southern Oregon real estate market in general, and the months of March and April were very good as buyers scrambled to take advantage of the expiration of the home buyers tax credit that ended on April 30th. We had until June 30th to close those contracts and the last week of June we were very busy with closings. The house and senate both passed an extension of time to complete closings for those sales that were hung up and couldn’t meet the June 30th deadline. President Obama is expected to sign it. That’s good because I had a number of sales that were supposed to meet that deadline and couldn’t.

Speaking of short sales, Continue reading Southern Oregon Real Estate Market Update

Over the past year, I’ve written many blogs about the state of going green in the Southern Oregon real estate market. With the coming of 2010, it is time to revisit the green movement to see where it is going. At its most fundamental definition, going green simply means that you care about the environment and the last year has seen a great surge in the sheer numbers of people, businesses, and organizations that have expressed their concern for the environment by joining the green movement.

These numbers also tell another story; the story of a growing consciousness of caring. This growing consciousness is a consciousness that has spread not just across our great country, but around the world. This consciousness can be categorized as enlightened, for it seeks to join others in a quest to create a better world by going green.

I am often asked if this mass transcendence to a higher level of consciousness spurred by the green movement can be applied to business principles that lead to success. In today’s world we are all well aware of the polarization that occurs between ideologies and how ideologies can become counter productive, freezing progress along the way. The pointing finger of blame presents the greatest resistance of all to achieving meaningful change and the Great Recession is living proof that individual and corporate profits driven by greed and corruption lead to disaster. But there is now a transcendence underway that will lead to a new belief structure in the power of enlightened consciousness and enhanced business practices. Transcendence to enlightened consciousness is a journey that can be taken by anyone courageous enough believe that there is a better way, that doing the right thing is an inherent part of our DNA, and that the journey toward understanding and practice of enhanced business principles will lead to un-compromised success.

2010 holds the promise of a new beginning for those who believe in going green and are ready to begin a transcendence to the business principles of success attainable through enlightened consciousness.

The question is… are you ready?

Michael Masters

A Socially Conscious Real Estate Consultant

I think for many of us, the journey into a new calendar year celebrates the passing of 2009 as much as it welcomes 2010. Let’s face it, 2009 was a tough real for just about everything economic. Back in 2006 when Southern Oregon real estate prices began their downward slide, we had no idea that market corrections would lead to a global financial meltdown. In hindsight (which for most of us is 20-20) we now realize that the high-water mark for real estate prices in the Southern Oregon real estate market was in the summer of 2005. That high-point for prices was nationwide, and unknown to many of us, the price pendulum had already begun to swing the other way. Of course, devaluation of property led to the financial disaster for many home owners as foreclosures and short sales dominated the Southern Oregon real estate landscape.

But one thing we know for sure. When prices hit their high-mark and the market begins to make corrections in the opposite direction, the high-mark always reaches a price that is higher that it ever should have been. These market corrections are driven by the laws of supply and demand and they work in both directions, up and down. Likewise, when prices plummet downward, they will sink lower than they should before the laws of supply and demand begin to send prices back the other way. This is where I believe we are right now. Prices have more than just hit the bottom… they’ve dipped well below where they should be. There are many homes on the market that could not be rebuilt for the listing price. In fact, there are some homes that are priced so remarkably low, it is amazing that they are still on the market.

Indeed, prices are now lower than they should be, just as they were higher than they should have been in 2005. So prepare yourself for the real estate recovery that will become fully recognized in 2010. It’s about time.

Michael Masters

A Socially Conscious Real Estate Consultant

It’s often been said that the only thing holding us back is our own individual fear of success. Fear can catch us in our own trap. Fear can hold back Buyers and Sellers in the Southern Oregon real estate market from making the right decisions. Fear is our own worst enemy. But control over our fears can establish confidence in those around us and in the long run, help to jump-start the real estate recovery.

As a Socially Conscious real estate consultant, I often counsel real estate agents in the Southern Oregon real estate market about Continue reading Fear of the Future and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

2009 will undoubtedly be remembered for the global economic meltdown, financial crisis, real estate collapse, and governmental bailouts. And as the Southern Oregon real estate market passes through this treacherous fiscal gauntlet, at times it becomes tough for homeowners, buyers, and sellers to hang on to a positive attitude. Yet recent studies show that the tougher the times, the more we need an optimistic attitude. Research now shows that a positive attitude not only leads to Continue reading Optimism and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

How do you put this tactfully? 2009 was a tough year for the global economy and for the Southern Oregon real estate market. Fortunately for the market, the housing sector is today in a stronger position at the end of the year than it was at the beginning. 2009 will no doubt be remembered as a year of transition; as a year that signaled the beginning of the recovery for national real estate markets and for the Southern Oregon real estate market. And none too late.

2009 saw foreclosures and short sales dominating the landscape, and taking with them in their wake Continue reading Farewell 2009 from The Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

The Southern Oregon real estate market here is definitely getting better, and that’s good news, but the truth is it couldn’t have gotten any worse. At the peak of our market in 2005, we were averaging about 135-140 home sales a month compared with the bottom of the market when we were selling around 55 to 65 homes per month. In today’s market, we are now averaging about 80 to 85 sales per month. The median price at the market’s peak in 2005 averaged about $260,000 per month while today the median price is now in the $170K range.

Fortunately, amid all of highs and lows in the Southern Oregon real estate market, prices have finally stabilized, and in a recent conversation with an Appraiser, I was informed that prices have been holding steady since the end of the second quarter of this year with some slight price improvement. Both the Appraiser and myself expect that statistical improvement to disappear as we enter our seasonal slow down. We usually see sales off by as much as 50% in the month of December but we expect an early pick up in the spring as buyers take advantage of the homebuyer’s tax credits that expires in March.

Now the bad news: Continue reading End-of-the year Report for the Grants Pass and Southern Oregon Real Estate

The one thing we can count on is change. It’s all around us; sometimes welcome, sometimes not. As the last few years have shown, the economic changes effecting the real estate industry have been traumatic. With foreclosures up and prices down in the Southern Oregon real estate market, the adaptation to change has required all of us to make some difficult choices. Throughout Grants Pass and Medford, real estate agents and the offices they are aligned with have struggled to survive. In what appears to be a nationwide trend, the Southern Oregon real estate market has witnessed a high attrition rate among agents, many of whom have moved on to other careers or financial endeavors. Some agents have formed their own cottage-industry real estate offices in an attempt to maximize their income by keeping 100% of sales commissions. Other offices have closed their doors, unable to survive in a tighter market with fewer sales and lower numbers across the board. And yet change and choice remain the one constant that insures survival, no matter how difficult decisions seem at the time they are made.

Recently, our office, ERA Prestige Homes, was presented with the opportunity to change by merging locations under one roof with the owners and agents from ReMax Ideal Properties and Coldwell Banker Dorn and Taylor. This is an unprecedented move by Grants Pass standards and the local real estate industry is buzzing with Continue reading Change, Choice, and the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market

Homeowners distressed by the housing sector meltdown in the Southern Oregon real estate market can look forward to help from the U.S. Treasury Department in the upcoming months. Last week the Treasury Department unveiled new rules for homeowners nationwide who need to sell but are “underwater” and unable to get a price for their home that would cover the amount owed to their lender. The Treasury Department plan has been created to help those who either don’t have enough income or whose debt levels are too high to allow them to qualify for a loan modification under the multi-billion dollar program known as Making Home Affordable.

When a home in the Southern Oregon real estate market is listed for a price below what is owed to the lender, it falls into the category of a Short Sale, but make no mistakes about it, there is nothing short about it, except for the funds necessary to pay off the loan. However, there are advantages to a short sale; in addition to saving the seller’s credit, short sales save the banks the expense of foreclosure. Short sales also help to solidify neighborhood property valuations because a short sale price is most likely a higher price than what the house will sell for through foreclosure. It is estimated that in 2009, one out of every ten home sales was a short sale, and in some distressed areas like Las Vegas and Sacrament, the ratio is much higher.

Following are the guidelines for qualification for the new Treasury Department assistance: Continue reading Treasury Department Assistance for Short Sales in the Southern Oregon Real Estate Market