Real Estate Information

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September, announced the suspension of all foreclosure and eviction proceedings between Nov. 26 and Jan. 9, 2009, in an effort to give its newly created rescue plan a chance to work. It is yet unclear whether other financial institutions will follow suit with this new freeze. This is not the first foreclosure freeze this year and I am sure it will not be the last. This may not be big news in some areas but for potential buyers or sellers in the Bakersfield area this can have a big impact.

Roughy 70% of sales in most areas of town are bank owned REO properties. If you take all of those out of the picture for any period of time there will be a huge decrease in inventory. This is not the gradual decrease and correction that is bound to happen but instead an all of the sudden drop in the number of available homes. That can make things more difficult if you are currently looking for a home and are going to have a lot less options to choose from. If you are trying to sell right now this may be great news. Your slightly overpriced property now may be a lot more attractive when there are not 10 bank owned homes for sale down the street at 20k less!

The upside across the board though is that the financial institutions are going to take this time to try and help homeowners that have legitimate hardships. If you are having problems with your mortgage and are concerned about making future payments, I highly recommend contacting your mortgage company now and seeing what they can do to help!

Have a great week!

Jared

The Cope Real Estate Team would like to invite you to come by and pick up a free pie on Wednesday the 26th between 12-6pm at our office located at 1500 Haggin Oaks Drive, Suite 100 Bakersfield, CA 93311.

In our appreciation of your past and future business we will be offering a free & delicious Thanksgiving pie from Happy Jack's Hamburger & Pie! You will have a choice of either a traditional pumpkin pie or Happy Jacks very own Rudy pie (Chocolate & Peanut Butter).

Please RSVP by email at Jared@871Cope.com or call with your pie choice. I look forward to seeing you all then!

On September 11, the House of Representatives passed the Veterans Construction and Extension Act of 2008, which helps Veterans achieve their dreams of home ownership. The legislation provides assistance for veterans who need to refinance their Sub prime or adjustable rate loans into a safer, more affordable loan backed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The bill has been passed on to the Senate for finalization. If you're in the market for a home, contact us for information on FHA, VA, and other mortgage programs that might be right for you.

All of us at The Cope Real Estate Team are proud to announce our recent association with Keller Williams Realty of Bakersfield. Keller Williams became the fourth-largest U.S. residential real estate firm in North America in 2006 and has an outstanding reputation for success, integrity, and great customer service.

Our office is now located at 1500 Haggin Oaks, Suite 100 Bakersfield, CA 93311. We will continue to serve the greater Bakersfield area and provide the top notch customer service that you deserve.

Please visit the Keller Williams company site @ http://www.kw.com/kw/aboutus.html to learn more about Keller Williams Realty.

We are also would like to welcome Hollie Whitfield (Buyer's Specialist) and Amy Drummond (Field Service Representative) to The Cope Real Estate Team. Please visit about the team to learn more about them and the great services they bring to the team.

Have a great weekend!

The June market update is positive with slightly better #'s than last month. The number of available listings is down slightly with sales and pendings on the rise. Bank owned properties are still rising though and they represent 62% of the sales last month.

All numbers are as of today 7-2-2008 and are from the Bakersfield Multiple Listing Service under the category of single family residential (SFR).

4,167 homes active on the market

1,120 of those are bank owned properties

1,236 are "short sales" or pre-foreclosure sales

1,435 are in escrow or pending sale (that is excluding anything that went pending prior to 4-1-2007)

894 of those are bank owned properties

184 are "short sales"

and there were 540 homes sold or closed escrow in June 2008 with

334 of those being bank owned and

25 being short sales

Please feel free to call or email with any questions or for more detailed information. Have a great holiday weekend!

Jared

Here is the market update for May. Market conditions are continuing to improve over previous months, with the bank owned properties still dominating the market. The aggressively priced properties are getting multiple offers and in some cases selling at or above asking price.

All numbers are as of today 5-27-2008 and are from the Bakersfield Multiple Listing Service under the category of single family residential (SFR).

4,249 homes active on the market

1,070 of those are bank owned properties

1,183 are "short sales" or pre-foreclosure sales

1,404 are in escrow or pending sale (that is excluding anything that went pending prior to 3-1-2007)

826 of those are bank owned properties

168 are "short sales"

and there were 476 homes sold or closed escrow in April 2008 with

291 of those being bank owned and

28 being short sales

Please feel free to call or email with any questions or for more detailed information. Have a great day!

Jared

Still some improvements! Pendings and sales are with up with bank owned properties dominating the sales.

All numbers are as of today 4-9-2008 and are from the Bakersfield Multiple Listing Service under the category of single family residential (SFR).

4,462 homes active on the market

1,036 of those are bank owned properties

1,021 are "short sales" or pre-foreclosure sales

1,148 are in escrow or pending sale (that is excluding anything that went pending prior to 12-1-2007)

664 of those are bank owned properties

126 are "short sales"

and there were 310 homes sold or closed escrow in February 2008 with

170 of those being bank owned and

17 being short sales

and there were 378 homes sold or closed escrow in March 2008 with

204 of those being bank owned and

23 being short sales

Have a great week!

Jared