Ada property values have bottomed out.

The Ada County assessor is stating that values have bottomed out, and in addition to that they have begun to climb again this year.

From the Idaho Stateman

Assessor says values have dropped a third since the 2008 peak

After three years of double-digit declines, Ada County property values leveled out in 2011, with a decline of just 1.7 percent last year.

Ada County Assessor Bob McQuade said real estate is now beginning a slow climb out. Hitting rock bottom entailed a 33 percent decline in assessed property values in just four years.

The median assessed value of an Ada County home peaked in 2008 at $208,100. This year, that number is $138,800.

Assessments mailed in recent weeks are for property values as of Jan. 1, 2012.

In Canyon County, the trend of dwindling property values continued, dropping about 8 percent countywide from 2010 levels, Chief Deputy Assessor Joe Cox said. That’s slightly less than the 8.5 percent drop reported from 2009 to 2010.

CHANGES BY AREA

The changes in home values over the past year ranged from a 5.9 percent decrease in Southeast Boise to a 1.3 percent increase in Northwest Meridian. Eleven of 17 Ada survey areas saw declines, and five — South, Southwest and East Boise, northeast Meridian and Star — recorded no change in value. Just two areas recorded an increase, both in Meridian.

Some of the grimmest news came from Caldwell, where property values dropped by 11 percent in 2011, Cox said. In Nampa, the decline was about 9 percent.

ASSESSMENTS AND TAXES

Lower property values do not necessarily translate into lower taxes.

For example, on one Southeast Boise home, the assessed value has declined 28 percent from 2008 to 2012, but property taxes increased 4 percent over the same period.

That’s because, ultimately, property tax bills are determined by the levy rates set by individual taxing districts where a home is located. When property values drop, these districts can increase rates to keep the same level of revenue.

There are 41 taxing districts in Ada County, including the county, cities, schools, emergency medical services, and library, cemetery, mosquito abatement and irrigation districts. These taxing districts will set their respective budgets and levy rates in September. Each can raise budgets by 3 percent, plus a percentage for new construction.

Another factor affecting a home’s taxable value is the homeowner’s exemption, which is based on the federal housing price index. This year the maximum exemption is $83,974, down from $92,040 last year. It was highest in 2009 at $104,500.

Throughout Canyon County, properties that lost the most value were those built in 1975 or earlier, Cox said. Market interest has focused on three-bedroom homes less than a decade old, which often are sparking a bidding war.

Much of the drop in Canyon County values is represented by homes that were foreclosed on, he said.

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/06/18/2159176/ada-property-values-have-bottomed.html#storylink=cpy

 

 

Canyon County-Real Estate Briefs

CANYON COUNTY HOUSING MARKET STATS

54: Percentage of homes sold in Canyon County in April that were distressed, down from 75 percent a year prior.

33: Percentage of homes sold in Ada County in April that were distressed, down from 57 percent a year prior.

3: Months of home inventory in Canyon County — considered by some to be a shortage.

- Information provided by Lisa Bain with TitleOne Corporation

HOUSING MARKET AT A GLANCE

Information for Q1 2012, based on single-family homes:

$69,999 AND UNDER: Most common price range of homes sold (31.3 percent of sales)

639: Number of homes sold, 49 of which were newly constructed

176: Number of homes sold in South Nampa, highest volume of sales in Canyon County. Six were new.

- Information provided by Intermountain MLS through Zions Banks.

 

Canyon County-Fewer Bank Owned

CANYON COUNTY — If you were house hunting in Canyon County last year, about 65 percent of your options would have been foreclosed homes, Brian Stender, an appraiser with the Canyon County Assessor’s office, said.

Now that number is probably closer to 25 or 30 percent, Pioneer Title Co. CEO Tim Bundgard said.

It’s hard to predict how much shadow inventory banks are holding back, but Bundgard doesn’t foresee another flood of distressed properties hitting the market.

“I think (banks) are more cautious and they’re taking their time to process so they don’t knock the values down,” he said.

In May, there were about 30 REOs, or bank owned homes, on the Treasure Valley market, he said, compared to about 250 a year ago.

Because there are less foreclosed homes for sale, they’re not pulling prices down like they used to.

Sale prices in many segments of the market, including distressed properties, are on the rise, especially within the last 90 days.

The average selling price of homes in Canyon County was $104,756 in April, up from $96,849 in July, Pioneer Title data shows.

Who maintains foreclosed homes?

Encouraging housing market news doesn’t make things better for the homeowner living next to a deteriorating vacant house overrun with weeds.

Private and government lending institutions can contract with an agent to maintain foreclosed property.

“We go in and we clean them up, and we have someone that goes out every two weeks and maintains the lawn,” said Julie Sundquist, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker in Nampa who works on Fannie Mae properties. “... One could be in fabulous condition and it doesn’t need a thing, and another could be totally trashed.”

But most lending institutions don’t invest a lot of money in making repairs. Rather, the properties are “broom swept” or tidied up, real estate agent Patti Syme said.

If the home is vacant but not quite through the foreclosure process, it’s likely no one is maintaining it, Sundquist said, because lending contracts don’t allow for it.

Foreclosed homes still an attractive option

Most foreclosed homes in the county are in relatively good condition, Marce Barrera, founder of Homes Online Realty, said.

Foreclosed homes are seeing multiple offers and spending less time on the market.

“Interest rates are low and this is a great time to buy a house at a really discounted value,” Bundgard said.

Interest rates, which can fluctuate daily, are around 3.75 percent for a 30-year conventional mortgage, compared to 3.875 six months ago and 4.625 a year ago, Zions Bank spokeswoman Nicola McIntosh said.

What’s next?

As notices of default increase, real estate professionals expect to see more foreclosed homes on the market soon — just not a flood of them like in previous years.

With pent-up demand, these homes will probably be easily absorbed, Barrera said.

Canyon County will also see more new homes, as building permits have doubled in the last year, Pioneer Title Co. data shows. Currently, new construction makes up about 18 percent of the housing market.

Courtesy Idaho Press Tribune

 

Which is Better:A Rental or Own Home?

Knight is Shining Armor or A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

I just read this article and I am not sure what to think. The U.S. Housing secretary is making it sound like it is the best thing since sliced bread but I am not convinced. Someone is going to make a lot of money on this deal but I doubt the homeowners are going to be the ones to benefit.

"The Federal Housing Administration announced it will begin selling off distressed mortgages in bulk, which may help prevent foreclosures for thousands of home owners. Beginning in September, FHA says it hopes to sell 5,000 mortgages each quarter.

The move will also help the FHA get rid of some of the 700,000 or so seriously delinquent mortgages that it holds. Many of those delinquent loans originated from 2007 and 2009, the height of the housing crisis.

Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan says there may be a greater opportunity for investors to buy the troubled loans and either reduce the principal on the loans or offer rent-to-own plans, thereby keeping more home owners in their homes."

Home owners whose loans are sold might one day get a call from someone saying “‘Hey, we’re willing to cut your payment dramatically, or cut the balance on your loan dramatically,” Donovan said. “There are going to be a set of options that might arrive on that doorstep as the best news that home owner has ever heard.”

 

Ada County Real Estate Market Report in Pictures

Yesterday I gave you May's Ada County Market report courtesy of Marc Lebowitz of the Ada County Association of Realtors. Today I am sending along the report in pictures!

Is the sales slowdown coming?    Median price is the strongest since 2009!    Median back above 2,000 but still less than 4 month's supply.    Pretty clear picture of cause and effect.    What a difference a year makes!

 

May sales slow way down as median prices jump…is this the start of a new trend?

by marclebowitz Sales in May 2012 were 604 in Ada County, an increase of 1% compared to May 2011.   Year-to-date sales are 2,632; 9% over the first four months of 2011. Dollar volume for May was up 24%! New homes sold in May increased 100% over new homes sold in May of 2011!!…and are up 65% YTD. Historically, May sales outpace April by an average of 2% or less.  May 2012 sales decreased by 6% compared to April 2012. Of our total sales in May… 30% were distressed….down 5% from April 2012. In May 2011, 53% of our sales were distressed.  In January 56% of distressed properties were REOs and 44% were short sales.  In May the ratio was 61% short sales and 39% REOs. This is two consecutive months with short sales being the larger percentage of distressed properties sold. Whether this is a short term effect or a real indication that we are clearing out the “shadow inventory” remains to be seen in coming months. Pending sales at the end of May were 1,253; an increase of 4.8% from the end of April. In general pending sales in May are the highest of the year.  The percentage of pending sales in distress decreased 3% from April, totaling 28% overall. This is the lowest number we’ve seen in several years. We were averaging close to 50% of pendings in distress over that last five months; but have decreased steadily since January.  Of Pending sales in distress, short sales outnumbered REO’s 2 to 1. At the end of May, we had 25% more sales pending than at the end of May 2011. Hold on to your hat…May median home price was $179,900; up 25% from May 2011; and up 14% from March 2012. Median home price is up 30% since January of this year and above $150,000 for four months running. The last time we saw a median price this strong was in early 2009 (when we passed it going in the wrong direction). New Homes median price for May was $227,000; an increase of 4.5% from May 2011. The number of houses available increased slightly for the second consecutive month. At the end of May our total active inventory was 2,043 homes. This is up 2% from April and 23% less than last year at this time.  Possibly the increase in median price is enabling some real move up buyer activity. At the same time, the percentage of distressed active inventory dipped 3% to 27%. This is the lowest number we’ve seen in several years. We have been hovering between 33% and 36% for the last year. We remain well below the 40% levels set last spring….when we were on the increase. Of our Distressed Inventory 92% is Short Sales and only 8% is REO. The price point with the largest increase in available properties is $200,000 to $250,000 which added 25 units in May. In Ada County we now have less than 3.3 months of inventory on hand. The price category in shortest supply is <$119,000 with 1.7 months. In the range of $120,000 to $159,999 we have 2.6 months. All price points up to $250,000 have less than 4 month’s supply. We have benefited for nearly two years from inventory levels much lower than national average. Multiple offers are much more prevalent; now becoming the norm. Based on May sold data, our most desirable price point is $120,000 to $200,000 which increased by 20% from March; The next largest price point sold is <$120,000 at 18% of all sales; down 8% from last month.  The biggest increase was in sales between $200,000 and $250,000; which were up 300% from January 2012. Comparing Sales to Inventory, for key price points… @<$120,000 we sold 43% of all that we had in May; for $120,000 to $160,000 we sold 36% of all that was available; for $160,0000 to $200,000 we sold 34% of the total available. The question I was asked last week sums up what most of us are thinking: “How long can we continue to improve at this pace?”  I’ll let you know next month.