More of the same. Almost exactly the same, as a matter of fact. Of the new listings last week in Greensboro’s nine residential zip codes, 17 were foreclosures. That represents about 13% of the total new listings.

That’s not a great number.

But it is, alas, the way things have been for the last several weeks. Earlier this year, we might see about 8% or 9% of new listings be foreclosures but the last 8 weeks have averaged 13.2%. The highest was four weeks ago when 15.3% of new listings were foreclosures. Gag.

The only thing that might be a bit encouraging is that the number really is fairly steady in the 13% range. At some point the number will come down. I won’t be standing on one foot waiting for it, but it will happen.

Another sad-but-true consistent stat is that two Greensboro zip codes – 27405 and 27406 – continue to have the lion’s share of foreclosure: 44% cumulatively; 23% and 21% respectively. It should be noted, however, that back in October of 2009, these two zips had  more than 50% of listed foreclosures. This may be an indication of foreclosures impacting more areas of town more than things really improving in those two zips. Is the glass half empty or half full?

I just know that sometimes looking at these stats make me reach for a glass totally full. Of gin.

An even less uplifting number is 185. That’s how many foreclosures have been listed in Greensboro in the last 12 weeks. That’s more than have been in any of the previous 3 months of running 12-week totals. It isn’t surprising that foreclosures continue to hit the market. Lenders have been working through back-logs of delinquent loans for months and they’ll keep on processing them for some time. It takes months of non-payment for a lender to foreclose, then months more for the paperwork to be slogged through, then more time yet to get a property listed.

What does all this mean to you, dear reader? It means there’s still a lot of shaking yet to go on in the real estate market. Frankly, foreclosure listings will probably still be hitting the market for months after the unemployment figures rebound (for the previously mentioned time-frame reason).

So, I’ll keep watching and writing. You keep reading. And one of these days all of our glasses will be full.

Mine, probably still with gin.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) as of June 29, 2010,  and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Of all the things that impact the housing market in any region, inventory may be the most important. The number of properties available for sale is what drives a market being dubbed “buyer’s” or “seller’s”. As with any other commodity, if there is much more on the shelves than buyers in the aisles, prices are impacted.

Unlike the price of apples, though, when a community has too much housing inventory, the impact can be widely felt. After all, properties whose value drops  will be taxed less. (You can read how property taxes are calculated in Guilford County here.) While lower taxes sounds great for the homeowner, lower tax revenues across a large area mean drastic changes for the entire community.

At any rate, tracking the housing inventory in Greensboro shows what everyone probably knows: There’s a great many properties for sale. As of June 5th, per our local Multiple Listing System (the database all properties listed by area Realtors) showed there are 3304 residential properties on the market. These include both ‘active’ and ‘pending’ listings. I include those units whose sales are pending because until they close, they’re not sold. And there has been many a fumble twixt contract and key exchange.

Compared with the same week last year, inventory is up. This week last year there were 3024 homes listed.

At the same time, the average list price is down from the same week last year. $222,871 this year versus $244,812 last year.

These prices are averages across all property types, across all zip codes. The ‘price of apples’ in some zip codes is decidedly more robust than in others:

Of course, some of those 3304 listings are indeed slated to close. Keeping a good thought towards that, the break down of active/pending listings in property types is this:

And active/pending by zip code is this:

Sadly, there is a portion of these listings that are foreclosures. The breakdown of the percentage of foreclosures in the overall numbers follow:

Eventually, there will be more buyers and fewer available properties. Until then, maybe we should get used to applesauce.

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If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

The weather in Greensboro has made a change from warm and sunny to decidedly autumn-like. The skies have been overcast, we’ve gotten some much needed if somewhat mood depressing rain and people have broken out their nubby sweaters.

Along with the gray skies are the latest foreclosure listing numbers for Greensboro. The last few weeks haven’t been great. The week ending 10/11/09 had 21 new foreclosure listings*. That’s the highest weekly number in 2009.

Gray, indeed.

The most recent listings are spread over nearly all the nine residential Greensboro zip codes with only 27409 and 27455 having none. And, again, 27405 and 27406 are the most impacted zip codes, with 8 and 4 new listings, respectively.

Why the uptick in foreclosure listings lately? There are surely several reasons, many of which are beyond me. But in discussing this with a colleague, Leslie Wales-Hecht, a couple of days ago, she pointed out that over the last several months there have been a good many sellers, along with their lenders, trying to stave off foreclosure by going the ‘short sale’ route.

Short sales, she pointed out, are the last stop before foreclosure. And since the short sale process is a long and complicated one, the number of foreclosure listings may be have simply been delayed while the short sale attempts were made. Leslie should know as she is actually a certified Short Sale Specialist and has been up to he pretty eyes in short sales for some time.

For those properties where short sale terms were not able to be worked out the inevitable was merely put off.

Makes sense to me.

Whatever the reason, it will be a delight to report on this site when the numbers start shriveling up and blowing away. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, some details:

The prices for the the week’s foreclosures range from $15,900 to $329,900. 18 of the 21 are under $100,000 and 14 are under $75,000. Three of the listings are already under contract. Look below for a few listings representative of what is available in the foreclosure market in Greensboro as of today.

1207 Arlington Street, Greensboro, NC $19,900 (MLS#556629)

2627 Stratford Dr, Greensboro, NC $99,900 (MLS#55067)

4200 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, NC $229,900 (MLS#530680)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

A quick snapshot of houses on the market in Greensboro show that there’s plenty to choose from, to say the very least.

Looking over the last 6 months, the total number of listings (including ‘active’ and ‘pending’ listings) is 2996*. That’s almost exactly smack-dab in the middle of the highest number of 3091 on May 26th and the lowest of 2892 on March 31st.

And the average list price – $222,900 – is lowest it’s been in that same time period.

This is not particularly welcome news for sellers, but awesome for buyers.

There has been a slight increase in the percentage of foreclosures in these numbers. Four of the nine Greensboro zip codes had a small increase in foreclosure listings: 27405 (+3), 27406(+5), 27410 (+2) and 27455 (+2). 27403 had a reduction (-1)The rest remained the same.

The percentage of overall listings that are foreclosures increased from 189 (6%) to 200 (7%). Nearly all of that gain is in the single-family category.

An example of a listing with an asking price representative of the average is this lovely thing at 1809 Colonial Avenues:

1809 Colonial Ave, Greensboro, NC 27408 $225,000 (MLS#526828)

The average listing price of $222,900 can buy a really nice house in a very nice neighborhood. The example to the left is such a house. With 3 bedrooms and 2 baths this house is representative of the size one would might expect as an “average”.

All in all, the numbers continue to show that Greensboro is following the very general trends of most of the country but without the big ‘ouchies’ some areas are enduring. Good deals are available, nice homes are on the market and a few houses are owned by banks.

Keep watching this space to see what happens next.

And now, the rest of the graphs, please…..

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities.

Finally, finally, finally. For the first time since May, the new weekly foreclosure listings in Greensboro have been in the single digits two weeks in a row. For the week ending 9/13/09 there were 7* new listings. The week before, 9.

Too soon to say there’s a trend, but we’ll take it.

Those 7 foreclosures are located in 4 zip codes of Greensboro:

• 27401 – 2 listings
• 27405 – 2 listings
• 27406 – 2 listings
• 27410 – 1 listing

All but one are single-family houses, 1 being a townhouse.

Some data of note: the list price range for the houses is substantially narrower – and lower – than for any week since May.

• highest list price - $89,900
• lowest list price – $24,900
• average list price – $54,314
• median list price – $44,900

AND, for the first time in a goodly while, the number of foreclosure listings over a 12-week rolling period declined. We’ve been on an upward tick for this measure since June. So, again, good news.

The zip codes most impacted by foreclosures continue to be 27405 and 27406, which account for fully 50% (64) of the total number of foreclosures listed (128) in the last 12 weeks

Below are the requisite charts and graphs, but first here are a couple of properties that represent some of the foreclosures available in Greensboro right now:

2400 Peppervine Trail, Greensboro, NC 27455 $239,900 (MLS#530680)

2000 S. Benbow, Greensboro, NC 27406 $33,500 (MLS#525347)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

One of the most popular topics on this site is that of foreclosures. With all the carpet-bombing news stories about the distressed economic system, distressed banks, distressed real estate markets and distressed home sellers one could understandably be, well, distressed.

For sure, there is pain out there. True, real, flesh and blood people in tough positions.

But when we drill down to Greensboro foreclosure numbers*, we had another good week.

During the week ending 4/12/09, only 5 foreclosures were listed. That’s the fewest weekly total since tracking of the numbers started on this site. And of the 9 residential Greensboro zip codes, three have had no foreclosures listed in the last weeks. (27403, 27408 and 27455)

More importantly, there is a decided trend in the rolling 12-week periods of foreclosure listings. There were 12 fewer in the 12 week period ending 4/12 than the previous period. That’s a huge drop.

There has been a moratorium on foreclosures by some financial institutions, and those moratoriums are coming to a close. So perhaps the numbers will go the other direction in weeks to come. If they do, you’ll read it here.

But for now the trend is clear. There are fewer foreclosures in Greensboro than there were. And that means fewer stressed home sellers, which may lead to less stress on the real estate market, banks and the economy in general.

Let’s hope so because until they start putting Xanax in gumball machines, we all need less stress.

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and is only as good as the information entered, which is done by humans, who make errors. The information is only for those residential zip codes for Greensboro and does not include the surrounding communities

I’m not trendy, but I know a trend when I see one. And there is a definite trend in the foreclosure listing activity in Greensboro.

It’s a downward trend, and that’s good. In order for the real estate market to rebound, there must be a reduction in inventory overall, and in the number of foreclosures specifically. That’s because foreclosures are the real estate equivalent of single celled organisms – not really productive in the grand scheme of things, taking energy the environment and are often slimy.

And I mean that literally. Some of these places look like they’ve been rode hard and hung up wet.

So, the first step towards economic evolution and advancement is to get these distressed properties off the market. And that’s what appears to be happening.

Looking at 12-week rolling periods, the week ending 3/1/09 has the lowest total since I started tracking, which was the beginning of September 2008.

That’s the first bit of good news.

The second is that, of the 146 properties listed in the last 12 weeks, the fewest yet are still on the market (comparing to other 12 week periods) and more are closed or pending than other periods.

Not only that, but of ALL the foreclosures listed since 9/8/08,  nearly 2/3 are closed or under contract..

This is a trend – unlike botox injections – behind which I can get.

[NOTE: It has been requested that I include numbers for  Summerfield, a 'bedroom' community north of Greensboro in Guilford County. I appreciate the suggestion and will start compiling the data and will post as soon as I have done so.]

For those who like to see the numbers for your zip code, here you go:

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Weekly fluctuations of the numbers can happen as the data is impacted by the promptness of input by members, properties that are temporarily withdrawn from the market, etc.,

This week is the third in a row when I’ve enjoyed providing Greensboro housing statistics less than other weeks. Actually, less than clothes shopping, which I REALLY don’t like. (Who decided overhead florescent lighting and full length mirrors are a good combination?)

But, alas, facts are facts. And that’s a fact. Inventory is up, and prices are just about the same. We would prefer lower inventory and higher prices.

Of course, we would prefer to have our 22-year old bodies back while retaining our hard earned middle-aged wisdom, wouldn’t we? I’m am, of course, using the royal “we” in this case.

We are not amused by this data, But here it is:

• Total Listings  -  2931 (up 1.5% from last week)*
• Avg List Price -  $239,742 (up 0.2% from last week)

As always, whether the news is good or bad, you’ll see it here.

_________________________________________________________

If you have questions, comments or a good joke to share shoot me an email.  I’m a full time Realtor®, I love what I do and would be thrilled to hear from you.

* All data from Triad Multiple Listing Service (MLS). “Single-family” does not include Duplexes or manufactured homes.