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The guys on the speaker panel the other night were commenting on how this project will make history in San Diego as the worst project ever.  "This one will land on the front page of the New York Times as the example of the San Diego real estate disaster", said one expert.

Read Kelly's story here:

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/09/13/housing/868vantagepointe090508.txt

Seller is agent too. 

Bruce Norris said the other night that foreclosures have out-paced house sales this year in San Diego County, and it didn't quite sit right.

On further review, he is using totals of all trustee deeds, which would include condos and other property types. 

To paint a slightly more accurate picture, here is the chart on monthly numbers for attached and detached resales, compared to the trustee deeds:

Other data:

The year-to-date sales on the MLS have improved, now only 5.7% behind last year's 18,535 between January and August.

But Housingtracker.net is showing a 28.5% increase in REO inventory in just the last two months:

http://www.housingtracker.net/reo/california/san-diego

They also show a 22.8% reduction in the median asking price over the last 12 months.  The correction has picked up speed in 2008, they show an overall 33.6% drop since August, 2005:

http://www.housingtracker.net/askingprices/California/SanDiego-Carlsbad-SanMarcos/

As prices have dropped and inventory staying relatively flat or fewer, more buyers are coming out (no grumbling about my phone ringing off the hook!). 

For example, the Oceanside REO listing featured here on the last video for $229,900 has five offers on it, three of them over list price.

But finding the right house at the right price is still a battle - keep looking!

Now that I've been accused as a guy who grouses, I'll let it be known that the fourth T-shirt slogan that was finally vetoed was "The Grumbler".

Whether you want to call it grousing, grumbling, muttering under breath, or just flat-out banging-head-against-wall, the short sale market is VERY frustrating - mostly due to the antics of the listing agents.

Over the last three weeks I've written 20 offers, all of them short sales, REOs or properties in default, and gotten ONE accepted.

Here are the list prices, offer prices, and results:

$749,000    $650,000  seller countered $689K, even though loan was $800K-plus.

$585,000    $520,000  no response

$835,000*  $800,000  no response

$503,500    $499,000  multiple offers higher

not listed     $1.05 M      WaMu accepted SS yesterday

$460,000   $400,000   no response

$490,000   $400,000  after 161 days onmarket, a higher offer came in the same day

$725,000   $670,000  no response

$419,900   $350,000  no response

$320,000   $326,000  countered multiple offers

$299,000*  $300,000  no response

$329,900*  $331,000  listing agent countered over title company

$340,000   $300,000  no response

$375,000   $375,000  multiple offers, agent will counter when banks approves short sale

$332,500   $346,000  we offer $13,500 over list, and bank counters, no termite, no HPP. We walked

$379,000   $340,000  other offer higher

$335,000   $336,000  LA said no email offers, fax only

$532,000   $500,000  ten offers in, some over list

$424,900   $390,000  won't look at offer, pre-qual not from nationally-known lender

$365,900   $345,000  no response

*price is the low-end of their variable price range

Out of twenty offers made, eight of them didn't garner an email or call back.

This is why the myself and all agents are grousing about the market - just a simple courtesy call from the listing agent would go a long way to allow the unsuccessful buyers to move on to the next property.  Instead, you are left wondering if there is any hope.

****************************************************************

Not much hope left for this guy though.  This is Brent Wilkes' house in Poway.  He was the defense contractor who got in good with the politicians by running parties with hookers at the Watergate Hotel for years, including Duke Cunningham.  The Duke got defense contracts sent his way, and well, you know the rest.

Brent is a Long Beach jail now, serving his time, and his 5,350 sf house was listed this week for $1,200,000 as a short sale, which is far under it's actual value.  There have been two closed sales on the street this year, $2,000,000 last month, and $2,875,000.

On his property's tax rolls it shows:

2/04  $7,500,000  Merrill Lynch

2/06  $1,500,000  Countrywide

4/07  $2,000,000  United States of America

The listing agent said that the USA lien was only around $600,000, and he was trying to get the lender to pay it.  Why the lender would accept an offer around $1,200,000 is beyond me, but they had 14 offers to choose from.  But the agent already had his buyer's offer in with the bank, and he said he thought it was going to blow - that's why he listed it in the MLS.  But he talked the bank into going back to work on his original deal anyway. 

There are a lot of these behind-the-scenes deals going on now.

Washington Mutual has been on the endangered list all year, but the wheels have been off the wagon for a while.  Here is just one example.

WaMu refinanced this 1,500sf house in City Heights just over a year ago - when it was obvious that the market was in trouble, and the smarter banks should have been reeling in their lending practices. 

The owner paid $83,000 when he bought it from Home Savings in 1995. 

WaMu loaned him $449,000 in June, 2007.

It's now being offered as a short sale - for $140,000!

Why would the listing agent take this on?  If you could find a buyer, your next job is to spend 2-6 months convincing WaMu to take a 75% haircut just 15 months after loan origination, just to make a $3,500 commission that you have to split with the boss?????

hat tip to DSC for sending this in!