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Steve de Laveaga Marks Return to Bendigo!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:40:00 +0000

Sometimes a story comes along that shows us that what we are doing each and every day will mold us for our next challenge, obstacle, job or career.

Steve de Laveaga, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, with Fidelity National Title in Arizona is the perfect example of this.

Steve played professional basketball in Bendigo Australia for the bulk of the 90's. He is attributed to much of their success as a team from 1994-1999. Steve recently returned to Austraila after 10 years to be honored for his success during his time with the Bendigo Braves.

What is most interesting about Steve's story is that the same drive, determination, goal setting and team work he attributes so much of his success to in basketball, is the same for his success at Fidelity. He passes this type of focus onto his team, clients and business partners.

To read more about Steve de Laveaga's basketball return, Click Here!

This is something we should all think about each and every day as we build new skills that we take with us into our personal lives and our professional lives.

Short Sale Marketing Tips!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:16:00 +0000

Here are a quick list of Short Sale Marketing Tips from Fidelity National Title, Your Short Sale Title and Marketing Experts, from the National CDPE Convention, Top Agent Panel.

1. Public Relations- Local Human Interest Stories will help you to get your name out and also get more referrals for you.
2. Postcards and Email Blasts-Use 90 day or 60 Day lates, work with Fidelity National Title to build your database and then help you with your marketing message to get you more Short Sales!
3. Build Relationships with Attorney's and Banks- More building of referral base. Remember, they don't have to be "IN" real estate.
4. Letter of Thanks- Put a little note in each thank you to your sellers when you sell there home. Ask them if there is anyone they know you can help who is in a bad situation with their home.
5. Boards, Classes, Eduction- The more we all know, the better!
6. FSBO's- Use this list to work with potential sellers and buyers.
7. Radio- This is a great way to show your knowledge of short sales. Market yourself while helping consumers.
8. Endorsements- If you have a local voice on TV, Radio or another media medium see if you can get a paid endorsement. This will sky rocket your credibility.
9. You Tube- Ask your buyers and sellers to do a video testimonial and load it online.
10.Commercial Short Sales- Get Ready!

For more information on how to join the 22,000 and growing CDPE short sale experts, go to www.cdpe.com

For more information on Fidelity National Title and how we can help you grow your business, go to www.fntarizona.com

Banks and Lenders react to the market and embrace the “Short Sales"

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Again, we are seeing our Banks and Lenders react to the market and embrace the “Short Sales” as a way to move distressed property with less damage to communities and with a better profit retention back to their institution’s bottom line. We also have a government that is getting more aggressive about incentivizing lenders to do these short sales, in the latest HAFA program update we now have, “Under the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, borrowers will earn a $3,000 "relocation incentive" and servicers will get $1,500 for handling a short sale.

The investors who actually own the mortgage notes will get $2,000 in exchange for sharing proceeds of the short sales with any second-lien holders. And, finally, those second lien holders will receive up to $6,000 for releasing their claims.”

There is no doubt that we will see more of this encouraged support of the Short Sale process, which should make for a very robust Resale Market in 2010!!!

Steve de Laveaga
SVP of Sales and Marketing
Fidelity National Title
480-214-4500
steve.delaveaga@fnf.com

The reality is, it is March Madness and I need to make this post about how important it is to do things the right way…..

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Look at Cornell, Northern Iowa and St. Mary’s, all Mid Major colleges who NONE of the experts gave a chance, but yet, all of them are in the Sweet Sixteen!! I played ten season’s of professional basketball and I can tell you, it is soooo great to see these teams play the right way, and have this success, even though they have less athletic ability or talent. The truth is, they are fantastic competitors, they have high basketball IQ’s, they play together and they can shoot the basketball as well as being proficient at the skills of basketball, dribbling, passing, help defense. These teams success is a direct correlation, to playing the right way, and even if you have less talent, height, or athletic ability, by playing the right way, you can overcome a whole lot of stuff, even talent, because the reality is, talent is never enough on its own!! Congrats to the Mid Majors……

Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing FNT Maricopa
Office Ph. 480-214-4500
email: steve.delaveaga@fnf.com
www.fntarizona.com

Fidelity Blog's About The Government Paying Consumer For Short Sales

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:56:00 +0000

To view this blog,Click Here!

The New Face of Loss Mitigation Departments

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:11:00 +0000

We are again seeing an increase in Resale orders and we are definitely seeing a smarter, better informed Realtor making offers on the number of Short Sale listings that now exist.

We are also seeing a more willing, more informed Loss Mitigation department within the Banks, which is a welcomed trend. The truth is most Banks are now three years into this distressed property market and the smart ones, have started staffing their Loss Mitigation departments well, they have engaged the Realtor as a stakeholder and partner, in their property challenge and used that Realtor’s local knowledge and marketing ability to help liquidate property.

The reality is, as one of my good banking partner said to me last week, “Steve, I don’t know one Loss Mitigation department within ANY bank that actually makes the Bank a profit." What a true statement that is.

Steve de Laveaga
Senior VP of Sales and Marketing
Fidelity National Title
Maricopa County
480-214-4500
steve.delaveaga@fnf.com
www.fntarizona.com

Fidelity National Title's 2010 Crystal Ball Event, Declared A Success

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 16:07:00 +0000

To view Bernadette Espinosa, Marketing and Business Development Representative with Fidelity National Title's review of the 2010 Crystal Ball Event, Click Here!

Fannie Mae Short Sale Guidelines

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:25:00 +0000

The HAFA program simplifies and streamlines the use of short sale and deed-in-lieu options by incorporating the following features:

-Complements HAMP by providing viable alternatives for borrowers who are HAMP eligible.
-Utilizes borrower financial and hardship information collected in conjunction with HAMP, eliminating the need for additional eligibility analysis.
-Allows the borrower to receive pre-approved short sale terms prior to the property listing.
-Prohibits the servicer from requiring, as a condition of approving the short sale, a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement.
-Requires that borrowers be fully released from future liability for the debt.
-Provides financial incentives to borrowers, servicers and investors.

The new rules will be effective April 5, 2010, but participating servicers may elect to implement HAFA prior to that date in accordance with the directive. In order to participate in HAFA, a servicer must have executed a HAMP Servicer Participation Agreement (SPA) by Dec. 31.

Check out Fidelity National Title's 2010 Crystal Ball Event...

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:49:00 +0000

A look back and a view forward into the Phoenix real estate market!

Go to www.fntarizona.com and sign up on the front page or go to the clink for the blog and get the full details there! Click Here To View The Blog!

Space is limited, Sign Up Today!

Contact: Jean Clements
Email: jean.clements@fnf.com
Phone: 480-214-4540

Location Details

Tempe Arts Center
700 W. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe AZ 85281

Why Anti-Deficiency Laws In Arizona Make This A Great Investor State

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:44:00 +0000

Click Here To Find Out What Fidelity National Title's AVP/Default Services Division Manager, Mary Frances Coleman has to say about what makes Arizona such a great investor state: LEARN MORE

2010 From A Banker’s Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Currently in our market, quite a few of the business decisions being made in our real estate market are occurring out of state. Why is that? It is because so many of the properties in are market are owned by out of state banks; REO’s and Foreclosures are the front end of the transaction.

Our believe at Fidelity National Title is that 2010 will be the “Year of The Realtor”, putting Realtors in front of the transaction again. This will be transitioned through the new banking focus of Short Sales. When a bank sells a property as a Short Sale rather than an REO, Wachovia for example has saved $39,000 on average per property by going the Short Sale Route, rather than the REO route.

Short Sales will be 2010. Using Wachovia as another example, other banks will follow, they have also put in place a cash for keys program giving the seller $2500-$5000 in cash for doing a short sale rather than letting their property lapse into Foreclosure.

Banks do not want to pay a 3rd party negotiator or asset manager to handle the sale anymore. Remember, banks are new to this process and will needed some time to figure out how to get the properties going into foreclosure off of their books, hence, the year of the Realtor.

Tips for working with banks-
-BofA is a 60-90 Day turnaround time for an offer
-Wachovia is 42 days
-Wells Fargo will be soon to following
-When speaking with a bank, ask quick yes or no answers.
-Use your resources, at Fidelity, we have relationships with the top national banks.
-75%-85% of Trustee Sales are postponed
-Banks 1 year ago did about 6% of their business as Short Sales and now it is up to 24% and growing

For more information on Short Sale education, Short Sale Tools and Lead Lists call 480-214-4500 and ask for the Marketing Department or go to www.fntarizona.com and look for the Elite Short Sale Division link.

2010—The Year of the Realtor!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:24:00 +0000

I can see more clearly now than ever, that next year will be the year of the Realtor in Real Estate here in Arizona. I have had the unique opportunity to speak to a number of the Stakeholders in our real estate transactions and in each case it was made clear that, more than ever, the Realtor is a central focus for everyone’s plans going forward.

The Asset Manager’s I have spoken with have said that during this moratorium, they had the chance to go through in detail their Realtor network, and what they found was that a number of the early Realtors that got into their REO group, were not the right ones and they were not only re-evaluating but literally getting new Realtors who have the ability to best service their housing portfolio’s.

7 of the 10 Banks we met with were initiating short sale programs, with the emphasis being on communication and quicker turn times on answers for Realtors when making offers on their properties.

The banks we have spoken with have clearly learned that this housing challenge CANNOT be solved through just an REO outlet, we need a strong short sale program, with quality realtors involved and engaged in the program, with communication being the focal point. The Banks that don’t make this a priority will see many of their listings, NOT EVEN SHOWN, by top Realtors in the market as they can’t get answers for their buyers, and wait weeks to even hear a “NO” from a Bank.

Lastly, the Government programs, which offer assistance to consumers for purchasing or fixing up homes, need the Realtors to educate their clients on the programs, in order for the 30 plus million dollars, allocated throughout Maricopa County to be spent, the Realtor will need to be an educator and a promoter of the government programs, or else our State will not have the funding dollars renewed.

No matter which way you look at it, the Realtor is getting back to the front of the Transaction and will be critical to the success of this housing market and for markets across the US.

Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing
Fidelity National Title
steve.delaveaga@fnf.com

Who Is Winning The Paperless Fight?

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Fidelity National Title of Maricopa County is proud to announce their new Green Initiative. Historically speaking, the Title Industry has been amongst some of the worst offenders in the over use of paper and printing. Fidelity will be launching the program Win The Paperless Fight November 11, 2009.

The launch of this program comes in conjunction with Fidelity joining Phoenix’s Green Chamber of Commerce.

With the launch of Win The Paperless Fight, Fidelity will be hosting a contest for Real Estate Professionals with the prize being a one year individual membership to the Phoenix Green Chamber of Commerce.

Here are the contest details:

· Enter by sending an email fidelity@winthepaperlessfight.com with details of how you, as a real estate professional, have cut paper usage in your business.
· The most unique and submission with the best environmental outcome will win.
· The judging panel will include but may not be limited to: Mara DeFilippis, founder of the Phoenix Green Chamber; Jean Clements, Marketing Director for Fidelity National Title; and Carrie Morgan, KWPR PR and Web 2.0 Strategist. All judges will be members of the AGCC.
· Contest submissions close at 5pm on December 31, 2009, and the winner will be notified January 31st, with membership for the Green Chamber.
· The winner must meet the Chamber’s basic prerequisites and comply with all normal chamber membership application processes. Submission of an entry for this contest grants Fidelity to use the information in any manner deemed appropriate, including media visibility. The winner may be requested to talk with local media as a part of public relations efforts.

If you have any questions please send an email to fidelity@winthepaperlessfight.com

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY TODAY!

Report: Phoenix home prices to drop another 23%

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Yesterday, we unveiled our Short Sale Lead Generation program for our Fidelity Elite Short Sale Agent Group, and we handed out 18,000 leads throughout the state of Arizona and it is clear, that the Agents and Lenders, that get in front of this problem now, before the next wave of REO comes out, will get a better return for both consumers and banks. Below is some very sobering forecasts on Arizona and what is still to come in terms of the housing decline in values…..Steve de Laveaga, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Fidelity National Title

Report: Phoenix home prices to drop another 23%
Reported by: Tim Vetscher

PHOENIX -- Valley homeowners, brace yourselves for more bad news.A new report indicates home prices will continue to shrink nationwide, with an especially sharp decline here in Phoenix.
"That's real scary," said Tempe resident and homeowner Linda Weinberg. "I hope that's not conceivable. It's pretty scary."

According to Fiserv, a financial information and analysis firm, home prices in Phoenix are expected to lose another 23.4 percent by June of next year.

"Such is the state of the market," said Chandler resident and homeowner Mark Siebel. "Just like anything it can go up or it can go down. It's unfortunate if it would go down another 23 percent."One bright spot in the report is that Fiserv expects the losses to be less than 5 percent the following year compared to other markets where the declines will continue to be steep into 2011.Fiserv estimates home values have already collapsed by 54 percent here in the Valley.

"(The report) means I consider going into foreclosure or short sale," said Gilbert resident and homeowner Bruce English. "Or being stuck with a home for 15 years before reaching break even to sell it."

Short Sale... A Dignified Solution to a Homeowner's Financial Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:51:00 +0000

Short sale: mentioned a lot, but not fully understood by many. A short sale is a traditional sale between a Seller, the owner of record, and a Buyer, with a third party contingency requiring approval from the Seller’s lender to sell the property “short” of the debt due to decreasing values and documented hardship by the seller.

A short sale happens when a homeowner NEEDS to sell their home, but cannot because the value has dropped below what they owe. The “needs-to-sell” determines who qualifies for a short sale. In the eyes of the lender, this “need” is a circumstance or series of events that has made it impossible for the homeowner to continue to pay the monthly mortgage payments. Also called hardships, these circumstances could be a reduction in income as a result of a pay cut or loss of commissionable income, a job loss, a divorce, a job transfer or new hire out of the area forcing a move, the death of a family member, prolonged illness, any serious family medical condition causing a forced move, increase in medical bills, sustained medical leave of absence from the work force or disability. In many situations there is a combination of factors that when compounded, the probability of a homeowner losing his/her home increases.

A short sale may be the solution after the homeowner has tried the other options available to ease his/her financial crunch: Seeking advice, from the lender, for a possible refinance, loan modification or forbearance are possible ways to stay in the home while reducing monthly financial obligation. Visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov to research the viability of these programs for each situation. If those avenues don’t produce successful results, a short sale may be the best alternative.

To read the rest of the article Click Here

By: Gayle Henderson, CDPE Advanced, RE/MAX Excalibur Realty, www.azavoidforeclosurenow.com

Sell a house in 43 days – in this market?

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Direct Listing URL's are the newest way, according to Go Daddy, that Realtors and Home Owners are advertising their properties and, the properties are selling!

See how Go Daddy tracked this and how other Realtors are using this tool:
Direct Listing URL Article

To order a Direct Listing URL from Fidelity National Title, CLICK HERE, they are only $19 per listing for 1 year!

Short Sales - Real Estate Agents Need to Know the Facts

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:10:00 +0000

As many people know, Fidelity Title of Maricopa County in Tempe hosts an invitation-only monthly Short Sale Mastermind Group, loaded with the Valley's top talent when it comes to handling distressed properties.

This month's presenter was Desiree Montgomery from Realty Executives. Her overall message was that real estate agents can't wing it when it comes to short sales, it is critical to have established processes for consistent success.
Here is a rundown on her key points that you might be interested in:
· When it comes to negotiating a short sale with the lender, don't stop at the loss mitigation level. Find out who the decision makers are, and bring them into the mix. Their 10k public documents can be helpful.
· When you have a first and a second mortgage on a short sale home, work both of them at the same time.
· If both liens are not serviced by the same bank, the first does NOT have the right to dictate what the second can negotiate to mitigate their loss, according to the Office of Controller of Administration for National Banking.
· Have your seller keep making payments, even if they are partials. Lenders want to mitigate their loss, but are hesitant to offer an unsecured note to sellers that don't show effort and responsibility for their situation. Keeping up with HOA payments can also make the short sale process go much smoother.
· Anything related to taxes, credit reports and legal issues are not an agents area. Don't advise them - pass them through to experts in these areas. Anything else puts the agent at risk of losing their license. There are many issues that will impact the seller long after the closing, and selling that house is the ONLY thing the agent is responsible for.
· 52% of sellers do not do a short sale after discussing their options with legal counsel experienced in real estate law. It is not always the best solution.
· To protect yourself, surround yourself with professionals with a deep understanding of banking and real estate law. Referral your clients to them repeatedly in writing.

Thanks for the GREAT advice, Desiree!

Fidelity Offers CE Credits and General Trainings To Help Digest The Real Estate Market!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:09:00 +0000

Decoding The Marketplace- 3 General Credit Hours
Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Start Time: 9:00 am End Time: 12:00 pm
Fidelity National Title - Hayden Ferry Training Room
60 Rio Salado Parkway, 11th floor
Tempe Arizona 85281
Discuss in great detail websites and places to gather statistics and numbers necessary for
staying on top of the trends in our business..

We will show you how to interpret figures on MLS and how to get the Licensing Statistics, Housing Statistics, Fraud Statistics and MORE!

Please RSVP to
Jennifer.Weller@fnf.com

Sponsored By: Fidelity National Title
Instructor: Scott Kiburz

ANTI-DEFICIENCY LAWS IN ARIZONA ~ 3 hours credit ~ LEGAL ISSUES
Date: Thursday, October 1, 2009
Start Time: 8:30 am End Time: 12:00 pm
Basement Training Room 7121 W. Bell Road Glendale AZ 85308
Instructor: Mary Frances Coleman, JD
$10 admission
Contact: Anna Chavez
Email: anna.chavez@fnf.com
Phone: 623-236-6796

How to Work the Distressed Property Market- 3 Credit Hours
Date: Friday, October 9, 2009
Start Time: 1:30 pm End Time: 4:30 pm
SAFEGUARD SECURITY AND COMMUNICATIONS WAREHOUSE 8465 N. 90th Street. Suite #1 Scottsdale AZ
Seating is limited so please
RSVP to Lisa Stein at nyldy@cox.net
Contact: Wendy Kozuback
Email: wendy.kozuback@fnf.com
Phone: 480-861-8497

Fair Housing History & Court Rulings, 3 hrs.
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Start Time: 1:30 pm End Time: 4:30 pm
Robb and Stucky-Community Room 15440 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale AZ 85254
Please RSVP with Lisa Stein : nyldy@cox.net
All attendees are required to bring at least $5 worth of canned food for local charity
Courses taught by The Real Estate Academy of Learning - Mary Frances Coleman (480) 584-6345 www.RealEducationLLC.com
Contact: Sharon Terhune
Email: sterhune@fnf.com
Phone: 602-980-3571

Short Sale Mastermind Group
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Start Time: 11:00 am End Time: 1:00 pm
Fidelity National Title - Hayden Ferry Training Room 60 Rio Salado Parkway, 11th floor Tempe Arizona 85281
Respectfully RSVP:
Sharon Terhune
Fidelity National Title
AVP/Director of Broker Relations
sterhune@fnf.com

For More Fidelity Classes Click Here!

ECONOMY DEMANDS SHORT SALE EXPERTISE FROM REAL ESTATE AGENTS -

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:19:00 +0000

These classes are intended for real estate professionals only and are not open to the public.

Tempe, Ariz. – Sept. 2, 2009 – While the real estate market in Arizona has begun to show signs of life via increasing home prices and reduced bank-owned home inventory, demand is strong for real estate agents with short sale expertise on both the seller and buyer side of the transaction. The world's largest title company and a
leader in real estate continuing education, Fidelity National Title, offers the following classes to help real estate professionals located in Arizona enhance their knowledge on short sales and other topics critical for today's
market:

CLICK HERE FOR ALL FIDELITY'S DISTRESSED PROPERTY CLASSES AND MORE!

Short Sale Tip!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:23:00 +0000

We have seen a steady rise in Short sale closings over the last 90 days. This last month in July, we had the number of Short sale closings be within 1 percent of traditional closings. So what that is saying is that you are now seeing as many Short Sale closings as traditional closings. This tells us that the Banks and Lender Servicers that have these listings are getting more realistic and focused on moving their assets.

Banks such as Wachovia have committed to 14 day response on any Short sale answer which in turn gives the consumer confidence in making that offer. The one thing we have learned in Title, as we have done over 14,000 Transactions YTD, a long illness is a sure death, time kills all deals. So if you want to get transactions done, commit to a response time for answers and then live up to the expectation you set!!

Steve de Laveaga
Sr. VP Sales and Marketing
Fidelity National Title Arizona
Email: steve.delaveaga@fnf.com

Short Sales and Seller Frustrations-How Realtors Can Help.

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Although it is true that short sales are complicated transactions and often times fall apart at the end of the transaction, there is a positive light to be shed on this.

It is proven time and time again, packages that are complete, accurate and concise are being accepted at an overwhelming rate. It is imperative to find a professional real estate agent that is an expert in distressed properties. Throughout the country agents are being educated by a company that gives certification know as “certified distressed property experts”, CDPE. Bank executives consistently have said that these packages are put at the top of the pile. Being part of the solution In being as educated as possible is the first step to resolving our housing crisis.

This Comment Is Follow Up For the USA Today Piece Regarding Home Sellers and Their Frustrations with Short Sales- Click Here To Read More.

Melissa Shapiro
AVP/Director Of Sales
Fidelity National Title
60 E. Rio Salado Parkway
Tempe, AZ 85281
melissa.shapiro@fnf.com

Fidelity Releases Metro Phoenix Real Estate Trends and Predictions

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:25:00 +0000

Market causes increased demand for real estate agents to have
CDPE designation and short sale expertise

Phoenix, Ariz., Aug. 3, 2009 – Fidelity National Title, one of Arizona's largest title insurance and escrow service companies, today announced that in June, 2009, the median home resale price increased for the first time since 2007, which is a direct result of increasing trends of multiple offers on properties and a large reduction in active listing inventory, especially bank-owned (REO) properties. Overall pricing in Greater Phoenix ceased its sharp decline in April, and continued to rise through the rest of second quarter.

According to MIchael Orr, founder of The Cromford Report, several sectors are still seeing price declines, including properties over $350,000, condominiums and mobile homes. To date, recovery is strongest in Avondale, Glendale, Maricopa, South Phoenix, West Phoenix and Queen Creek - areas most dominated by the 2008 glut of lender-owned homes that also suffered the most severe price declines. Scottsdale differs from Metro Phoenix in that it has seen only a moderate increase in demand and prices continue to fall. It has a predominance of luxury homes and condos, which are both sectors with excess supply and are not yet in a recovery phase.

Foreclosures have not slowed as unemployment and economic uncertainties are still impacting homeowners' ability to make payments. There are a large number of consumers behind on their payments and seeking short sales or loan modifications. June and July has seen a solid increase in the number of short sales as consumers, real estate agents and lenders begin to realize the benefits over foreclosure. Short sale activity has increased substantially as consumers are learning how to prevent foreclosure, and as lenders and banks recognize the benefits of short sales to mitigate their losses.

The largest constraint on sales volume has been the availability of obtaining finance, which has constrained many buyers' ability to purchase the homes they want. Credit approval guidelines are stricter than at any time in recent history. The lack of attractive finance for homes above $400,000 is a critical factor prohibiting recovery of the high end of the market. As a result, cash buyers dominate sales– which heavily favors investors when competing for the most attractively priced homes.

(more)
The Genworth Mortgage Corporation Metropolitan Statistical Areas Declining/Distressed Markets Update from July 15, 2009, reflects that 14 states are considered distressed or declining in their entirety: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Vermont. Arizona is the first to show signs of stabilization.

"We have a large amount of property that has yet to find its way into the marketplace," stated Fidelity Senior Vice President Steve de Laveaga. "We believe that there will be 3 primary avenues of property distribution from the distressed side: REO, short sale and investor-based trust sales."

The Market's Impact on Real Estate Agents
As the market continues to wildly fluctuate from month to month, lenders, realtors and title companies struggle to adequately maintain service and staff levels.

Also, consumers have become hungrier to learn ways in which to save themselves from foreclosure, and buyers are more actively seeking short sale purchase opportunities. Therefore, the demand has increased sharply for real estate agents with short sale expertise on both the seller and buyer side of the transaction.

The Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation is rapidly becoming an important credential for real estate professionals to have, due to increasing demand for this expertise from consumers, banks and lenders.

This information is released in partnership The Cromford Report, a daily report tracking the residential real estate trends of the Metropolitan Phoenix area.

About Fidelity National Title Insurance Company of Maricopa and Pinal Counties
Fidelity National Title of Maricopa and Pinal Counties was established in 1981 and is one of Arizona's largest providers of title insurance and escrow services. It has maintained a steady physical and financial base in Arizona for almost thirty years, remaining rock solid through decades of market swings. It is protected under the umbrella of Fidelity National Title Group, which holds over $2.8 billion in reserves.

Fidelity is one of Arizona's leading resources for real estate agent continued training. For a full calendar of upcoming events for real estate agents, please visit the website at www.fntarizona.com. Fidelity also offers a new real estate blog, Fidelity Big Mouth - a resource aimed at helping real estate agents and lenders digest the current real estate market. To subscribe, visit www.BIGmouthrealestateblog.com.

Fidelity National Title Group
Founded in 1848, Fidelity National Title is the world's largest title insurance company, issuing insurance policies and escrow services throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and 50 countries. It is also one of the nation's largest providers of title insurance and escrow services, issuing approximately HALF of the residential and commercial title insurance policies in the United States, and is one of the foremost experts in the area of HUD, short sale, REO and foreclosed properties.

Fidelity National Title Group is ranked at #264 on the Fortune 500, an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations. Fidelity National Title Group is a subsidiary of holding company Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF), a leading provider of title insurance, specialty insurance, claims management services and information services. For more information, visit www.fnf.com.

Metro Phoenix home sales, prices climb in June

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:50:00 +0000

"We all know that sales volume in the Phoenix market has been solid, but according to this article, for the first time since late ’07 the median home price has inched north! An increase in median home prices for the first time in over a year!!! That’s an important snippet of news for our market and a bright spot to pay close attention to! While it will take time to see home values rise significantly and I’m sure we have many months of topsy-turvy trends to observe; I hope this is the beginnings of a positive market trend for Arizona homeowners. Plus, this article provides a great snapshot of the most recent pre-foreclosure, foreclosure and notice of trustee’s sales data as well as current inventory status." Said Bernadette Espinosa, Fidelity National Title with regards to the following article.

Here are some more positive signs from metropolitan Phoenix's housing market, which may not be recovering but doesn't appear to be deteriorating any more. Home sales climbed again in June to reach 9,614, according to the Information Market/Cromford Report survey. That's an 11 percent increase from May's home sales. June is the sixth straight month home sales have climbed in the Valley.
The median Valley resale home price also climbed in June, the first monthly price increase since late 2007. Last month, the median ticked up to $125,000 from $122,000 in May.
Foreclosures also climbed in June after dropping off for a few months. There were 5,149 trustee sales or foreclosures in the Valley, compared to 3,809 in May. Pre-foreclosures, or notice of trustee sales, continue to hover around 8,700.

But so far the additional foreclosures aren't creating an oversupply problem for the housing market.
Mike Orr, publisher of the Cromford Report, said the number of lender-owned properties listed for sale in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service fell to 5,150 in June, from 5,475 in May.

“So the supply was huge, but the demand was even greater,” said Orr about Valley foreclosure homes.
Also, the average price-per-square-foot of foreclosures sold by lenders during June climbed to $65.64 in June, from $63.77 in May.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 03:13 PM
http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/CatherineReagor/57175

Bernadette Espinosa
Business Development
602-448-9907 Cell
Bernadette.Espinosa@fnf.com
www.BernadetteEspinosaFNT.com
"I'm now a CDPE!" -- Certified Distressed Property Expert, www.cdpenow.com.

REO PROPERTY UPDATE

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Active Listings Distressed (% of total) REO Only (% of Distressed)

Valley Wide- 32,852 12,311 or 37% 4,564 or 37%

Scottsdale- 4,606 955 or 21% 270 or 29%

Paradise Valley- 562 61 or 11% 12 or 20%

We are seeing a dwindling of inventory, and a varying way of how the Lenders/Servicers and Banks are now distributing the property. The reality is, even if 25,000 REO homes below 250K came on the market next week, we would have that inventory absorbed in the next 90 days. We are seeing multiple offers on every decently priced REO property and we are seeing buyers become frustrated, as they are willing, have cash offers and made offers above or at asking price and still can’t get a home. What we need is transparency, this issue CANNOT be solved by Banks or Government working in isolation, but rather Banks and Government in partnership with the community and citizens to make sure we can indeed solve the issues of the increasing delinquencies.

Steve de Laveaga
SVP Sales and Marketing FNT Maricopa
Office Ph. 480-214-4500
Fax: 480-214-1743
email: steve.delaveaga@fnf.com
www.fidelityphoenix.com

Good news on the horizon!

noreply@blogger.com (FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE - Arizona) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:25:00 +0000

The press has finally run out of bad news to report!

Inventory still at an all time low – multiple offers on properties which our raising values creating neighborhood stabilization.

Read in good health!

Noted Melissa Shapiro, VP of Sales with Fidelity National Title, melissa.shapiro@fnf.com

Phoenix-area Home Prices Have “Reached a Turning Point”ASU Study:

Estimates Show Third Month of Slowing Declines

TEMPE, Ariz. (June 15, 2009) — Phoenix-area homeowners can take some comfort from a new Arizona State University study that indicates the Valley housing market is finally starting to turn around.

The Arizona State University-Repeat Sales Index (ASU-RSI) measures changes in average Phoenix-area home prices from year to year. The latest report shows a record 37-percent drop in the index from March 2008 to March 2009. However, that’s stagnant from the same 37-percent fall noted from February 2008 to February 2009. It’s also followed by preliminary estimates of a lesser 35-percent drop for April 2008 to April 2009, and a 33-percent dip from May 2008 to May 2009.

“If they hold up, the April and May figures would be the first evidence that the housing market has reached a turning point,” says Karl Guntermann, the Fred E. Taylor Professor of Real Estate at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, who calculates the ASU-RSI with research associate Adam Nowak. “This indicates the rate of decline is slowing, and even though actual home prices continue to drop, they’re falling by much smaller amounts than they typically have during the past 18 months.”

The index has now declined for 25 months in a row, the longest drop in Valley history. From March 2008 to March 2009, Glendale experienced the worst fall of any local city at 40 percent. Tempe saw the mildest decline in the index at 18 percent.

Preliminary estimates show the median Phoenix-area home price at $115,000 in May. That would put prices back at the same level as October 1998.

“The large number of foreclosed properties being sold at distressed price levels suggests that the median price is unlikely to increase significantly in the near future,” says Guntermann, who points out the positive, that this makes homes in the area more affordable.

The ASU-RSI is based on repeat sales, the most reliable way to estimate price changes in the housing market. Repeat sales compare the prices of a single house against itself at different points in time, instead of comparing different homes with different quality factors.

The ASU-RSI is produced through the Center for Real Estate Theory and Practice at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

The current report and archived reports are available at the Division of Real Estate – Repeat Sales Reports. Further ASU-RSI analysis is available at http://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu.

Source:W. P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESSThe W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the top-ranked and largest business schools in the United States. The school is internationally regarded for its research productivity and its distinguished faculty members, including a Nobel Prize winner. Students come from 75 countries and include more than 60 National Merit Scholars. For more information please visit wpcarey.asu.edu andhttp://knowledge.wpcarey.asu.edu/