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Foreclosures in Walworth County, WI Along with Kenosha & Racine Counties

August 26, 2011 By

Image courtesy of KCM Blog.

In the counties of Walworth, Kenosha and Racine in Southeastern Wisconsin the Foreclosure inventory continues to grow and this affects the sales of other non foreclosure sales in the market. According to the Metro MLS for the first 6 months of 2011 the average sales prices in these 3 counties have been dipping. In Walworth County, WI the average sales price was down about 10%, in Racine County it was down about 12% and in Kenosha County it was down about 3%.

Coupled with this, is and increase is the days of market in selected municipalities. In Walworth County the municipalities of Bloomfield, Williams Bay, and Darien, WI saw days on the market increase at least 65%, while Lake Geneva, Wisconsin’s real estate inventory increased 20% and Delavan increased 15%. In Racine County the municipalities of Burlington, Union Grove and Waterford days on market increased 65%,50% and 30% respectively. On the other hand, Kenosha county’s days on the market did not see as big of swings as the other two counties. The city of Kenosha

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The Best Kept Secret in Real Estate

July 29, 2011 By

 

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Sharing some the Best Kept Secrets in real estate. The middle and end of the summer are great times to buy a home. Fall is just around the corner, and kids will soon be going back to school. Families want to get moved and situated before the hectic nature of work, school and play schedules all accumulate and make it nearly impossible to arrange home viewings and work with mortgage lenders, let alone pack up a home, move and get situated in a new location. Home buying can be made even easier during the summer months with an FHA Home Loan.

FHA Home Loans could very well be one of the best kept secrets in the mortgage world. As explained by the US Department of Housing, an FHA Home Loan requires miniscule down payments, as low as 3.5% in some cases, and closing costs and associated fees can be included in the loan and paid off over time. This makes it much easier for people and families to buy a house who don’t have a lot of money to invest up front and use to pay towards a down payment or closing fees.

What if you are buying a home that might need a little TLC in the next few years? An FHA Home Loan allows you to estimate the costs of necessary repairs and will lend you the money needed to make them. The costs of these repairs are rolled into your loan, making it much easier to pay them off over time and require no large up-front payments. In addition to repairs, homeowners are also able to add costs of making their homes more energy efficient in their loan, and pay nothing up front.

With so many benefits, it’s worth taking the extra time to find an FHA Loan certified lender and deciding if you could benefit from the perks of an FHA Loan. To get started on your search towards finding a lender in your area who can help you better understand these loans, visit FHAHomeLoan.org.

Guest post by: Jessica Thorseon at FHAHomeLoan.org

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How Much does a Short Sale or Foreclosure in Walworth County Impact Sale Price?

June 30, 2011 By

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Most people watching the real estate market realize that Walworth County foreclosures or Walworth County listings subject to short sale often sell at a substantial discount to “normal” properties. How much of a discount should sellers and buyers expect and what are responsible for these discounts?

Walworth County Short sales, properties which are being sold for less than the outstanding mortgage balance, are increasingly common in our marketplace. I’ve seen national statistics showing that these tend to sell at around a 10% discount to comparable neighboring properties. A quick glance at our local MLS confirms that this discount might be closer to 15%. I believe this discount is tied the difficulty of closing these transactions. Unlike a normal sale, there is a third party who must agree to the deal – the bank. Many banks are swamped with short sale requests and insufficiently staffed to manage the workload. Add to this the confusion of consumers and many Realtors to the approval process which varies from bank to bank and from area to area and you get a very convoluted and time-consuming process. We recently closed a short sale transaction which originally went under contract in December, 2011, nearly 7 months ago! The delay, uncertainty, and complication of the process imposes costs on the parties and this is reflected in the discount.

Walworth County Foreclosures, properties owned by the lender, sell at a significant discount. National statistics of a nearly 40% discount to neighboring properties might overstate the discount seen in the Lake Geneva foreclosure market. Our MLS data would suggest that foreclosed homes in Walworth County sell at a 30-35% discount to comparable neighbors. The reasons for this are obvious:
- marketing urgency: lenders wish to unload them quickly and will accept a discount in return for a shorter marketing time
- property condition: often foreclosures have suffered some level of damage or abuse which the buyer must correct
- stigma: buyers are aware of the foreclosed state and are unwilling to pay full-price on that basis alone

Note that these discounts are from current market pricing. In areas where the overall price level has dropped the discount is cumulative. For example, if property values in an area have dropped 25% since 2006, a foreclosed property in that area might sell for 48% of 2006 values (75% x 65%).

Post by Rob Keefe

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Keefe Agent Receives CRS Designation

September 24, 2010 By

imageJanis Hartley, a Southeastern Wisconsin Realtor with Keefe Real Estate has been awarded the prestigious Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) Designation by the Council of Residential Specialists, the largest not-for-profit affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Realtors who receive the CRS Designation have completed advanced courses and have demonstrated professional expertise in the field of residential real estate. Fewer than 38,000 realtors nationwide have earned the credential.

Home buyers and Sellers can be assured that CRS Designees subscribe to the strict realtor code of ethics, have access to the latest technology and are specialists in helping clients maximize profits and minimize costs when buying or selling a home.

Janis Hartley is a sales associate with Keefe Real Estate, Inc. in Lake Geneva. She is a member of the Lake Area Realtors Association, the Wisconsin Realtors Association, and the National Association of Realtors. Janis also hold the e-PRO, Accredited Buyer Representative, and Resort and Second Home Property Specialist designations. She has been a member of the Geneva Lake Womens’ Association for 19 years and has served as President, Vice President, Internal Director for that organization. She is currently serving as Parliamentarian for G.L.W.A. In addition, Janis has served the community as a member of the Aurora Lakeland Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors and served two terms as co-chair of the ALMC Benefit Ball Committee. To contact Janis email her at jhartley@keeferealestate.com or phone her at 262-745-3630.

Keefe Real Estate has been marketing lifestyles and properties since 1943 and is among the area’s largest independently owned real estate companies. With over 90 agents, Keefe has offices in downtown Lake Geneva, Lake Geneva Business Park, Burlington, Delavan, Elkhorn, Abbey Resort and Abbey Springs in Fontana, and at Geneva National. For more information on Keefe Real Estate, call 800-690-2292 or visit www.keeferealestate.com.

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