NEWS UPDATE ON SHORT SALES: On November 6, 2009 we launched our new site dedicated to news and information about short sales. Go to www.short-sale-phoenix.com for all the news.
We often get the question, "How long does it take to buy a home advertised as a short sale?" We tell people it generally takes a minimum of two months and generally much longer to purchase a short sale property. Most clients have a hard time believing this time line is true; It simply does not make sense it could take so long.
I decided to gather some hard figures on recent short sale transactions so our readers could see first hand the reality we see day in and day out. I performed a search on ARMLS, the database that stores real estate transaction information for the Greater Phoenix Arizona area. The search criteria was pretty basic... homes that closed escrow since June 2009 and were advertised as short sales or pre-foreclosure.
The search came back with 1290 transactions, thus giving us plenty of information to review. Forty-four homes were chosen from the list. You may wonder why 44... 44 was the number of lines on my notepad and offered enough data to give a sense of the market.
The chart below shows the results of the study. As you can see, the fastest horse in the short sale race completed its journey in 61 days and one likely frustrated buyer waited 235 days to reach the finish line. The average transaction took about 100 days.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Short sales take as long as they take and many never reach the finish line. We've found some listing agents know how to get the job done and some don't. It is a complex course and strong skills and experience are needed to reach the finish line.
Below are a few things we've learned through experience and talking to other experts in the field that help move things forward:
- Make sure the offer you and your agent present is complete with all the applicable forms and signatures. An incomplete package is often kicked back or not reviewed.
- Ask the listing agent if they are submitting one offer or multiple. One offer gives a potential buyer greater odds of closing escrow.
- Make your offer as clean as possible. Asking the bank to pay lender fees, HOA transfer fees, home warranty policies can make a difference. The bank is trying to loose as little money as possible.
- Know that short sales with multiple loans against the property will take more time.
- Some banks are faster than others. I can't post the actual names due to liability reasons, but the better agents know who plays ball and who doesn't.
- BE PATIENT
For additional information about short sales, please read our post, Short Sales...our opinion on buying one.
We hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to give us a call or send an email.
Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
gene@UrbanTeamAZ.com
