As a result of a settlement between the New York Attorney General and the Government Sponsored Enterprises – Fannie May and Freddie Mac, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, better known as the HVCC was created. The HVCC has no force of law and was not enacted by Congress nevertheless, because the GSE’s are dominant in the marketplace, the HVCC was effective in changing the way lenders and appraisers do business. The vision of the HVCC was to separate loan officers and brokers and sales agents from appraisers. Good idea in theory. However, as a direct result, Appraisal Management Companies, which act as intermediaries, exploded onto the scene. Yikes! Compliance with HVCC became mandatory June, 2009.

THE PROBLEM Iies in the AMC’s not being adequately regulated. We are not alone here in Lake Tahoe. Across the country, appraisals are being conducted by “out-of-area” and/or not so sharp appraisers and often, the results do not accurately reflect the true value of a property. When inaccuracies appear in the appraisal reports, there are no easy ways in which to make corrections. Everyone loses – home owners, potential buyers, escrow companies, Realtors, contractors, etc. I just learned of a local story (one of many) in which an appraiser discounted the square footage for an entire indoor pool room which included a seating area, sauna, etc. Just took it away. I am sure you have your own stories to tell.

Furthermore, lenders owning Appraisal Management Companies invite conflicts of interest. Think about it – is an appraiser, especially one from out of the area, more likely to appraise to the underwriting standards of their employer rather than that of the market. Are they so restricted by their employers guidelines that they fear losing their job if they don’t give the true value their experience tells them is fair?

Finally, it is important to take a look at the idea of making appraisals portable. Right now, lenders are requiring the preparation of another appraisal even if an appraisal has already been completed for another lender. We have even seen cases where a consumer, in shopping for the best loan, had to pay for more than one appraisal, even in the case where the same appraiser did the work. Perhaps lenders that own their own AMC’s have a financial incentive to require these additional appraisals. FHA require portability, the HVCC allows it – but lenders refuse it. WHY??

Please contact us if you have any further questions and, go back to our first paragraph and make those calls. It’s easy and incredibly effective. Please pass the word and have a great day.

This increase of median and average home prices scored better than the picture presented throughout the overall South Lake Tahoe area. The overall median home price (based upon the average from the preceding twelve months,) appears to have settled during the past six months. These statistics show a median home price of $318,500, down from last year’s $395,000 posted at the end of April.

Following are the ten posted sales for Montgomery Estates during the first trimester of 2010.
2303 Sutter built in 2003 with 2,971 SF sold for $564,500
2341 Cold Creek built in 1974 with 2,703 SF sold for $775,000
1802 Amador built in 1991 with 2,448 SF was a short sale at $400,000
1215 Gold Dust built in 1991 with 2,814 SF sold for $518,000
3100 Jacarillo built in 1982 with 1,400 SF and backing forest sold for $355,000
1157 Early Dawn built in 1973 with 1,120 SF sold for $298,000
1148 Golden Bear built in 1972 with 1,846 SF was a short sale at $350,000.
2384 Cold Creek built in 1977 with 1,832 SF was a bank-owned sale at $351,000.
1701 Pepperwood built in 1969 with 1,064 SF was a bank-owned sale at $214,800.
3025 Lodgepole built in 1996 with 2,578 SF and backing forest sold for $540,000

Let’s all keep our fingers crossed and hope this encouraging news is only the beginning of a stabilizing market. While we are at it, let’s keep those interest rates at record lows and keep those smiles first and foremost.

Significant among the changes were clarifications to timelines.  No longer can a deadline fall on a weekend or a legal holiday.  While these days can be counted within a timeline, the deadline must be be extended beyond the weekend or legal holiday.  For example, if the 17th day of an inspection contingency falls on a Sunday and the following Monday is a holiday as well, the deadline then becomes Tuesday.  Another major change to the contract makes it clear that a deposit check can be electronically transferred into escrow without having to go through the hands of the agent.  Further changes included: the notice to perform, FHA and VA loans, financing, appraisal contingencies, pest inspections, home warranties and contingencies.  There was even language included that addresses whether or not brackets holding up a flat screen tv is considered a fixture or personal property (definitely a sign of the times.)

What do these changes mean to the consumer?  Whether a buyer or seller, the greater the clarification in contract terms, the better the protection and risk management.  More than ever, a local, knowledgeable Realtor is a valuable asset to the real estate transaction.  The next time you find yourself interviewing Realtors, ask them about their continuing education and what they are doing to stay one step ahead of the market trends.  You’re going to be pleasantly surprised.

There were 11 homes that went into ESCROW this past week, up from last week’s 7. The lowest priced new escrow is $164,900 for 3713 Montreal, a 4 bedroom, 1 bath with 1020 square feet.The highest pending sale price is $737,000 for 1984 Osage, a 4 bedroom, 3 bath with 3009 square feet. The median pending sale price is $324,000 with and average time on market of 60 days.

This week there were 9 homes recorded as SOLD, one more than last week’s 9. The lowest sale price was $85,000 for 1223 Bonanza #25, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo with 985 square feet. The highest sale price was $520,000 for 756 Lakeview, a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with 1706 square feet. The average time on the market (including the escrow period) was 142 days. The median sale price was $314,000.

There were 7 homes that went into ESCROW this past week, down from last week’s 14. The lowest priced new escrow is $139,900 for 2680 Kubel, a 2 bedroom, 1 bath with 448 square feet. The highest priced new escrow is $1,988,000 for 5 Lighthouse Shores, a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath with 2996 square feet. The median pending sale price is $399,000 with and average time on market of 102 days.

This week there were 8 homes recorded as SOLD, down from last week’s 14. The lowest sale price was $222,000 for 2319 Sky Meadows, a 3 bedroom, 1.75 bath with 1280 square feet. The highest sale price was $750,000 for 2205 Venice, a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath with 2467 square feet. The average time on the market (including the escrow period) was 158 days. The median sale price was $610,900.

There were 14 homes that went into ESCROW this week, one less than last week’s 15. The lowest priced new escrow is $112,900 for 3740 Larch, a 1 bedroom, 1 bath with 468 square feet. The highest priced new escrow is $3,275,000 for 3819 Beach Rd., a 4 bedroom, 2 bath with 2286 square feet. The median pending sale price is $309,500 with and average time on market of 107 days.

This week showed 13 homes recorded as SOLD, up from last week’s 8. The lowest sale price was $130,000 for 1176 Margaret, a 4 bedroom, 3 bath with 2184 square feet. The highest sale price was $1,250,000 for 596 Lucerne, a 4 bedroom, 4 bath with 5313 square feet. The average time on the market (including the escrow period) was 115 days. The median sale price was $275,000.

This week’s Home of the Week is located at 1004 Turnback Trail in Montgomery Estates.  We hope that you will check it out for yourself and please, pass the link along to anyone you feel might be interested.

To all of you – have a wonderful and safe Labor Day Weekend.

North Upper Truckee 1 (located where North Upper Truckee Rd feeds off of Hwy 50 near Meyers and ends at Zuni Rd) saw an estimated 8% decrease in median home prices  ($395,750 to $362,750) between the period of Aug. 1, 2008 through July 31, 2009 when compared to the same months one year earlier.  On the positive side, there were 28 closed transactions as compared to 20 in the previous year.

North Upper Truckee 2 (the area from Zuni Rd to Tahoe Mountain Rd) saw an estimated 6% increase in value, from $547,000 – $580,000, with half as many sales – that being 5  as compared to 10 the previous year.  This area was hardest hit during the 2007 Angora Fire and is currently undergoing a transformation from smaller homes in wooded areas to newer, larger homes with wide open views.

Be sure to check out more information regarding the  North Upper Truckee area.  Within this neighborhood profile, one can learn more about the overall make-up of the area, nearby points of interest and follow the real estate market activity as far back as 2003.

The criteria noted for being included in this list is taken directly from the May 17th, 2009 article written by Liz Pulliam Weston are as follows:

• Proximity to growing urban centers. Vacation towns typically need to be within a two- to three-hour drive of a major city, or at least reasonably close to a big airport. 
• Plenty of recreational opportunities. There has to be lots of stuff to do beyond shopping, which is why most thriving resort towns are near ski lifts, beaches or mountains. Some cultural cachet such as a  theater or film festival, galleries or museums.  
• Decent weather. You have to be able to get outside to enjoy all that recreation. 
• Significant commercial investment. The old-timers may grouse about the new hotels or malls, but these are good indicators that others think the community is on the way up. 
• The “it” factor. The community gets discovered by movers, shakers and celebrities, or at least enough other folks like you for prices to get bid up. 

There was some misinformation quoted however.  Within the article, it was stated that the median home price was up 21% over last year.  The fact is that when comparing S.T.A.O.R.’s  Multiple Listing statistics year over year, the median sold price for a single family residential home is down 7.8% from the previous year.  This figure covers the City & County areas of South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County only and reflects the period of  4/30/08-4/30/09 as compared to sold listing data for the period of 4/30/07-4/30/08.  On the positive side, this percentage drop is relatively small compared to other areas in the United States in the current economic climate, which actually highlights a strength and stability in our market.