Below is a graph that shows the real estate activity in the Wood River Valley, i.e. Sun Valley, Elkhorn, Warm Springs, Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue areas. The chart shows the percent of properties that are financially distressed properties, i.e. short sales and/or bank owned REOs. If you have any questions regarding the chart please feel free to call or email me.
Raise a glass to winemaker Chateau Ste. Michelle, which has won this year’s Battle of the Brands.
In the final showdown for bragging rights as Washington’s Most Respected Brand, online voters gave Woodinville-based Chateau Ste. Michelle the edge over Seattle’s Windermere Real Estate .
More than 20,000 online votes overall were cast in last week’s final round — among more than 60,000 votes during the month-long competition that started with 16 contenders.
[pullquote_left]Seattle branding and PR firm GreenRubino, in coordination with the Business Journal, asked readers in May to vote on the most respected company brand in different industry categories based on choices from our own Top 25 industry lists[/pullquote_left]Here are the results in the final round:
Chateau Ste. Michelle: 12,387 votes — 60%
Windermere Real Estate: 8,283 votes — 40%
The Battle of the Brands began when the Puget Sound Business Journal teamed up this spring with Seattle branding and advertising firm GreenRubino to explore the state’s best brands.
In May, the firm surveyed more than 1,000. The results are detailed in the PSBJ’s July 29 Advertising & PR special report, which also kicked off the online contest among readers for their choice of best brand.
Here’s how Round 2 played out:
— Fairmont Olympic Hotel bested Nordstrom with 58 percent of the vote.
Here’s how Round 3 played out:
— Windermere beat the Fairmont Olympic Hotel with 52 percent of the vote.
— Chateau Ste. Michelle tipped Northwest Harvest with 58 percent of the vote.
via Chateau Ste. Michelle wins Battle of the Brands – Puget Sound Business Journal.
View all Bank Owned REO listings currently available for purchase listed in the Sun Valley Board of Realtors MLS database. These are not Short Sales subject to lenders approval, these are homes owned by various banks, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc., that are ready to purchase and close without extended negotiations with both the seller and lien holders. List includes REOs in Ketchum, Sun Valley, Elkhorn, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey, Stanley and beyond the Wood River Valley. Blane County REOs, Camas County REOs, Camas County REOs currently for sale are included in the list
U.S. homes nearing foreclosure accounted for 12 percent of total sales in the second quarter as banks agreed to more transactions at prices below the outstanding mortgage balance, RealtyTrac Inc. said.
The proportion of sales of homes in default or scheduled for auction rose from 10 percent a year earlier and was little changed from the first quarter, the Irvine, California-based information company said today in a report. Most of those were short sales, or transactions for less than the mortgage debt, according to RealtyTrac.
[pullquote_left]An increase in short sales, along with a shorter average time to sell such homes and bigger discounts relative to normal deals, indicate the market is clearing distressed properties more efficiently[/pullquote_left]An increase in short sales, along with a shorter average time to sell such homes and bigger discounts relative to normal deals, indicate the market is clearing distressed properties more efficiently, Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio said in the statement. Total pre-foreclosure deals rose 19 percent from the first quarter, while slipping 12 percent from a year earlier, when a federal tax credit pumped up demand.
“This is a glimmer of hope that lenders are getting more realistic,” Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, said in a telephone interview. “It’s a win for borrowers who avoid foreclosure, buyers who get a house in better condition and banks that lose less money, which is also a win for taxpayers.”
Pre-foreclosure homes took an average of 245 days to sell after receiving the initial foreclosure notice, down from 256 days in the first quarter.
The average sale price was $192,129, a discount of 21 percent relative to non-distressed homes. Discounts averaged 17 percent in the first quarter and 14 percent a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.
Sales of distressed properties, which also include homes seized by banks, totaled 265,087, down 11 percent from the second quarter of 2010 and up 6 percent from the previous three months.
The average price of all distressed homes sold in the second quarter was $164,217, down less than 1 percent from the previous period and almost 5 percent from a year earlier. Such properties sold at an average 32 percent discount, compared with a 27 percent discount in the first quarter.
RealtyTrac sells default data from more than 2,200 counties representing 90 percent of the U.S. population.
SOURCE: Bloomberg