Kenosha, WI

In todays WALL STREET JOURNAL the article Housing Imperils Recovery states that nationally home prices have sunk to 2002 levels "effectively wiping out almost a decade's worth of home equity across the U.S. and imperiling the fragile economic recovery as Americans confront the falling value of their biggest investment"

Whenever reports come out about national housing trends, I research Kenosha housing trends to see if we are in fact moving with the rest of the country and at the same rate. Often times when I meet with sellers and talk about national housing trends, I find that they are living in denial, and use excuses such as... "those are the national trends, things are different in every market".

I figure that is a fair enough rebuttal, so here are some statistics about the City of Kenosha and the entire County of Kenosha real estate price trends:

In 2002 the average sale price for a Single Family home in the City of Kenosha was $131,523 and the average home price for Kenosha County was $153,993. The chart above shows that those prices trended upward and peaked between 2006 and 2007. Since 2007 prices have trended downward, and the patterns have not "formed a bottom" yet. This years YTD averages are at $152,957 for the entire county and $124,476 for the City of Kenosha, which are LOWER than 2002 already.

What does this mean for homeowners in the Kenosha Area that need to sell? If you are in a position where you want to sell or NEED to sell, the time to get your home on the market is now, and you MUST price your property based on the current downward trend lines and average days on market or you will end up with a home on the market for longer, and ultimately cost yourself thousands of dollars.

Until the market has actually bottomed out and started to change direction for a long enough period of time to create a patters, time is not on your side.

Many clients ask me: When will the market turn? The truth is that nobody can predict the future, but we can forecast based on trends, and the trends show that the market will not turn for 2-3 additional years or in 2014.

As a seller this may be a difficult time, but as a potential buyer, there has never been a better time to find a deal on a home or investment property. The data below shows a table of statistics from the Multiple Listing Service showing the date used for our charts.

If you are interested in finding out what your home is worth with no hassle. Feel free to use our free online Kenosha Home Value Tool. Of course if you are interested in seeing what is available on the market today our home search site shows ALL properties for sale in Southeastern Wisconsin and is a great resource to search Kenosha Homes for Sale including zeroing in on Foreclosure or Short Sale properties.

The New Normal in the Kenosha Real Estate Market

In 2006 I began selling Kenosha, WI properties as short sales. When I first started listing these homes they “flew off the shelves” faster than the iPad 2 because there was a shortage of good priced properties.

That year the average sale price of the 2,158 single family homes sold in the Kenosha County MLS was $202,538 and our town as well as the entire country was sitting on a real estate bubble.

I remember an agent from another office calling me that year regarding one of my listings. The listing had been published in the MLS as being subject to short sale approval by the sellers lender, and the agent wasn’t sure what that meant. He wanted to write a full price cash offer. I explained to him that the sellers lender would still have to approve the sale, and that would take 6-8 weeks. I will never forget the conversation we had…

“Ralph, you don’t understand. We are willing to offer FULL PRICE” he said to me.

I answered him, “I heard you”

“And IT’S A CASH OFFER” he continued

“I understand that,” I replied “But the lender still has to approve it. The seller owes more money than the list price”

There was a pause and a deep breath on the other end of the phone, “You CAN’T list a house for less than what you seller owes… that’s unethical!”

That’s when I KNEW that I was on to something that was going to take my career to the next level. Virtually nobody understood what a short sale was, or how to do one. After a little further discussion with that agent, he has his broker call me and give me the same lecture. My response to her was very simple. Not only was what I was doing NOT unethical. It was more ethical that what most agents were doing, which was to simply overprice listings based on what their sellers needed or wanted to get out of them with no regard for market conditions. I also explained to her that there was going to be many more of these short sales to come, and that she might want to learn what they were, because they were going to become a very normal part of the real estate business, and that there was going to be a NEW NORMAL.

In MY market, I practically invented the short sale, but it was not my invention at all. I simply read things written by people smarter and more experienced in this area, and implemented them in my market first.

Fast forward to 2011 where short sales are common place and where 2/3 of my personal business are REO properties that I list for national and local lenders and the statistics are quite different. There were a total of 1,237 homes sold last year which is a 43% decrease in sold properties and an average sales price of $160,674 which is a 20% decrease.

What is more TELLING is that when you focus on the city of of Kenosha and look at 2-unit properties the average sales price dropped from $146,858 to $54,712 which is a STAGGERING 63% drop in value. The AVERAGE price is lower than the LOWEST sale of 5 years earlier of $70,000. Landlords and more importantly amateur investors bid up the price of investment properties to unsustainable levels similar to the way tech sector stocks drove up the NASDAQ in 2000 to the all time high of 5132.

I think the story of the NASDAQ run up helps tell the story of the NEW NORMAL in the real estate industry and can help people to understand. Just as real estate prices were higher than market rents were able to support, tech sector stock prices were unrealistically high with no regard to the actual value of assets or profitability of tech sector companies.

After reaching its all time high on March 10th 2010 the exchange lost 62% of its value over the following two years. Just as we have never returned to the highs experienced in 2000 in the tech sector in 11 years, it will be a very long time before we reach prices in investment properties anywhere near the highs of 5 years ago.

As more time goes on, sellers will accept the NEW NORMAL and the real estate market will return to more normal levels of volume, but with the new lower prices and possibly a rate of growth based on common sense instead of raw speculation. Once the rest of the sellers in the market GET REAL about the value of their properties, the market can continue on the path of slow steady recovery.

Weichert, Realtors® - Precision does more to generate leads for our agents than ANY OTHER real estate company in our market. From the Weichert Lead Network to our local call center, to our innovative WEB and Direct Mail Strategies we generate an average of 1.8 ADDITIONAL CLOSED TRANSACTIONS per month PER AGENT.

For more information or to make an appointment, CLICK HERE to complete our Career Information Request Form.

“It is well enough that people of the nation do not

understand our banking and monetary system, for if

they did, I believe there would be a revolution before

tomorrow morning.” – Henry Ford

Never before in human history has there been access to so much

information and the resources to share and discuss on a global scale, the

questions that lead to establishment of greater truth and transparency.

WE engage in an enlightened facilitated discussion on various topics all pivotal in causing our mass awakening. NOW is the time for these discussions and enlightened necessary action, so humanity can move forward in a positive and uplifting direction for the betterment of our species and the planet.

Topic #1 – The Economy and the Monetary System

Saturday April 23rd – 10am - 1pm

Carolyn’s Coffee Connection

1351 52nd St.

Kenosha, WI 53140

Space limited to 20 people per session.

$50 donation per person/$80 per couple per topic.

Food and drinks included.

To Register: please email Tony Toto at ttoto5150@gmail.com.

Please provide name, email and phone number. Cash only donations will be received at the door.

Please come with an open mind and be ready to have your current beliefs challenged as this is a path to growth and a higher state of conscious awareness.

Tony Toto (Skype me – tony23732)

Please also visit www.worldenlightainment.com and www.tonytoto.com

If you don't live in the area but know someone locally who would be interested in attending, please have them email me!!

As a real estate broker who specializes in listing and selling foreclosure and pre-foreclosure properties in Southeastern Wisconsin, I often receive emails and phone calls asking how to get a good deal on a foreclosed property. There are many misconceptions about buying forelcosures and often times would be investors have unrealistic expectations about things such as the flexibility in list price, buying HUD homes and getting financing for investment properties bought as an REO property.

Here are 10 steps to getting a good deal on a foreclosure in Kenosha, WI (or ANY area for that matter).

#1 DO YOUR HOMEWORK AHEAD OF TIME The first step to getting a GREAT DEAL on a foreclosed home is KNOWING what a good deal looks like before you ACTUALLY SEE ONE. All to often inexperienced investors pass on good deals because they don't know which deals are good, or they make a mistake paying too much for a property because they thought they were getting a good deal when they were now. Another "rookie mistake" is basing whether or not they got a good deal on how much the seller took off the list price. Some of the BEST deals my investor clients bought were for over list price, while I have seen buyers bid 70-80 percent of list price on listings that were overpriced by 40%.

Decide what area or areas you want to buy a property in and research the area(s) you are looking in. You will need to know what properties are currently on the market, how long those properties have been on the market and what recently properties have sold for. You may need help with this task, and partnering with a good real estate professional in your market who is willing to set up automatic searches or provide you access to an "IDX" enabled search can help you find lots of good information.

Some of the items you need to look at are average price per square foot for the area you are looking in, and price as compared to the most recent tax assessment. Tax assessments are typically a very poor indication of actual value of a property, but with the right amount of research you can see as a percentage a assessed value a pattern in recent sales. Also you need to look at the PRICE TRENDS as opposed to just the current market values. Take a look at sold prices from two years ago, one year ago, six months ago and the past 90 days to get an indication what direction and rate prices are moving in. This gives you a much greater point of reference than just the properties on the market now and the most recently sold comparables.

#2 HAVE YOUR FINANCING IN PLACE Almost all REO sellers as well as banks considering short sales require proof of funds or a pre-approval letter prior to accepting an offer. Additionally some Asset Managers and REO sellers require that you receive a pre-approval letter from the lender that they specify before accepting an offer. This means you must be willing to have another lender pull your credit. Find out from your Realtor whether or not the property you are writing on requires this type of approval and be prepared to answer the questions that the lender is going to ask. Also make sure you are selecting the right type of loan product for the property you are buying. If you are looking for a great deal on a foreclosed house that you plan on making your home, there are fantastic programs out there that will even allow you to borrow some or all of the rennovation costs such as the FHA 203(k) loan and the Homepath Rennovation loan. If you are buying a foreclosure as an investor, there are other construction loans out there, but you may have to shop numerous lenders.

#3 SELECT AN AGENT THAT UNDERSTANDS YOU NEEDS It pains me to say this but it's a fact..... Many real estate agents out there are LOUSY. When I teach real estate pre-license classes to people who are studying to obtain their real estate license and when I teach my sales and marketing classes to agents in the midwest region, I tell my students that MOST REALTORS STINK AT THEIR JOBS. I tell them this because I want them to be different and because I am a true believer in raising the bar. Don't settle for substandard knowledge of the market or poor service. Find someone who truly understands both your needs and desires and the market you are looking in, and is willing to work hard for you. This is a tall order, but you willl find there are good agents in EVERY market area. When you find the agent that you know you want to use, STICK WITH THAT AGENT. Their knowledge is valuable to you, and your loyalty is what their livelyhood depends on. More importantly, your loyalty can save you tons of money and help you to avoid very costly mistakes.

#4 DON'T OVERLOOK SHORT SALES Many agent will steer their buyers away from short sales because the approval process takes longer than a traditional sale or even an REO sale. While many listing agents who list short sales (sadly) have NO IDEA what they are doing, there ARE agents who are good at short sales. Ask the agent you are interviewing what their experience is in negotiating short sales and don't accept vague answers. If you are working with a BUYERS AGENT that is good at negotiating short sales INSIST that YOUR agent is the primary negotiator between you and the seller's lender. They will have to write that in the offer to purchase and the listing agent will often object, even if he or she does not know how to get a short sale done. There is no logical reason for this objection and refusal except for the fact that the agents PRIDE is even greater than his or her INCOMPTENCE (often to the detriment of the seller) and can't get out of his own way long enough to get paid. However if your agent knows what he or she is doing, often they can overcome this roadblock and work with the lender to get you a terrific deal

#5 DON'T GET EMOTIONALLY TO A HOUSE No matter how much you think you just found the STEAL OF A LIFETIME, there are going to be other deals out there. Good deals are like busses these days with one rolling by every 10 minutes. When you find a deal you like, write the deal and be prepared to be rejected. If you write enough offers, you will get end up getting the deal you are looking for.

#6 BE PREPARED TO WAIT With REO sales you can expect 48-72 hours of turn around time. Many times your agent will have nothing more than a verbal answer from the listing agent that your offer is accepted and a checklist of things the lender needs in order to get you a signed contract. This is NORMAL when buying a bank owned property, even though it flies in the face of everything real estate professionals are taught in Wisconsin with regard to contracts, deadlines and the concept of "Binding Acceptance". After you receive an accepted contract for sale you may find that although the lender EXPECTS you to perform on time with regard to your home inspection, loan approval and closing date deadlines, they are under NO obligation to perform by their deadlines and will often ask for extensions and seldomly close on time. This is also normal and just goes with the territory of buying a foreclosure. Additionally a short sale typically takes 6-8 weeks for approval and I have seen them take OVER A YEAR.

#7 MAKE SURE YOU PROPERLY ESTIMATE REPAIR COSTS - Another common mistake is not knowing how much repairs are going to cost. Get SEVERAL estimates on the repairs you plan on completing, even if you plan on doing the work yourself, base your offer price on having to get the repairs done by a licensed contractor. After all, your time has a value as well.

If you follow these steps, you are more likely to meet with success, and find the buying experience to be a rewarding one.