Richard Rosa

I am not surprised by the November home sales figures. After the financial crisis hit in September, home buyers disappeared.

The number of single-family home sales recorded in Massachusetts declined 18.4 percent in November, compared to November 2007.

The steep decline came after two consecutive months of home sales increases in Massachusetts.

The data comes from The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data.

Home prices for the month fell 16.7 percent, to a median price of $275,000, the steepest home-price decline in more than 20 years.

Meanwhile, the condominium market, which experienced more moderate sales declines in September and October, saw double-digit percentage declines in sales and prices in November.

Condo sales sank 27.5 percent to 1,204 from 1,660 in November 2007. Sales through November 2008 decreased 23.1 percent to 18,862 compared to 24,514 during the first 11 months of 2007.

The median condo price plunged 12 percent to $240,000 in November from $272,700 in November 2007. It was the biggest price decline in monthly median condo prices year-over-year since January 1992, according to The Warren Group. But condo prices have held up better so far this year than single-family home prices. Year-to-date, the median condo price slipped 2 percent to $275,000 from $280,525.

A separate report of November home sales data released by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) showed similar drastic declines. Median sales prices of single-family homes fell nearly 22 percent, to a median price of $283,000, according to the MAR. Condo prices declined 27 percent, to a median of $250,000.

Organized in 1924, the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is a professional trade organization with more than 21,000 members.

Nationally, sales of existing homes fell 8.6 percent in November, while median prices plunged a record 13.2 percent, the largest drop since the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) began its monthly reports.

Read The Boston Globe Article

Read The Warren Group Press Release

Read The MAR Press Release

The number of foreclosure deeds recorded in Massachusetts decreased in November compared to the prior month, but rose 38 percent from November 2007, according to The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate market data.

A total of 880 foreclosure deeds were filed in November, down 11.6 percent from 996 in October; however, foreclosure deeds increased 37.9 percent compared to the 638 foreclosure deeds recorded in November 2007. November is the third consecutive month that foreclosure deeds have slipped under 1,000, but year-to-date foreclosure deeds have spiked 64.8 percent to 11,486 from 6,970 during the first 11 months of 2007.

“Efforts to stem the foreclosure crisis may have pushed lenders to take a step back and postpone foreclosures. Some lenders are working harder to pursue loan modifications, but unfortunately even with these modifications many homeowners still face an uphill battle to hold onto their homes,” said Timothy Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group.

Unfortunately, it's true. Loan modifications will not help the majority of homeowners.

Foreclosure petitions, which are the first step in the foreclosure process, have dropped significantly from earlier in 2008. Fewer petitions to foreclose were filed by lenders in November, falling by 50.9 percent to 1,335 compared to 2,721 a year earlier, and foreclosure petitions were 31.8 percent lower than October’s 2,065 petitions

November’s petitions are much lower than the winter, when about 3,000 petitions were being filed each month. A total of 20,179 foreclosure petitions have been filed from January through November, down 24.8 percent from 26,848 during the same months in 2007.

There were 1,134 auction announcements in November, a 27.9 percent increase from 887 a year earlier. Auction announcements through the first 11 months of the yeas jumped 34.2 percent to 18,064 from 13,465.

Dave Kres, co-owner and co-founder of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, was installed as president of the North Shore Association of REALTORS® (NSAR) on December 11, 2008 at Overtures Restaurant in Beverly, MA.

Dave was named to the REALTOR® Magazine 30 Under 30 list earlier this year. The NSAR named him the 2006 Rookie of the Year. Dave is an exclusive buyer agent and a member of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents.

Marilyn Jarvis, NSAR 2008 president, with Dave Kres.

Attorney General Martha Coakley has obtained a temporary restraining order against a Methuen, Massachusetts mortgage broker who allegedly preyed upon financially distressed homeowners by representing himself to be an attorney and a bankruptcy expert who offered to file bankruptcy petitions to save homeowners' homes from foreclosure.

The temporary restraining order prohibits David Coleman, doing business as Mortgage Finders of New England, and his employees from contacting individuals to offer foreclosure related services or assisting individuals with filing petitions in Bankruptcy Court.

As part of its lawsuit, the Attorney General’s Office is also seeking a permanent injunction against Coleman, restitution for consumers, civil penalties and attorney’s fees. “Due to the bad advice Mr. Coleman allegedly gave these consumers, the foreclosures on their homes could still proceed despite the fact that the homeowners paid hundreds of dollars to Coleman for services that they thought would allow them to avoid foreclosure and save their homes,” said Attorney General Coakley.

According to the complaint, which was filed December 11, 2008 in Essex Superior Court, Coleman would target vulnerable homeowners on the brink of foreclosure by combing newspapers for victims’ contact information in foreclosure notices. He would then allegedly make unsolicited calls to the homeowners where he would offer to save their homes from foreclosure by assisting them in filing for bankruptcy in exchange for a $1,000 cash fee upfront.

The complaint further alleges that Coleman held himself out to consumers as a bankruptcy expert and an attorney, even though he does not hold a license to practice law in Massachusetts or in any other state. Homeowners would meet Coleman at the Bankruptcy Courts located in Boston or Worcester, and he would offer unauthorized legal advice and assistance in connection with the filing of bankruptcy petitions. After convincing the homeowners to file for bankruptcy, Coleman would decide under which Chapter of the Bankruptcy Code to file for bankruptcy and allegedly filled out the petitions without consulting homeowners.

In many cases, the bankruptcy petitions were deficient and dismissed because they were incomplete or lacked the proper information. Homeowners allege that when they attempted to contact Coleman about these deficiencies, he was either not reachable or, if reached, he brushed off consumers’ concerns.

The lawsuit is the first the Attorney General’s Office has filed alleging violations of the regulations it promulgated in 2007 that regulate foreclosure-related services.

The complaint specifically alleges that Coleman violated the Attorney General’s regulations by taking an advance fee for foreclosure-related services and for advertising foreclosure related services without conspicuously disclosing the precise goods and services offered. Coleman also allegedly violated the regulations by failing to describe precisely how he would delay the foreclosure or address a default.

Additionally, the complaint alleges that Coleman violated regulations that govern mortgage broker conduct by making false and misleading statements to consumers and in his advertisements.

A preliminary injunction hearing is scheduled for December 16, 2008, in Essex Superior Court in Lawrence, Massachusetts at 2:00 p.m.

It's not often the Internal Revenue Service comes up with a plan that would reduce tax revenues.

Not wanting to be left out of the bailout party, the IRS has joined the fun. The kinder, gentler IRS announced a plan December 16, 2008 that would let homeowners off the hook for back taxes.

Under the plan, financially stressed homeowners could request that a federal tax lien be made secondary to liens by the lending institution that is refinancing or restructuring a loan. This sounds like a pretty good deal for the lenders too.

According to the USAToday article, taxpayers would also be able to ask the IRS to discharge, or remove, its claim to a property in certain circumstances where the property is being sold for less than the amount of the mortgage lien.

Read The USAToday Article