If you think you've had a bad day....look at this!

 Bad days are not gone yet for home values in the Tracy/Central Valley areas of California.  Prices started to stabilize around the first of the year and then take a small dip after the government tax credits started to dry up.  Funny thing is inventory seems to be down as well-doesn’t make much sense.  Well, at least the number of listings didn’t take a huge jump just as prices were softening. 

Here is what the Tracy/Central Valley real estate market looks like according to Trulia:

That’s what a lot of smart folks are starting to figure out.  But how do you get the really good deals out there.  Well, in the Central Valley of California most real estate professionals feel you couldn’t go wrong even if you tried.  But let’s just say you wanted to find only the best deals right now, and you didn’t want to wait a year for a maybe close of escrow on a short sale.  How about a pre-approved short sale? 

Yes, some short sales come back on the market as pre-approved short sales after they have floated in limbo for months, even a year or more.  It is not uncommon for the deal to fall apart on a short sale after the buyer has had it and doesn’t want to wait another day; and guess what, the deal gets approved the day after the buyer backs out.  What you have then is a “pre-approved” short sale because the price and terms have already been approved, you just need a new buyer to step in.  Now, just because the lender approved the previous buyer doesn’t necessarily mean your deal will get approved, and some lenders will require another appraisal and updated seller information.  But, as long as your deal is similar it could mean you could benefit from the long waiting period and get the prize without all the trouble and hassle.

Central Valley agents are fighting a battle that has been brewing for about five years now.  It is a battle between the way we used to do business and the way real estate business is done today.  Up until about the end of 2005 real estate was for the most part “business as usual” for thousands of real estate brokers and agents in and around the Central Valley of California.  Brokers used a variety of methods to recruit, hire, and train real estate agents.  Agents used a variety of methods to get listings and sell them to buyers, getting financing along the way from just about any source for just about any buyer.  As long as a buyer had some kind of income, credit, or assets; not necessarily any combination of the three. 

Today everything about real estate in the Central Valley has changed.  Brokers have lost thousands of agents, most of which were part time agents and agents who pretty much relied on the system to bring them business.   Recruiting agents in a business of lost opportunities has become even more challenging, and there is reduced incentive for talent from other industries.  Historically, real estate has always been particularly attractive to mothers with children and retirees because of the flexible hours. 

There is a bright spot currently in the industry for agents who can gear up for working with banks in foreclosures and pre-foreclosures (short sales).  It does take special training and different skill sets, but can be very lucrative for those who can adapt to the new rules of the game.  The foreclosure market is basically divided into two sub-markets; working directly for the banks in foreclosures, or working with homeowners prior to foreclosure to sell their house before it goes to foreclosure.   Both sub-markets require their own special and very different skill sets.