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The Wisconsin housing statistics are in for May of 2014. Here is an excerpt from what the Wisconsin Realtors® Association (WRA) had to say:

Existing home sales continued to lag behind 2013 levels but median prices rose by a solid margin in Wisconsin according to the most recent housing market report released by the Wisconsin REALTORS® Association (WRA). May home sales dropped 6.9 percent compared to the May 2013 volume of sales. In contrast, median prices increased over the same period, rising 3.8 percent to $150,000.

“This is the fifth straight month of reduced home sales compared to where we were this time last year, and there are multiple potential reasons why,” said Steve Lane, chairman of the WRA board of directors. He pointed out that state economy appears to be steadily improving. The unemployment rate continues to drop and at 5.7 percent in May, it stands a more than a percentage point below where we were last year. In addition the state has added more than 38,300 jobs over the last year according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The harsh winter contributed to slower sales in the first four months, but it can’t explain the slower sales in May. “Even though last year was a strong year for sales, we expected a slight bounce in May sales as the prolonged winter ended,” Lane said. “But we haven’t seen that bounce yet.”

Below are the number of Home Sales and Median House Prices for the state of Wisconsin, Rock County, and Dane County. These stats include Janesville and Madison. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions pertaining to these figures. As you probably have heard, overall home sales & prices have been increasing over the past few years. This month however showed a decrease of home sales statewide, but an increase in home prices. Rock County however showed increases in both sales and price!

Thinking of purchasing a home before prices or rates rise any further? I'd be happy to show you any homes currently listed for sale. Feel free to visit Real Estate Listings in Rock County to search for current Rock County properties or visit Real Estate Listings in Dane County for homes in Dane County Wisconsin.

Now might be the right time to sell your Wisconsin home. Feel free to take a look at our cutting edge Rock Realty Marketing Plan! If you would like some insight into how much your home is currently worth, I would be happy to provide you with a free comparative market analysis. This is a report that gives a close estimate to what your home might sell for in your current local Wisconsin real estate market. Click below:

What's My Wisconsin Home Worth?

Has your home value fallen below what you currently owe? Have you experienced a hardship like divorce or job loss? A short sale may be right for your situation. Visit our page on Wisconsin Short Sales for more information.

Rock Realty Client Testimonials

"Michael Collins did the impossible he SOLD my house! When I put my house for sale everything that could go wrong did but Michael never gave up and did everything he could to sell my house. I recommend Michael Collins if your looking for a real estate agent! He is hard working and trustworthy!"

Michelle M. (Madison, WI 53704)
Rock Realty Seller Client

Thanks for the compliments, and Congratulations to Michelle on the short sale of your home! Congrats to Michael Collins on another successful closing!

Are you considering purchasing property in the Madison Wisconsin area? Click below to start your home search!

Madison, WI Real Estate

I'm happy to report that the total number of Short Sales here in the desert have dropped dramatically since last year.  I just took a new Short Sale Listing today, and closed one last month, but as one of the deserts' most prolific Short Sale Agents, I can report that equity Sales are beating the pants off the Shorts!  And I'm happy about that!

The Palm Springs Valley is a resort location, and we were awash in new homes in 2004-2006.  New Homes are just beginning to be built again, abandoned projects finished and the remaining underwater properties dealt with.  Balance has returned for the most part and it's a beautiful thing!  

However, if you find yourself underwater here in our dry desert, don't hesitate to give me a call..it's familiar territory for me, and I'm happy to help.

Have you received an approval letter from Wells Fargo and they approved certain fee's, then when you are waiting for HUD approval, they say they are not going to pay a fee?

Is this Legal?  should we contact the OCC? 

I submitted a short sale with Chase Mortgage and after 3 weeks, I was told the file is in audit. After a further 2weeks in audit, I tried to escalate the file and Chase told me the file cannot be escalated, because it is in audit. I asked them to invite me and the seller and buyer to go through the audit, but nothing done. Eventually the file was declined, no reason given. Who do we turn to in a situation like this?

Looking for a Rent-to-Own, Lease-Option or Land Contract in Wisconsin? We may have the perfect option for you! It's called the Alternative Mortgage Program. Please read the details below and visit the link for further information.

As you can see, this is much different than any other Wisconsin Rent to Own (RTO) or Land Contract program out there that we have seen. This could be the perfect conduit for you to get the home you want now, and be able to then purchase the house down the road when you can qualify for a traditional mortgage. If you are interested in hearing more about the program from the lender, please visit the link below and submit your contact information via the short form.

Blog.RockRealtyWI.com/Rent-To-Own

Feel free to also visit our Rock Realty Wisconsin home listings websites below to help with your home search! You can search through all available MLS listings in your area.

Janesville Area Homes for Sale
(http://www.JanesvilleRealtor.com)

Madison Area Homes for Sale
(http://www.MadisonWIForSale.com)

This is HUGE!!!

Submitting a Contract

Fannie Mae announces the expansion of the HomePath® for Short Sales website, a communication tool created to help real estate professionals efficiently complete short sales and resolve challenges directly with Fannie Mae. Listing Agents are able to submit a contract into the HomePath Short Sale Portal, negotiate, and receive first lien approval directly from Fannie Mae. Visit HomePath® for Short Sales website to view the list of participating servicers - (currently, Seterus is the only participating servicer - more servicers will be brought on during the course of the year).

To begin the process, use the Loan Lookup tool to determine if Fannie Mae owes your client's loan. If the loan is owned by Fannie Mae, have the homeowner complete and sign the Fannie Mae Homeowner Authorization form and contact the servicer to determine the homeowner's eligibility. Once the homeowner's eligibility has been determined, register as a listing agent in the HomePath Short Sale portal.

How to Submit a Contract trough the HomePath Short Sale Portal

1. Log into the HomePath Short Sale Portal
    
2. Submit the selected contract with terms acceptable to the homeowner into the HomePath Short Sale Portal (currently, Seterus is the only participating servicer - more servicers will come later in the year.)
    
3. If your client's loan is not serviced by a participating servicer, submit the contract directly to the servicer and to Fannie Mae through the Submit a Contract tab on the HomePath® for Short Sales website.
    
4. Await decisions and related communications from Fannie Mae. You will receive notifications if further actions are required or additional documentation is necessary.

Questions
For any technical support questions about the HomePath Short Sale Portal's functionality, please call 1-866-894-0205. If your question or issue does not relate to the functionality of the HomePath Short Sale Portal, you will be directed to the Fannie Mae resource center 1-800-7Fannie or to the Fannie Mae Short Sale escalation desk.

Just wanted to know if any investor our there has received an approval letter with the following language in it:   

"There are no agreements, understandings, contracts, or offers relating to the current sale or subsequent sale of the Property that have not been disclosed to the Servicer"

This seems to be new language that I haven't seen before but if the buyer has the intention of reselling the property afterwards - how would you get around this legally?   Any thoughts?