Pending home sales dropped 5.5% in April after reaching the highest level in two years the month before, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The index tracks contract signings and not closings. While pending home sales dipped from March, they remain 14.4% above last year.

Pending home sales in the Northeast actually rose nearly a full percentage point in April and were nearly 20% higher than levels measured last year.

The West showed the largest dip of 12% over the month before but was still more than 5% above last year.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for NAR, stayed upbeat despite the setback. He pointed out pending home sales were above year-ago levels for the 12th straight month.

NAR even increased its forecast of existing home sales for the year, increasing it to 4.66 million for 2012 compared to 4.26 million in 2011. It bumped its forecast for 2013 to between 4.5 million and 5.3 million, depending on lending practices and budget policy changes.

NAR also said because of smaller inventories kept for sale on the market, it expects home prices to rise as much as 3% this year and even 5% in 2013.

A 5% gain in national prices, Yun claims, would cut the amount of underwater borrowers to 9 million from the current level of 11 million.

How quickly a local market recovers in terms of home prices and real estate activity may be contingent on whether it’s located in a judicial or nonjudicial foreclosure state, Capital Economics said .

Judicial foreclosure states require financial firms to handle default proceedings within an official court of law, while nonjudicial foreclosure states offer a set of rules and processes that are streamlined and designed to occur outside of court.

Paul Diggle, property economist for Capital Economics, cited data Friday from the Federal Housing Finance Agency index, showing home price growth in the fourth quarter of 2011 declining 0.3% from the previous quarter within judicial foreclosure states and 2.3% from year-ago levels. On the other hand, home prices grew 0.3% in nonjudicial foreclosure states quarter-over-quarter while falling a slight 1.6% over the previous year.

The crux of the report is that nonjudicial foreclosure markets are performing better in terms of price stabilization.

“We think that differences in foreclosure procedures will continue to affect state-level house price trends, with nonjudicial states outperforming,” said Diggle. “After all, as foreclosure pipelines are brought down to healthier levels in nonjudicial, high burn-through states, supply conditions can more rapidly tighten to the point that they support price growth.”

He believes low burn-through rates in judicial foreclosure states keep houses on the market for longer periods of time, pushing prices downward.

While the Capital Economics report suggests nonjudicial foreclosure states help local economies re-stabilize the markets in an efficient manner, Tom Feltner, vice president of the Woodstock Institute, says there are many elements that impact local home prices aside from the type of foreclosure state the property resides in. Those factors include demand, credit availability and local confidence in the market.

Feltner declined to classify one method of foreclosure as more effective or market-supporting than the other.

“I think that from our perspective, there are obviously a lot of challenges with moving properties through the judicial process,” Feltner said. “It takes more time, but I think as part of that process, there are more inbuilt foreclosure intervention points for homeowners who are working through the process of trying to save their home,” he said.

“I think in terms of whether or not it’s better to move properties through faster or not, it’s most important to ensure the borrower has every single opportunity to save their home.”  

Feltner said with the robo-signing settlement in the past, it’s likely judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure states will see foreclosure timelines speed up.

Diggle with Capital Economics expects a similar trend and worries about the impact of a slew of foreclosures hitting judicial foreclosure states all at once. “[T]he risk that the robo-signing settlement prompts the rapid transfer of homes in foreclosure into the visible supply is surely a much greater threat to the house price outlook in judicial states, where the foreclosure backlog is that much larger,” he said.

The Philadelphia sheriff’s office and its deflated foreclosure system is under construction.

Former Sheriff John Green left his post at the end of 2010 after more than 20 years in office. According to an audit report released last year, two private companies built systems to handle evictions and foreclosure sales. The companies were allegedly connected to Green and overcharged the city millions of dollars for the services.

Before the departure, the system was stripped out, and the office was left with an antiquated system that led to backlogs and delays, according to sources familiar with the situation. The sheriff office website isn’t even accessible; a big, yellow ‘under construction’ graphic appears in lieu of information.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, President Judge of the First Judicial District Pamela Dembe and the current sheriff Jewell Williams finalized an advisory board Friday to help tackle the technological problems.

Representatives from each office will be on the board, including local attorneys. Michael McKeever, who represents banks for KML Law Group will be on the board.

“The office has been plagued by understaffing and a lack of technology,” McKeever said in an interview.

Transferring money from a third-party who buys a home at sheriff office foreclosure sale to the bank usually takes 60 days. In some cases, it now takes eight months, according to McKeever.

The deed process has also been extended out several months as well.

The city, one of the largest in the country and one of the hardest hit by the crisis, has only the 97th highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac. One in every 284 homes in Philadelphia is in the foreclosure process as of March 31, comparable to far healthier areas such as Dallas and Memphis, Tenn.

But the filings are picking up. Foreclosure activity jumped 33% in the first quarter, according to RealtyTrac, the fifth highest increase in the country.

McKeever said the board will attempt to make recommendations within three months, and the sheriff office hopes to install the necessary changes within one year.

“They just did not have the resources to do the sales. The goal here is an open transparent office,” McKeever said. “Mayor Nutter has been very good. He’s been a strong champion of ethics and accountability in the office. He saw how it was impacting the city.”

A question I ask our representatives on a weekly basis is, “Who is your favorite client?” Surprisingly, the answer changes almost every week. There are many characteristics that make up an ideal client, and I’m going to explain why you should strive to be like these ideal clients. Obviously, I have selfish reasoning behind this in case we ever do end up working with you, but even if I never meet you, these tactics will help you get ahead in business – and in life.

Our favorite clients frequently have four major characteristics in common:

1. Expertise
2. Passion
3. Rational thinking
4. Friendliness

Expertise

At Digital Talent Agents, we work to help experts improve their credibility and authority online by getting them published in reputable online publications. Simply stated, it’s easier to get legitimate experts published. Our favorite clients are people who hone their craft, frequently educate themselves on the newest trends in their industry, and have an intellectual curiosity to constantly learn more. You can learn something from them. Make a conscious effort to become a true expert in your field, and opportunities will start creeping out of the woodwork.

Passion

The worst feeling in the world is when a client submits answers to their questions, and you can tell they could care less about what they’re writing about. Our favorite clients write about their coaching businesses as if they were saving the world! They have such an extreme passion for their profession that it exudes from them in everything they do (and write). Find something that you love about your career and reignite your passion. It will not only make you enjoy each day more, but it will enable others to enjoy your company.

Rational Thinking

I was raised to believe that humans are rational individuals. As I’m sure everyone can attest to, not everyone you deal with throughout the day is all that rational. Our favorite clients are rightly upset when something doesn’t meet their standards, but they also understand when something is beyond our control. Being rational can take effort at times, but it results in a less-stressed, more effective workday.

Friendliness

By far, the characteristic that most of our “favorite clients” have in common is friendliness. That extra smiley face at the end of an email can make a huge difference in someone’s day (don’t go overboard, of course – that’s just fake). I can see our agents’ faces beaming when they read a nice note from a client. We try to repay the friendliness by sending them notes when people write nice comments on their articles, and encouraging them when they’re a few days behind on deadlines.  The next time you want to answer an email with “OK,” think about adding four words, like “Have a great day.” As cheesy as it sounds, I promise you people will appreciate it.

These characteristics may seem obvious: be nice to people, care about your craft, and know your stuff. But taking each of these one step further will truly make people love working with you. It pays to have people enjoy working with you.  I know our reps wouldn’t admit it, but I think their favorite clients may get their articles sent out first.

Author: Kelsey Meyer     Kelsey Meyer on the Web Kelsey Meyer on Facebook Kelsey Meyer on Twitter Kelsey Meyer on LinkedIn Kelsey Meyer RSS Feed

Kelsey Meyer is the Senior Vice President of Digital Talent Agents. DTA helps authors, entrepreneurs, consultants and experts improve their credibility and authority online by getting them published in reputable online publications. 

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