Is Fannie Mae favoring cash buyers?

Q: Fannie Mae is turning down values of licensed appraisals on short-sale properties and asking for thousands of dollars more in the price. Is this not the same scenario that we are just trying to dig our way out of by artificially increasing prices on properties? Are they not somewhat violating fair housing laws by discriminating against someone who needs to purchase with a loan? Do they think that foreclosing and selling through their Homepath financing, which does not require an appraisal, benefits the community or just puts more money in their pocket?

A: First, let me say that I'm honored to take over for my predecessor, Kolleen Kelley, as this year's president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. As part of this volunteer position, I have the privilege of answering your real estate questions in this section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal's real estate section.

I want to give it my best shot because I agree it's a problem that seems to be hurting homeowners, stifling short sales and slowing down our local economy in the past few months.

If you're looking to buy a home, this issue could make it harder for you to purchase a property as part of a short sale. Short sales now account for nearly half of all existing home sales here.

In the last few months, I've seen similar situations in my own real estate office. I have real estate agents telling me that Fannie Mae has been blocking short sales by asking for tens of thousands of dollars above appraised value. Basically, this government-sponsored enterprise that backs millions of mortgages across the country seems to be holding back home sales for some reason, rejecting offers from would-be buyers who need a loan to buy the house at or near the appraised value.

I'm hearing reports about Fannie Mae responding to offers to buy a home at or near its appraised value by asking upward of $40,000 more for the home than an appraiser said it's worth. And this is not just a local issue. I'm hearing complaints like yours from homeowners and real estate professionals across the country. In Arizona, where short sales make up a big percentage of all local home sales like they do here in Nevada, the attorney general's office has reportedly been receiving numerous complaints about this.

To me, this situation may be inflating home prices. It also seems to be discouraging traditional and first-time homebuyers - the very people I thought Fannie Mae and similar government-backed entity Freddie Mac are supposed to be helping.

Agents in my office have suggested that this practice may favor cash buyers and companies and investment groups that are buying homes in bulk to rent them or eventually sell them at a profit as local home prices continue to increase.

I'm not sure why Fannie Mae is doing this, but I think that we need to do whatever we can to try to remedy this situation before it gets worse.

That's why I'm joining other leaders of the GLVAR in contacting Fannie Mae officials and our state and federal government leaders and urging them to convince Fannie Mae to get back to accepting reasonable offers.

I'll keep you posted on our progress.

Until then, I'm looking forward to fielding your questions about the local housing market and related issues. Please email your questions to me at ask@glvar.org.

Dave Tina is the 2013 president of the GLVAR and has worked in the real estate industry for more than 35 years. GLVAR has nearly 11,000 members. For more information, visit www.lasvegasrealtor.com.