Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Top 10 markets in the U.S. to buy foreclosures

RealtyTrac has just posted what it considers the top 10 U.S. markets to buy foreclosures.  A couple of the ever present metropolitan areas are all too familiar with these hitlists.  Ft. Meyers, Florida and Tuscon, Arizona fell into some of the middle spots. As for some of the cities named, the list may surprise you!  It is rostered with cities such as Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Seattle, and Tulsa.  But, the surprising number one metro area to buy a foreclosure in 2012 is Kansas City, Missouri!  That is right! The "City of Fountains" is officially the number one city to buy a foreclosure this year.  The average foreclosure price in K.C. has dropped almost 28% from last year to 2012.  The average discount is 51%, making up 29% of all homes sales in the greater Kansas City area.   

In its May foreclosure newsletter, RealtyTrac named the top 10 places to buy foreclosures in 2012. The selected locations were out of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas based on population. The list was further narrowed according to markets with at least 200 foreclosure-related sales transactions in January 2012. Then, it was whittled down again to only include metros with foreclosure sales prices at least 30 percent below the average price of a non-foreclosure property.
The number one metro to buy a foreclosure in 2012 is Kansas City, Missouri, where the average foreclosure sales price is $73,257 compared to $101,710 a year ago. The average discount for foreclosures is 51 percent. Overall, foreclosures make up 29 percent of all sales in this metro. Citing data from the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, the newsletter stated home sales in Kansas City rose 14 percent in March from a year ago, and prices increased 3 percent from a year ago.
Boston earned the number two spot with an average foreclosure sales price of $195,672 compared to $203,606. The average discount is 49 percent, and 18 percent of sales are foreclosures. Boston also had the lowest unemployment rate on the list at 5.9 percent.
Pittsburgh came in at number three. The average foreclosure sales price is $73,142; last year, it was $82,928. The average discount is 48 percent.
At fourth place, Tulsa has an average foreclosure sales price of $86,725 compared to $113,969 last year and also has an average discount of 38 percent.
San Francisco earned the number five spot. A pricey city to own a home, San Francisco foreclosures averaged $307,803, down from last year’s average of $317,409. Discounts for foreclosures are about 38 percent. Out of all sales, 47 percent were foreclosures in San Francisco, the highest out of all 10 cities. Real estate blog Movotoestimated Facebook’s initial public offering will add $1 billion to property values in the Bay Area.
Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, Florida is sixth best place to buy a foreclosure, and averaged at $102,022, with last year’s sales prices at $93,976. Discounts were also 38 percent.
Charlotte ranked number seven and averaged $118,808 for foreclosed homes. Last year, the average was $144,614, also with a 38 percent discount.
Tucson, Arizona was number eight at $112,660 compared to $129,500 last year. The average discount was also 35 percent. According to the Tucson Association of Realtors, sales rose 16 percent in February from a year ago. Also, the average sales price increased 4.75 percent from January to February, according to RealtyTrac.
Seattle foreclosures averaged $212,565, a drop from the year ago price of $237,852. At number nine on the list, the metro had an average discount of 35 percent.
The number 10 spot went to Columbus, Ohio, where the average sales price is $98,223, falling from $101,152 last year. Average discounts were 32 percent.
The newsletter was authored by RealtyTrac staff writer Octavio Nuiry.

Friday, May 11, 2012

Prices will never be this low again

It's been a topic that has been whispered over and over again for the past couple of years.  People have been speculating when the "bottom" of the market will actually be considered the bottom.  Some markets have seen double dips, triple dips and even quadruple dips in falling home prices.

Finally, numbers are in and are showing that the low prices are going away.  Values in the majority of marketplaces are showing slow and steady growth.  Several economists and real estate experts agree.

Home values in DFW have risen slightly in the last quarter and home sales are at 2007 numbers.  It appears that it may finally be safe to say that the bottom has, in fact, bottomed out.



By Les Christie
Buying a home may never get any cheaper than this. Several housing experts are predicting that this year will be the last chance for bargain hunters to cash in on the best deals of the weak housing market.

With home prices down 34% nationally since 2006 and mortgage rates at historic lows, homes have never been more affordable -- but it won't stay this way for much longer.

Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services, said he expects home prices to flatten out by the third quarter and start climbing by next year.

A number of factors will help bolster the housing market, he said, including a decline in the number of foreclosures and continued job growth. In addition, homebuyers will have better access to mortgages as they get their finances in order and improve their credit scores.

"This is a strong indicator that we will start seeing home price indexes, like the S&P/Case-Shiller, start to report home price increases this summer," he said.

Prospective homebuyers who've been sitting on the fence shouldn't worry if they aren't quite ready to make the leap. Analysts are predicting that the initial price gains will be modest, at least, in most markets.