There are 10 houses on the markt in my area, is this a sign of foreclosures? is is a buyers mrkt/buyer beware?

Question

1st time homebuyer, seeking average house, is it best at this time in our economy to buy foreclosure?

Answer 1

We are in a buyer's market for now. Foreclosures are up and will continue upward for at least another year. This is due to the large amount of speculation and creative financing. The creative financing people once thought was a great idea is now biting them in the behind. If you are a buyer, you are in the drivers seat. Look at the houses for sale and carefully analyze recent sales. If the properties are in danger of foreclosure (you can find out by checking with the county court house public records) or has been on the market a long time, you can get lucky by making a low ball offer.

Determine the fair value based on recent sales and offer 20% less to the homeowner that needs to get out. Now is the time for buyers to wheel and deal.

Answer 2

Just because there are 10 houses on the market in your area does not indicate they are foreclosures, they may just want to sell and move elsewhere. It is always a good time to buy a foreclosure, as they tend to be below market value and some are in very good shape, but usually they need some sort of work (carpet, paint, appliances, etc.). HUD sells it's homes at below market prices and they also will pay up to 3% of the buyer's closing cost, as well as the buyer's agent's commission. The market has not tanked everywhere, like in Texas, for example, but regardless, it is a buyer's market and now is a great time to buy because of that reason.

Answer 3

Home market boom is over....for last few months most housing markets have been dropping on avg of around 18% per month.

I am looking to buy myself but am waiting for this balloon that got inflated to deflate some.

Here homes are still about 35,000 more than they were just last year for the same house. Since they are coming down each month I'll wait.

Owning a house is great.....but to own a house that you pay more on than its worth means serious debt.

Soon you will see many foreclosures, bankruptcies, etc happening as many are on flexible interest loans and they are gonna go broke. And others who bought at the top of the balloon are gonna be paying like 50k more for their house than its market value will be in just another year.

No offense to those in a house....but I hope the bottom falls out so I can buy dirt cheap.

Answer 4

There are so many foreclosures going on these days that one would think it's a good time to buy but I heard from someone quite knowledgeable today that buyers need to be on their guard for too-good-to-be-true mortgage deals (i.e. very little money down, ballooning mortgage payments, etc). The real estate situation is depressed enough that there's a lot of "hanky panky" in the financing dept!

Answer 5

First thing to look for is who is doing the selling. If it's a bank, then it's a foreclosure. But that's not necessarily bad. You have to go in, and look at the place from inside. Some states require termite inspection too, etc.

One possibility is that you rent for a year with the option to buy.

Answer 6

It definitly is a buyers market. I wouldn't be too concerned about the amount of houses in an area for sale. The housing market has crashed in a lot of the country.

Answer 7

Research those houses or get your agent to find out how many days on market. How long has the seller owned the house. Also find out how much equity the seller has in the house.

Find out the prices comparable houses have sold for in the last 3 months.

Throw out a lowball offer on a house that may be in financial trouble. You may get lucky.

Answer 8

We are in a buryers market. I don't know where you are, but 10 houses on the market really isn't a lot.