In any real estate market, you have buyers and you have sellers. The differences in types and numbers of buyers and sellers can obviously change dramatically, as has been evident over the past several years here in Arizona. To many, the term “foreclosure” can have a negative sound, to others it is the sweet sound of opportunity.
According to this REUTERS article , “One of eight U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter late on loan payments or in the foreclosure process.” Obviously, this will be a big part of the market for quite some time.
When the market was in hyper-overdrive, people would buy anything that they could mortgage and the banks made it easy to do so. Now, as lending guidelines change, prices adjust, investors and the average Joe try to recover, and a market looks to stabilize, people once again have the luxury of location, location, location.
Many of the real estate investors searching for property have different expectations today than in the “good old days” where homes would often appreciate $10k in a month.
This morning, I looked at a report of homes listed as a “short sale,” “lender owned” or a “pre-foreclosure” sale within 1/2 mile of the light rail line in Arizona. There were 180 homes fitting this criteria begining at just $23,000 which would have been unheard of during the market frenzy. The average time on the market for these homes within 1/2 mile of the light rail line is currently 90 days with an average list price of $120,350.
As investors look at a “sweet spot” in the low $100k range, there appears to be a tremendous number of homes near light rail for their choosing. We will continue to update different types of homes in this area to see if they make sense for your situation.
