False bottom of the market generates multiple offers on REO’s
Last night at a meeting of the Boston Area Real Estate Investors Assn, one of our attendees was an Asset Disposition Manager who works with large lending institutions in disposing of both “tapes” of properties, and individual REO listings. She was adamant that many of the foreclosures across the country have been put on hold, both by lenders and by governmental mandate, causing a temporary shortage of available REO investor properties - we’re not talking the “pretty” properties that might be bought by an end buyer necessarily, but the investor properties needing significant work. Although I’m sure her comments are probably accurate for both types of properties. This “hold” is creating a backlog of properties not yet acquired by the institutions, and certainly not yet on the market to resell.
Anyway, because the investors perceive this is a great time to buy when the market is flooded with foreclosures, in fact there are fewer properties than buyers, creating a temporary sellers market. She warned about bidding up the prices, and made us know that this is quite a short term situation, and that a flood of properties is still slated to hit the market. So what is currently a sellers market in REO’s is going to turn into a buyer’s market again. We haven’t hit bottom and started up again, it is a false bottom.
Buyer beware, don’t pay too much! Sometimes the best deal is the one you walk away from.
August 5th, 2009 at 15:23
The obama administration is twisting the arms of the banks to delay foreclosures. They want the media to “call” the bottom of the housing market in order to manipulate the publics perception of the economy.
The only problem is that these artificial delays will only make the problem worse in the long run. At first I scoffed at the idea of a shadow inventory but now I know its true.’I am a very succesful REO agent. This time last year I had over 75 listings and right now I have 3. The number of NOD’s has gone up but the number of listings have plummetted.