Recently, I thought it would be interesting to see just how many “Bank Owned” and “Short Sales” properties are impacting the real estate market in my backyard, west of the Willamette.  Much to my surprise, distressed properties are far more prevalent than I had anticipated. 

This chart represents the number of homes that are either short sales (those homes that homeowners owe more than the present value of the home and cannot make up the shortfall) or bank owned foreclosures in the Realtors Multiple Listing Service (RMLS) that are presently on the market for sale.  As you can see, they add up to being close to 20% of the current inventory and these properties are typically priced well below the competition.  

In many micro- markets around town, if you cast a net around a sampling of 50 homes for sale in a similar price range and area, it would be a common fact that upwards of 10 would be distressed sales.  In a sampling of this size it would not be uncommon either to see only five homes sell per month based on the past year’s averages (a 10 month supply), or in other words, it may take at least 10 months to sell one’s home.  As a result, ordinary homeowners who are hoping to sell are now competing with these distressed properties and it quickly becomes apparent that in order to be competitive, homes must be clean, well maintained, updated, staged, and priced well. 

On the contrary, there are many great opportunities for home buyers and with the rates once again at record lows, we have seen sales increasing.  While it may seem frustrating to see these properties impact the market, the fact is the sooner they are absorbed by new happy homeowners, the sooner we will see the market stabilize and begin appreciating.  If you would like to know what’s going on in your micro market, call one of our brokers today and we can update you hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly with email alerts or reports that will give you the knowledge to make your next move.