Buying Foreclosures in Athens, Ga or your Town

Posted on May 22, 2009 by hankbailey

Trulia.com and RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released results of a study conducted on their behalf showing gains in consumers’ willingness to buy foreclosed properties. Slightly more than half of adults across the nation indicating that they would consider buying a foreclosed home in the future.

While overall consumer interest in buying foreclosed homes has increased from a year ago, the study found higher levels of negative sentiment around purchasing foreclosed properties. According to the Press Release, “In November of 2008, 80 percent of U.S. adults felt that there were negative aspects to purchasing a foreclosed home. In the current survey, the number of U.S. adults concerned with negative aspects has risen to 85 percent. Among these 85 percent, 71 percent cite hidden costs as their top concern, 46 percent believe the process is risky and 31 percent are concerned that the home will lose value. Not surprisingly, consumers expect hefty discounts on foreclosed homes, with 83 percent believing they should pay at least 25 percent less for a foreclosed property, perhaps to compensate for perceived risks.”

What we have seen in the local real estate community is that these price reductions from lender sellers is not what it once was. Many lenders are taking the attitude that they will simply hold and maintain properties for a “brighter day” versus “gifting” them away. The perception “nationally” of foreclosures and steep discounts does not always hold true on a “local” level. As reported in a blog post yesterday, only about 9.4% of local Athens area listings, as reported through Trulia, are some type of distressed sale. Depending on your market, in areas with lower levels of distressed sales or foreclosures, lenders may not have the need to sell quickly and discount on price due to competition among buyers.

If you are a buyer in our market, these are probably the best buying conditions in 30 years! If you would like to search the Athens MLS please take a look at listings in our “Classic City” today! On this web MLS search solution you can search every listing on the Georgia MLS for the Greater Athens area or in your Georgia town!