Investors and other buyers will have a bevy of bank owned homes to choose from this summer and fall in the greater Phoenix area. Pre-foreclosure letters are being sent in droves and trustee sales are on the rise.
Brad Minor from First American Title sends us weekly foreclosure updates and the numbers are rising. The chart below shows the number of pre-foreclosure letters sent to home owners during the past 90 days as well as the actual trustee sales figures. Pre-foreclosure letters are sent to homeowners who are 60-90 days behind in payments and trustee sales represent the homes taken back by the lender.(Not every home in a trustee sale is bought by the lender... just most of them.)
As you can see, over 21000 pre-foreclosure letters were sent out in the past 90 days and there is little to suggest this trend is lessening. We are seeing an average of about 800 trustee sales per week as well and this number is generally climbing.
The data offer both good news and bad for many. Sadly, 800 people per week are losing their homes and the outfall from this can be quite devastating to a family. In addition, the new bank-owned inventory is likely to depress home values a bit more... the old supply and demand thing. On the flip side, this trend offers investors and others many new buying prospects.
I hope the increase in bank owned inventory will curtail some of the voracious buying practices currently taking place in the sub $200,000 market. Perhaps we will see less multiple offers and escalation clauses. However, best practice suggests you will want to be quick to take action, as well as taking the time to do good due-diligence.
We will continue to watch the market and give advisories as needed.
Best to you,
Ron Urban & Gene Urban
The Urban Team at Realty Executives
602-234-5777
