CANYON COUNTY — If you were house hunting in Canyon County last year, about 65 percent of your options would have been foreclosed homes, Brian Stender, an appraiser with the Canyon County Assessor’s office, said.
Now that number is probably closer to 25 or 30 percent, Pioneer Title Co. CEO Tim Bundgard said.
It’s hard to predict how much shadow inventory banks are holding back, but Bundgard doesn’t foresee another flood of distressed properties hitting the market.
“I think (banks) are more cautious and they’re taking their time to process so they don’t knock the values down,” he said.
In May, there were about 30 REOs, or bank owned homes, on the Treasure Valley market, he said, compared to about 250 a year ago.
Because there are less foreclosed homes for sale, they’re not pulling prices down like they used to.
Sale prices in many segments of the market, including distressed properties, are on the rise, especially within the last 90 days.
The average selling price of homes in Canyon County was $104,756 in April, up from $96,849 in July, Pioneer Title data shows.
Who maintains foreclosed homes?
Encouraging housing market news doesn’t make things better for the homeowner living next to a deteriorating vacant house overrun with weeds.
Private and government lending institutions can contract with an agent to maintain foreclosed property.
“We go in and we clean them up, and we have someone that goes out every two weeks and maintains the lawn,” said Julie Sundquist, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker in Nampa who works on Fannie Mae properties. “... One could be in fabulous condition and it doesn’t need a thing, and another could be totally trashed.”
But most lending institutions don’t invest a lot of money in making repairs. Rather, the properties are “broom swept” or tidied up, real estate agent Patti Syme said.
If the home is vacant but not quite through the foreclosure process, it’s likely no one is maintaining it, Sundquist said, because lending contracts don’t allow for it.
Foreclosed homes still an attractive option
Most foreclosed homes in the county are in relatively good condition, Marce Barrera, founder of Homes Online Realty, said.
Foreclosed homes are seeing multiple offers and spending less time on the market.
“Interest rates are low and this is a great time to buy a house at a really discounted value,” Bundgard said.
Interest rates, which can fluctuate daily, are around 3.75 percent for a 30-year conventional mortgage, compared to 3.875 six months ago and 4.625 a year ago, Zions Bank spokeswoman Nicola McIntosh said.
What’s next?
As notices of default increase, real estate professionals expect to see more foreclosed homes on the market soon — just not a flood of them like in previous years.
With pent-up demand, these homes will probably be easily absorbed, Barrera said.
Canyon County will also see more new homes, as building permits have doubled in the last year, Pioneer Title Co. data shows. Currently, new construction makes up about 18 percent of the housing market.
Courtesy Idaho Press Tribune
No comments:
Post a Comment