Foreclosure Sales Rising
May 7, 2008
It seems as if there has been nothing but bad news in the housing market lately. Perhaps, some good news is coming around. It appears that sales of foreclosed homes are rising.
That is not exactly good news for those who lost the homes, but it is good news for those who are buying and selling these particular homes.
One particular group that is enjoying some of this boom is the real estate agents and brokers who specialize in selling foreclosed properties or bank-owned properties.
Foreclosed homes are “the only game in town,” says Larry Salas of All-Star Realty Sales in Miami. His firm currently has about 150 homes listed for sale, all of which are foreclosed properties. A little more than a year ago, that number was 25 or 30.
On a broader front, sales of previously occupied homes nationwide last year totaled 5.65 million, down 20 percent from the record set in 2005.
These same types of sales are expected to fall further this year. This has affected the overall number of real estate agents as well. Membership in the National Association of Realtors has fallen to 1.24 million from a peak of 1.37 million in October 2006.
But it is not all bad news, as mentioned above. Joseph Iuliucci, a Las Vegas foreclosure specialist at Prudential Americana Group, is keeping very busy. He has more than 500 listings and was among the top 10 home sellers nationwide for the Prudential Real Estate franchise chain last year.
In some parts of the country, foreclosed sales account for over half of the business that is being done. Buyers are finding good bargains as prices fall, but distressed homeowners are still feeling the pain.