The fast and the furious: Bank owned homes
June 26th, 2009 Categories: Client Testimonials, Real Estate News, San Diego County Fixer of the Week, San Diego county Real Estate News
SAN DIEGO- There are two consistencies in the real estate market right now. First, short sales can be a time consuming pain in the neck for both buyers and sellers. Second is that bank owned 
homes or homes in which the owners have plenty of equity and are realistic in their expectations can expect a quick market time.
I am currently working with several potential buyers in the Oceanside area. This is a great north county coastal city with a solid market for single family detached
homes under $300,000. For the active lifestyle Oceanside has several miles of coastline, a harbor, a seven plus mile bike path along the San Luis Rey River as well as proximity to what is left of San Diego’s back country for some great cycling on open and challenging roads. It is also the host city for the only Ironman branded event in southern California which is the Ironman California 70.3.
With the affordability rate so high for homes, interest rates remaining historically low and the tax credit given by the fed, this is a prime market for first time buyers. If we look at 3 bedroom single family that have sold in the last six months we can see the contrast in the transaction time of short sales versus others.
There were 190 homes sold in the city of Oceanside and of those, 49 needed court or lender approval which is a primary sign of short sales. Of those 49 homes, the average was a 3 bedroom 2 bath approximately 1280 square feet and the average sold price was $229,946. The big factor here is there is an average market time of 129 days. The longest marketing period was over a year at 369 days. These numbers do not include the actual escrow period.
The remaining 141 homes which are primarily bank owned homes tell a bit different story. While physically they were very similar at 3 
bedrooms, 2 baths and 1285 square feet, it may surprise some to know that these homes sold for LESS than the short sale homes at an average of $224,334. Additionally, and this is the HUGE factor, the average market time was only 38 days, with 39 of these homes going into escrow in 7 days or less.
Another significant difference was over half of these homes, 86, sold for over the asking price.
For buyers in this type of market the lessons here is that good homes can go fast and you need to take a realistic look at comparable homes. If when looking at those comparables properties they suggest a market value over the asking price, don’t hesitate to do what is necessary if you do really want the home.
Take advantage of this market and work with a realtor you trust. It’s so heartening to see citizens that thought they would never be able to buy a home in southern California have this amazing opportunity. Get after it.
