Do Foreclosures Affect My Home’s Value?

    In Charles County in the last 60 days, there have been 12 foreclosures that have been sold, and a total of 135 (resale AND REO) homes listed and sold.  This means that foreclosures make up almost 9% of the total market in terms of sales.

    A lot of homeowners have been wondering how much of a bearing foreclosures have on their own homes value, and it really needs to be evaluated on a home by home basis.  Here is what people need to bear in mind:

• There are 1,487 homes for sale in Charles County today (02/29/2008).

• There are 86 Foreclosed Homes on the market today (a record high in volume, and 5.7% of total market volume).

    If 5.7% of the market’s volume is generating 9% of the total sales, it is obvious that there is a disparity.  Foreclosures are more *likely* to sell.  Why is that?

    Well, there are numerous factors involved here, but it seems apparent that the incentives to buy a foreclosure (namely, the price) outweigh the risks and problems (difficulty communicating with the banks, poor condition, etc.). 

    There’s another way to look at the puzzle as well.  In the last 60 days, 16.5% of the total volume of foreclosures in Charles County have sold.  Only 9.1% of the total homes on the market sold in the same time period (60 days).

    If you’re suffering from difficulty selling your homes because of foreclosures in your neighborhood, it’s important to make sure that your homes best features are being showcased!  Standard resale (i.e., not a foreclosure, short-sale, etc.) has some serious advantages! 

     The biggest things to consider are the differences between your homes and foreclosures when it comes to condition, ability to close quickly, and the ease of contract approval!

What’s The Market Really Like?

For Sellers
     Right now there’s a 12 month overstock on Foreclosures in Charles County, and a 21 month overstock on listings in general!  It’s an intimidating figure for anyone considering trying to sell, and the argument is a "lose now, or lose later" situation for some people, so trying to sell a home in this market is not a decision that should be taken lightly.

For Buyers
    The potential to find a property that is right for you; at the right price is huge!  The difficulty is in easily identifying the best deals.  Because there are so many properties available for sale, you need to be careful to ensure that you’re seeing the best possible deals out there.  This is why working with an experienced qualified Realtor is so important!

Related Links:

Current (3/1/2008) List of Foreclosures in Charles County (PDF Format)

Current (3/1/2008) List of Foreclosures in St. Mary’s County (PDF Format)

Current (3/1/2008) List of Foreclosures in Calvert County (PDF Format)

If you have any questions about the current Foreclosure Market in Southern Maryland, feel free to ask!  If you’d like to try and find a deal by searching for a foreclosure, I’d be more than happy to set up an automatic search for you so that you can find out about the best deals as soon as they hit the market!

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

"Banks don’t want your house; they want your money. They want to work with you so you can keep your house. With the market like it is, lenders don’t want to foreclose on you."

    If this were genuinely the case, why is there such an onslaught of REO homes nowadays?  I think it’s a genuine sentiment, but the current mortgage problems like this are occurring anyways, and people, particularly those at risk of foreclosure, need to understand this!

    I cannot stress enough how important constant communication with your lender is when you are facing a risk of foreclosure.  Banks are becoming more and more flexible with homeowners (finally), but the reality is that if there’s ANY possibility of getting the note renegotiated, or getting the house sold before foreclosure, why WOULDN’T you try?

    Banks ARE negotiating on a case by case basis, and it’s worth the attempt.  As the Washington Post article noted, the banks are likely to take a loss once they’ve foreclosed, so why not negotiate NOW to help minimize their loss AND avoid the credit damage and humiliation involved with being forcibly evicted from your home through foreclosure?

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
www.teambenya.com

    March 5th is the date, and the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro, MD is the location!  Here’s the skinny:

    Prince George’s County is sponsoring the event, along with HUD and a bunch of other agencies.  There will be 13 national loan servicers there, and they’ll be talking with homeowners that are concerned or worried about the mortgage market.  The goal is to explain how to avoid getting into a bad loan, how to avoid foreclosure, and so forth.

    Workshops will be running from 2pm-8pm, and if you would like to register, all you have to do is call 800-CALL-FHA.

(Special Thanks to The Real Estate Wonk for Blogging this to my attention!)

~Jonathan Benya
Century 21 New Millennium
9405-A Chesapeake St
La Plata, MD 20646
301-609-9000
301-653-8116
Waldorf and Southern Maryland Real Estate
Southern Maryland Real Estate Blog