Stock photo by Jeff Skrenes, example of charming fixer-upper, too bad this is a Pamiko propertyToday, a friend of mine in the real estate biz passed along what she/he states is a widespread rumor among professionals in the home selling business: Supposedly, Bank of America--which bought out Countrywide--is holding on to numerous vacant homes "for tax purposes" until after the New Year. This is producing an odd and unexpected dearth of homes for sale in places like North Minneapolis, even as we are SURROUNDED by vacant homes.
Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of homes for sale in North Minneapolis (NoMi). But the number actually for sale appears to be nowhere near the number vacant. So will we see a sudden bumper crop of real estate signs soon after New Years? I kind of hope so!
Of course, NoMi is rapidly turning into a "slumlord graveyard," so it would be best if enthusiastic owner-occupants arrived in droves while would-be slumlords wisely STAY THE HECK OUT, because otherwise NoMi neighborhood activists will put their figurative head on a metaphorical pole, click here for a fine example of THAT.
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Hey JNS...I hope BOA releases some homes...they are very tough to find lately. In January of '09 putting in my criteria of 2+ bedrooms and 1+ garage stalls, the pool of properties was around 400. Today, it is 45. Clearly there are FAR more vacant homes than that! Us rehabbers are trying...
ReplyDeleteWhere were you searching? MLS?
ReplyDeleteIf that's the case, then what your results are probably make sense. My guess is that the 400+ you found a year ago were short sales and desperation sales by owners. The status of most of those properties has changed or are in the process of changing.
Down here in good old Palm Beach FL (foreclosure central for the USA), it's taking a huge amount of time to move properties back out onto the market after the legal proceedings related to the foreclosure hearing. The court system (nor the banks once they're moving them off the books)are set-up to deal with the volume of foreclosures that are occuring, and yes, many lenders are positioning some of the foreclosures to come off the books after the end of 2009 for tax purposes.
To Northside Flipper: You keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteis it possible that one benefit of not having a huge supply of housing flooding the market at the same time is that it's keeping housing prices from continuing to tank even further? it's great to have houses that are affordable for first time buyers, but when prices stay down in the four-digit range, it's scary for the rest of us who are going to be upside down on our mortgages for years to come--not to mention being one of the factors that slows down the recovery generally.
ReplyDeleteHere's some more info on this...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dsnews.com/articles/new-housing-crash-looms-as-shadow-inventory-climbs-past-7-million-analysts-2009-09-25
Let's hope for a positive and productive 2010!