Grand Rapids Michigan Real Estate:  Foreclosures, Short Sales Dominate

As the inventory of existing homes seeks a new normal, we find that the

distressed properties are a big portion of our market.  Following the trends

in this area can give us insight into the future. The following chart shows

how they affect our market every month. And I see some encouraging

information.

Percentage of Foreclosures/Short Sales of Grand Rapids sold properties.

Looking at the chart you can see that Foreclosures & Short Sales control

over 59% of our current market volume in January 2010 but the $ Dollar

percentage is only 44%. I am guessing the dollar percentage of total sales

will increase over time so the short sales and foreclosures will not have

as much of an effect on current  traditional (non-foreclosure + short sale)

sales.

Experts in the financial markets have written extensively about the increase

coming in the foreclosure market, last month figures were estimated to be

3 million or more homes that are facing foreclosure in U.S. in the next

6-12 months.

So, will a buyer always go for the distressed sale home over the traditional sale?

Apparently not.  We hear from our buyer clients over and over that they

DO NOT WANT TO DO REPAIRS or UPDATING. They want to purchase a

home and get on with their life – not devote 6 months to 12 months of their

spare time and money on painting, repairs and updating. If they can buy a

home that is in good condition and is a foreclosure or short sale home, great!

But that is not usually the case.

We have seen that banks are starting to do basic repairs and updates before

putting homes on our local market.  What a difference this makes to first time

buyers who don’t have money for extra repairs and updates.

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The authors of the this blog write about Grand Rapids Real Estate,

the Greater Grand Rapids MI area, and what it is like to live in West

Michigan. Grand Rapids Michigan is a vibrant, growing metropolitan

area with a diverse business community, great medical research & services,

numerous universities,plus lively arts and entertainment of all kinds.

We believe: Grand Rapids is a Great Place to Live!

Westbrook Realty Grand Rapids MI Real Estate

Contact Terry   616-292-7263