You don’t usually find clearance sales on real estate. But the last two years are beginning to look like the deal of a lifetime for anybody who bought a home.
That dynamic may now be changing
as home prices surge by double-digits, interest rates rise and the whole
housing bust recedes into the past. The latest sign that the buyer’s
market is ending is a convincing improvement in foreclosures. Sales of
foreclosed homes now account for about 12% of home sales, according to
research firm FNC. That’s down from 17% a year ago and 37% in 2009, the
low point of the housing bust. At the current pace, foreclosures will
fall back to typical pre-recession levels within a year or so, signaling
something like a return to a normal housing market.
That’s an important economic indicator that also has a tangible
effect on buyers and sellers in the real world. An epidemic of
foreclosures has been one of the factors pushing prices down to
depressed levels and keeping sellers on the sidelines. With prices as
low as they’ve been, many people who bought within the last five or even
10 years couldn’t sell their homes without taking a loss. That stunted
the whole economy by preventing people from moving to better areas where
there might be more job opportunities and discouraging first-time home
owners from moving up to bigger, nicer homes. (more)Please share this article
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