After looking at the national foreclosure market I decided to look at the local market in more detail. For a background read my last post.
Out of a total of 978 sales in the Palmer and Wasilla in the last year 122 of them were foreclosures which is about 12% of the market. Realtytrac says that foreclosures comprised 25% of the total market nationwide last year so we are almost exactly 1/2 of that.
These foreclosed homes generally sell for less than the general market. If you have ever viewed homes that have been foreclosed it’s easy to understand why. Nationally, they sold for 32% less than the general market while in Palmer/Wasilla foreclosures sold for 25% less. This shows how much difference a homes condition makes in the price. If you are a seller, the better your house looks, the more money you will get.
Another interesting fact is that foreclosed homes had to drop their price by 8% from their original list price to sell while the general market only had to drop their price about 3.5% of the from their original list price. This is an important number for buyers to keep in mind. Often buyers want to make offers at 10-20 percent under the list price…generally that is a waste of time.
From a listing licensee’s point of view foreclosures are great because they always sell. Almost never does a lender call his Realtor and say, “sorry about all the time and money you have spent marketing my property but I have changed my mind about selling.” Foreclosures always sell…eventually.
There are currently 48 foreclosures on the market in the Mat Su Valley. Let me know if you would like me to email the list to you. Just click the contact button
