Foreclosure Sales in Marin & Sonoma County
Foreclosure sales, which can be avoided with expert, coordinated and informed assistance, are a large percentage of all sales in the north bay … Marin and Sonoma Counties …
Of the 1125 residential properties listed as of 3/1/11 for sale in Marin County 111 are homes listed as a result of foreclosures … just shy of 10% … as compared to sales during 2010 … when out of 2322 total sales, 318 or 14% were foreclosure generated sales ….
For comparison, as of 5/24/11 there are 114 homes and condos listed as a result of foreclosure plus 319 being sold as short sales, for a total of 433 distressed properties, which is just shy of 30% of the market.
While until recently the rate of foreclosures has declined slightly, and the number of foreclosure sales had outnumbered short sales … essentially, more families had lost their home and bombed their credit and banks took a bigger hit, than people and banks that succeeded with the short sale route ... now CPAs, attorneys and other trusted advisors are recommending more short sales as a way to end a rough financial relationship with the banks. Praise the lord!
In Sonoma County there are 2506 residential properties listed, of which 35% or 883 are listed as short sales … during 2010 there were 5031 total sales, 29% or 1449 of which were foreclosure sales … many of these homes need not have ended in foreclosure.
At the current time in the general Realtor population expertise in short sales is lacking (but improving) and even with the improvement the short sale process is frustrating homeowners, buyers, title companies, lenders and the economy, leading to more foreclosure pain than is necessary.
If you are suffering from Financial Stress Disorder, stop and breathe …. hire an agent who knows how to guide you in dealing with avoiding foreclosure … which includes emotional strains and massive paperwork … so that you can get the fresh start you require.
For the buyer of a foreclosure ...
The full responsibility is on buyer & their agent to investigate condition of the property. In forclosures there are sometimes significant bargains … much lower than fair market asking price … bargains! Foreclosure negotiations are less emotional than short sale negotiations and the time to close is generally quite quick.