OFFICIAL: No Lack of Foreclosures for Investors in 2013
Rumblings of concern over growing competition and declining inventory levels began last year, with some questioning whether they needed to revise down their goals for acquiring rentals or flipping houses this year. All these worries seem to have now been squashed. We made it through the election, around the fiscal cliff and the real estate recovery is not only just as strong but continues to spread according to the Improving Markets index which reported a 25% leap at the end of 2012. Freddie Mac’s forecast seconded the strength of the recovery and improving outlook for 2013, but still predicts it to be a year of high foreclosures, balanced by a slow flow of bank owned properties as REOs are carefully throttled and billions of dollars in bad loans are sold as non-performing notes. There are still huge numbers of foreclosures and distressed properties to be had at all stages of the process, most investors just not seeing the opportunity or thinking big or broad enough. We aren’t even just talking about the highly debated number of REOs which remain in shadow inventory or underwater homeowner figures which differ by as much as 7 million homes, depending on which reports you believe. RealtyTrac reports that while Florida has been dubbed one of the rebounding markets of the moment, 1 in every 32 Florida households was issued a notice of default, foreclosure auction of repossession last year alone. Courts in the state report no slowing down in their case load either. Think that number is severe? The U.S. average for the year was still 1 in 72 and we’ve been in this situation for 7 years. In the northeast areas hit by Sandy are now recording 4 times the number of mortgage defaults as the national average. The opportunities for grabbing foreclosures in Detroit are so vast that everyone from Wall Street Bankers to Dutch milk farmers and real estate investors from Cambodia are picking up and relocating to take advantage of the deals. There are still thousands of them. Recently one investor paid just $90,000 for 29 homes, another 290 properties for just $189,600. Many report paying $500 to $600 dollars per home and renting them for $850 a month. Do the math. There are still deals all over from Connecticut to San Diego and the market is still improving, creating the perfect climate for flipping houses.
It’s official; real estate investors shouldn’t worry about having enough distressed property inventory during 2013.