Foreclosure Sales Eat Up the Tampa Housing Market

Posted on November 14, 2008

Tampa, FL. какими должны бать письки у детей в 15 лет Another sign of weakness in the local housing market: Distressed Sales – sales by homeowners facing foreclosure or by Banks selling off foreclosed inventory – jumped to 35% of all sales for the month of October, from 28% in September. That’s according to the Home Encounter Distressed Sales report for October, released today.

In a month where sales volumes dropped by 6% and sales prices by 5.5% across the region, the findings represent another indicator that the challenges effecting the housing market are far from over.

Home Encounter CEO, Peter Murphy, was not surprised by the findings. “We were surprised when last month’s findings indicated that Distressed sales only represented 28% of the marketplace. Anecdotal evidence suggested that it would be much higher,” commented Murphy. “But with the historically low prices that Banks are selling these Assets for, it’s no wonder that they represent such a large portion of the marketplace.”

According to the Report, Bank Owned homes are selling for an average of 60% of Conventional Sales. This discount makes it almost impossible for Conventional homes to compete for Buyers. “When the foreclosed house next to you is selling for 60% of what your home is selling for, the chance of selling your home – not to mention holding your asking price – is slim” commented Murphy.

This 60% discount represents a historic buying opportunity for owners and investors looking to take advantage of low prices. “The almost 800 buyers who purchased distressed homes in October got the deal of a lifetime”, commented Murphy. But Murphy says you shouldn’t feel left out: with the 17 months of inventory that’s still on the market, according to their Residential Real Estate Report for October, there are still plenty of “deals of a lifetime” to be had.

Peter Murphy is Co-Founder and Head Broker at Home Encounter, a Tampa-based real estate Consultancy with specialties in Residential & Rental Properties, Investment Real Estate, Property Management and Land & Commercial Properties. Murphy’s analysis of the Tampa Bay housing market is featured extensively in local media and in trade publications, including the St. Petersburg Times, the Tampa Tribune, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, the Lakeland Ledger, and the Orlando Sentinel. He has appeared on ABC Action News and Bay News 9 for his reporting on significant local developments in the real estate market. He is a regular contributor to Fox’s 970 WFLA news broadcasts and is a guest panelist on Fox 13s “Your Turn”, where he consults on local and national real estate market issues. Murphy has a B.S. in Economics from the University of South Florida and an MBA with an emphasis in Finance, Economics and Marketing from the University of South Florida School of Business. He resides in Tampa with his wife and child.