Who Finds Residential
Properties Even When the
Market is Down?
by Leon McKenzie, US Probate Leads
T
here is no doubt about it. . .
Since the recession in 2008,
the real estate market sim-
ply hasn’t been the same.
Some of the people that have been the
most hurt in the entire scenario have
been homeowners who are simply
trying to find a new home to accom-
modate a growing family or a need
for a new location. Regardless of the
geographical area within the United
States, there are simply not enough
residential properties on the market in
this depressed market.
There is a solution, though. Investors
and individual buyers who are work-
ing in the probate industry have ex-
perienced a constant supply of viable
residential leads that can fit the needs
of investors’ portfolios and families.
A Shortage that Has Hit Nearly
Every Community
Why is there a shortage of properties
in the United States today? There
are a lot of economic reasons and
contributing business management
policies that have made a tightening
of the traditional market inevita-
ble. One of the primary reasons that
residential properties are simply not
on the market is due to the persistent
credit shortage. To say that banks
are concerned about lending money
to homeowners is an understatement.
In order to get a traditional mortgage
in today’s market, individuals and
couples need nearly perfect credit.
This inability to get credit means that
Realty411Guide.com
a lot of families who might look for a
new home simply can’t do so, limiting
the amount of homes that are coming on
the market due to upgrades in residen-
tial homes or downsizing. In a recent
article by the Dallas News, Ted Wilson
of Residential Strategies was quoted,
“Inventory — or lack thereof — is the
big constraint on the market.”
After the credit boom that occurred in
the early 2000’s, banks discovered that
many of the people who had purchased
homes simply couldn’t afford them.
That led to a huge amount of foreclo-
sures on the market. Many of these
homes are still available today. While
the idea of a foreclosed home might
sound like the route to finding a ton of
homes to choose from, that is just not
the case. For the most part, banks have
opted to sit on foreclosed properties.
Banks sitting on foreclosed properties
means that a great deal of homes that
should be on the residential market
are not. And, unfortunately, when a
buyer does make an effort to bit on a
foreclosed home, the banks are slow to
reply to the offer and generally want the
market price for the property. Given the
fact that many of these homes have been
sitting for years and many have been
vandalized, have had copper piping and
other fixtures stolen or have experienced
a significant amount of damage due to
the lack of regular maintenance, there is
no reason for the home to sell at the cur-
rent market value. This is yet another
constraint on the traditional residential
market.
PAGE 98 • 2014
Existing Properties Aren’t Enough
for Traditional Buyers
In addition to banks sitting on fore-
closed properties, a stalling of new
building efforts has also hampered the
growth of the residential real estate
market. In an article written by Susan
Stabley of the Charlotte Business Jour-
nal, she wrote, “But while the residen-
tial real estate market has rebounded in
the past year, there’s an imbalance of
vacant developable lots.
National builders were able to buy
land cheap during the recession and
then hold on to it as they waited for
the market to recover. The inventory of
those lots in high-growth areas is now
diminishing rapidly.”
While many builders are waiting for
the economy to return to a growth
phase before beginning a building pro-
cess, others simply can’t find the right
land in order to continue to build new
residential properties. This is another
reason that buyers simply can’t find the
right property in their area to purchase.
With many families choosing not to
Continued on pg. 100
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