FINDING LEADS IN A ROCKY REAL ESTATE MARKET LEON MCKENZIE
Distressed Home Listings Decreasing
Another area that is changing in the real estate market is the ability of investors to purchase homes that have
been foreclosed. Since very little lending has happened after 2008’s banking crisis, the institutions that hold the
homes have had years to move them off of their books. This lack of realestate owned properties, or REOs,
means that banks have very little reason to negotiate with real estate investors. Yun said, “Distressed home
listings will continue to fall because fewer borrowers are now seriously delinquent.”4
When an investor does find a home that
is distressed and would like to approach
the bank to purchase it, many times the
bank won’t budge on the pricing, no
matter the condition of the home. And,
there are times that the bank won’t even
bother to respond to the offer in a timely
manner. This can make purchasing
distressed property a nogo for many
professional real estate investors.
Areas with Reasonable Inventory Being Stretched by Population Growth
In areas that do have reasonable listing levels for investors, they may be challenged by an influx of new
residents who are moving into the area. This is true in the case of particular areas in Missouri, for example.
Said Connor Hyde, “The Sugar Land and Missouri City area experienced a record number of home sales in
2014. However, population growth in the area paired with various construction woes has led to a low home
inventory, causing a rise in home prices and a dip in sales since January. Since 2012 Sugar Land and Missouri
City real estate agents have classified the area’s housing market as a seller’s market due to the decreasing
inventory of available homes and climbing home costs. As a result, many of Fort Bend County’s masterplanned
communities are struggling to keep up with the demand brought on by the influx in population in the region.”5
The result of this population surge means an increase in pricing that makes traditional real estate virtually
unsuitable for real estate investors who want to build a profitable business. Hyde’s article continues, “’We have
more customers than we have houses to sell, and we are getting multiple offers on houses,’ said Shad Bogany,
a real estate agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Sugar Land and Missouri City. ‘We do not
have a lot of houses to sell, [and] we have the builders, who have been the biggest pushers of home sales in
Fort Bend [County], behind in construction.’” 6