Tampa Bay Area Tops in Final Foreclsoures

                                         Area Tops in final foreclosures


(Information provided by Times Senior Correspondent: Susan Taylor Martin)
 
Tampa led all major U.S. metro areas in completed foreclosures last year.  Lenders took back nearly 18,400 homes, houses, and condos, 5.3% more than in 2013.
The areas include Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, and Hernando Counties. Tampa’s increase isn’t necessarily bad.
“The sooner we clear out these properties that are the result of the bust, the quicker the market can resume its upward turn,” said Irwin Wilensky, whose SunRaye Realty has listings for 200 bank owned homes throughout the area.
Foreclosures are considered complete when the property is sold at auction to the bank or an investor even though it might be weeks before the homeowner actually moves out.
Nationally, completed foreclosures in 2014 were at their lowest point since November 2007 when the housing market crashed.
Out of the 18,399 Tampa homes that went in to foreclosure auction last year, hundreds already have found new owners as demand and prices for bank owned properties climb.
Broker Peter Chicouris, whose Equity Realty handles foreclosures throughout Tampa stated, “The market has been very active.”  “Most properties have more than one offer when they hit the market, and average days on the market are less than 30 days. This is across the board from low-end all the way up to $1 million.”
In Hillsborough County, 3,259 single-family homes that had been foreclosed sold last year.  This is up 32% from the previous year.  The median price rose 9%, to $109,000.
In Pinellas, sales were up 34%, from 2,891 to 3,875.  The median price rose 8%, to $81,000.
Unlike a few years ago, when many foreclosures went on the market (some in deplorable shape), banks often rehabilitate the properties now before offering them for sale. 
The goal is to attract buyers who intend to live in the house instead of renting it out or flipping it for a quick profit.

Ainsley Daux
Florida Realty
(813)546-1954
Dover Florida Real Estate
Brandon Florida Real Estate
Tampa Bay Real Estate
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