Finding and Buying Foreclosed and Distressed Real Estate

I’ve been asked a lot lately about buying Spartanburg foreclosures and Boiling Springs foreclosures. Was there an infomercial running on late night tv recently that I missed? I did hear one on the radio how you can get a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath house with over 2,500 square feet for only $3,500 US dollars! Wow what a deal. I’ll take a few of those thank you!

That last ad was in reference to local county tax auctions by the way. Anyway, the Boiling Springs and Spartanburg area has recently been listed as the #2 real estate market in the country. However, as stable as our housing market has been that is not to say there isn’t a deal to be had now and then. Below is a re-post of a foreclosure report I wrote about 2 years ago that is just as valid today as it was then.

One truth to real estate is that the best deals sell the fastest. What appears to be a great deal to you probably appears to be a great deal to somebody else as well. Will “somebody else” get to that deal before you do? Read more..

Boiling Springs and Spartanburg Houses in the $300,000 to $400,000 Price Range

A look a Spartanburg and Boiling Springs homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range tells us that home buyers are starting to prioritize an “affordable” monthly payment and buy less expensive homes.  Of course “affordable” is a relative term and means something different to everybody.  The data tells us that 7 homes per month in this price range are sold in Spartanburg county.  Currently there are 263 Spartanburg SC homes for sale in the $300K to $400K price range. It is fair to note that some sales are not entered into the MLS because they are sold directly from the builder to the home owner so the actual SOLD number is a bit larger.  However the 263 Spartanburg homes for sale are actual “active” listings  in the MLS as of September and therefore accurate data.

As we see again, builders over built in this price range and the over supply could certainly represent a great buying opportunity for today’s home buyer in Spartanburg county.  A 37.6 month supply of homes represents a lot of money tied up into an investment that is not currently performing and also comes with a cost to hold in the form of taxes, insurance, and general upkeep.  Search for Boiling Springs houses in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range here and call  me if I can help in anyway.

Source: Spartanburg, SC MLS
Price Range	Current Active Listings	Sold Listings	Date Range	Solds per Month	# Months of Inventory

$300 – $350	133	49	12	4.1	32.57
$350 – $400	130	35	12	2.9	44.57

With over a 37 month supply of homes on the market in the price range, Boiling Springs SC home sellers cannot just put a sign in the front yard and expect their house to sell. To understand this lets go back to my consumer product days with Britol-Myers Squibb and Michelin Tires.  The purchase decision is an emotional one based upon the perceived benefits that the product they will give the buyer.  Let’s not underestimate that your home for sale is a “product” we call a house or home.  There is a relationship between the the Price and the Product .

Price/Product Benefits = ?  In the short equation as price goes up the overall answer or “attractiveness” of the product goes down and vice versa.  As perceived value goes up, acheived by staging the home, landscapping, etc., the formula yields us a larger number representing a “better” deal to the buyer.  This formula is sometimes called the Price-Value ratio or realtionship and I’m sure it goes by many other names too.

I offer my Spartanburg and Boiling Springs real estate clients a FREE home staging consultation from an experienced home seller.  When we sell a personally owned home they generally sell very quickly because the home has a warm, welcoming feel that we specifically created.  With a over a 37 month supply of homes in Spartanburg SC creating this feeliing in your home will play an important role in selling your home too.

Good News for Home Owners

When the real estate market slowed to a crawl nationally so many builders never saw it coming that it makes the thinking person scratch their heads and say “huh”.  I mean, who is looking at all the economic data anyway?  If big companies aren’t looking at it who is?  Well, at the end of the day it’s like a good friend of mine, Don Hassey, always used to say, “A big shot is just a little shot that kept on shooting!”  Another words, even large companies are run by people just like you and me.  Are they brighter? Probably not.  More politically astute?  Probably.  Bigger risk takers and comfort zones?  Bingo.

No doubt about it home builders got caught with their pants down on the economic front and banks took back NEW homes at a rate not ever seen before.  Where’s the good news in all of this? New home inventories are at 271,000 nationally down 52% from mid 2006! In fact, inventory has decreased from 8.5 months in June to 7.5 months today!  What most of us innately already know is that the less new construction there is to compete with the better off the existing home seller is.  Combine this with the fact that our local Boiling Springs market has seen a  decrease in new home construction and existing home inventory prospects look even better.  See, there is good news out there after all.  Below is an article with more detail: Read more..