Sales of foreclosed homes in Monroe County, Pa., fell dramatically for the first few months of the year, figures from the local Realtors association revealed.
A comparable market analysis of foreclosures sold by the Pocono Mountains Realtors Association showed sales down 19%, from 372 over the first three and a half months of 2016 to 270 in 2017.
The average price of a foreclosed home was up 14% this year, from $75,720 in 2016 to $86,021 in 2017.
Owners of foreclosures are getting closer to their asking prices in 2017, too. Last year, foreclosed homes sold at 96.6% of the list price. This year that difference almost halved to 98.2%.
Time on the market for a home jumped 7%, from 81 days in 2016 to 87 days in 2017.
The sales and pricing figures are the result of inventory, not demand, Realtors Association past president and board member Eileen Chaladoff said.
"(Foreclosed homes listings) are not coming out as fast as it used to," she said. "The banks hold onto it a little longer, they aren't flooding the market with their listings."
The banks do not want to have a lot of foreclosure inventory on the market, according to Chaladoff, because more inventory gives prospective buyers more choices.
"If there is less inventory, people are more willing to pay full price or more," she said.
Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association that provides finance for many homes, plays a role in the inventory and time on market equation. Foreclosures must be on the market for between 10 and 15 days before investors can purchase one or second home buyers can buy the property, Chaladoff said. That rule allows owner-occupants the opportunity to buy the home first, like first time home buyers and other people trying to buy a house to live in, as opposed to people who want to flip or rent it.
Overall, the prices of foreclosed homes sold have been creeping up. The greatest amount of foreclosure stock is in the $120,000 to $139,000 price range.
"I was really surprised to see that. I thought it would be 100 and under," she said.
The next largest group of sales is in the $120,000 to $139,000 range.
"With the shortage of houses on the market, they will price it right, so people are now bidding sometimes $5,000 or $6,000 above list. They price them a little lower to sell them so they are not sitting on the market."
Prices in the overall housing have been moving up slightly, although inventory has been low. People have been holding off on selling their homes until the spring, waiting to see where the market is.
Interest rates have risen slightly, also affecting home sales and prices.
"The interest rates go up a little, and you lost 10% of your buyers," she said.
The county's reassessment project has applied downward pressure on listings.
"People are waiting for the reassessment," Chaladoff said. "They don't know what their taxes will be. And if you have to fix up the house to get it on the market, it might flag the reassessment and increase the taxes. You can correlate the inventory into the countywide reassessment affecting sellers."
