Low Amount of Foreclosures in Virginia - Are you kidding me?

I had a conversation with another member of my real estate team this week regarding foreclosures.  She had just read a report on MSNBC.  That report indicated that when it comes to foreclosures, Virginia is not severely affected.  Her quote to me was, "Are you kidding me?"

Quite frankly, if you tell any real estate agent in Fredericksburg that we have a low amount of foreclosures, I think you would get the same response.  This morning I was searching listings for a buyer I am working with and approximately 40% of the listings I reviewed were either short sales or REOs. 

Regardless of the criteria I use to search for a buyer, it almost a foregone conclusion that there will be foreclosure properties within that criteria... whether you are looking at $150,000 homes or $800,000 homes.  Foreclosures are all over our market.

So, I did a little media research myself this morning.  Here is what I found posted from Mike Barris of the Wall Street Journal Online and posted on RealEstateJournal.com.  "Two thirds of the 25 cities with the highest foreclosure rates are in California, Ohio and Florida."  "With pockets of the country -- most notably the Carolinas, Virginia and Texas -- that have thus far dodged the foreclosure bullet." 

The keyword in the above paragraph is "cities."  I have to presume that is referring to metro areas, which does not generally include the Fredericksburg area.  I would also conclude that the "pockets" in Virginia would likely be areas like southern and southwestern Virginia.  I am quite sure, that we in the Fredericksburg market HAVE NOT dodged "the foreclosure bullet!"

Media "spin" has done more to harm real estate in the last 3 years than anything else.  And, frankly, that spin is often misguided at best.

Jeff Edmisten
The Edmisten TEAM
Keller Williams Realty
(540) 538-7222
jedmisten@kw.com

Comments

[John]

Besides missing the first mortgage payment that leads to the foreclosure process, the most important event during foreclosure is the sheriff sale of the property. This is the event that will effectively transfer ownership of the house from the current owners to whomever wins the auction (usually the foreclosing bank). Many homeowners are able to postpone a sheriff sale if they are working on an option to save the home, but stopping the auction numerous times may be more difficult. The homeowners, though, should take every opportunity to gain more time, even if they have realistic chance to prevent the foreclosure from taking their homes.
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