The Las Vegas housing market has seen a lot of short sales lately! Why would a buyer think a short sale is worth waiting for months on end for the seller’s lender to approve the deal? Well, several reasons…..at least in Las Vegas!! With inventory down on foreclosures, the competition to get these homes has become overwhelming for some buyers! After writing 10 or so offers on different foreclosed properties, only to be “beat out” by one of 20 or so other offers, buyer’s finally turn to short sales in a funny kind of desperation!! The most appealing part of a short sale? The property has usually been taken care of….seller’s may still live there…and they love that house!! They aren’t going to rip out the kitchen or steal all the appliances because they are mad at the bank! They are trying to do the “right thing”…work it out with the bank…let someone who can afford the home buy it! This gives them the opportunity to get out of a home that is causing them stress, and to move on into a future that includes being able to rebuild credit and a few years down the road, purchase another home that they CAN afford! Other great benefits include, competitive prices, less competition with other buyer’s and an extensive inventory to choose from!!
Short sales can take a long time to get approved, it’s true, but they are proving to be worth their wait in gold to many Las Vegas buyer’s!
I agree. With the market as busy as it’s been and just 5,000 active homes on the market, short sales are a great alternative. I’ve also seen a shift to the new home market as well. Las vegas was the first to falter and will hopefully be the first to recover!
I recently read that the banks are more willing to a favorable receive of short sales, especially with markets like Nevada which accounts for the highest number of foreclosures in the country. Despite such scenarios this seems to be worth for wait.
I enjoyed reading your blog. One of the big problems I’m having in Atlanta is other agents, who have potential short-sale listings, are listing the homes at where they think the bank might accept an offer. So we’ve made offers slightly under the list price, but eventually finding out it was substantially less than what was owed. The bank turns it down and my clients end up very frustrated.