How Low Can My Offer Be on an REO Property?

 

Bank owned real estate in Park City, UT is a very small portion of our inventory. In fact, of the 1048 homes and condominiums listed across the Park City Multiple Listing Service in the greater Park City area, only 16 are currently listed as being bank owned. There are 46 homes and condominiums listed as Short Sales, but those are different from bank REO properties.

 

To date this year 137 sales of bank owned condominiums and single family homes are shown across the Park City MLS. This number makes up over 15% of Park City sales (yet active bank REO listings make up less than 2%). As you look at the number of sales and active listings, it is easy to see that the turn-over of bank REO property in Park City is very fast.

 

The fast sale of bank owned real estate is by design. Property on a bank’s asset sheet is not a good thing and thus the banks price property to move quickly. That is not to say that they will give property away. Remember that banks are publicly held and at the end of the day banks are accountable to their shareholders; giving away assets is not viewed positively by the owners. As a rule of thumb, the bank REO properties are offered at a price considered to be 20-30% below market value. Due to this pricing strategy it is not uncommon to see multiple offers bid the price up above the asking price.

 

A recent article in HousingWire.com shows that Freddie Mae sold over 80,000 properties in the first 3 quarters of 2011 and that the sales prices averaged 94% of the asking price.

 

So when it comes time to make an offer on a bank owned property in Park City, UT, keep these things in mind and also keep in mind that the strength of your offer is measured by the speed at which you can close the transaction (think no contingencies) as well as the offer price. There are many players in the REO market searching for a deal in Park City; the relatively low number of REO offerings makes this market very competitive.

 

If you would like a list of current distressed properties in the Park City, UT area contact the YouInParkCity.com Group of real estate professionals at (888)968-4672.