If you have been trying to buy a bank owned home in Sonoma County, it may seem like there aren't as many foreclosed homes on the market as there were in January. As I have written about before, REO houses in Sonoma County at affordable prices are selling fast and the inventory is being drawn down faster than it is being replenished.

The chart on the right illustrates how true that statement is. So far this year, February was the month with the most new REO listings coming on the market, but since then we have averaged less than 60 new bank owned homes per month. May provided us with less than 50 Sonoma County bank owned homes for sale.

This has the inevitable effect of driving up prices for the homes that do make it into the market. For regular homeowners trying to sell their property and banks trying to upgrade the value of properties that may be in foreclosure in the future this price increase is a good thing. For homebuyers struggling to get into their first home, this tight market with rising prices is a nightmare.

There are continuing reports of a vast pipeline of foreclosed properties ready to hit the market. Only time will tell if that new surge in properties materializes. For now, this chart shows the modest and relatively small flow of Sonoma County bank owned homes into the marketplace.