Antioch, California - Real Estate Report 2009: Short Sales on the Rise

Through February 15th there have been 240 closed sales in Antioch, California for 2009. This compares to only 74 sales over the same time period in 2008. Of these closings, 90% were bank owned/REO and 5% were short sales. There are 503 sales pending and 75.5% are bank owned/REO while 17.7% are short sales, so short sales are becoming more prevalent as banks are backing off forcing homeowners into foreclosure. Owners, buyers and agents are becoming more aware of the possible alternative of short sales to avoid the credit catastrophe of foreclosure. Of the 700 active listings for sale in Antioch, 47.4% are bank owned/REO and 45.9% are short sales, a definite shift toward short sale listings. Just today, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase announced plans to temporarily halt foreclosures.