Banks are overwhelmed with foreclosed property and they are doing everything that they can to get them off the books.  After all, banks are not in the business of holding real estate.  As the consumer, everywhere that you look, you see advertisements for bank owned property for sale and the Big Bear market is not exempt.

As I am a Realtor in the Big Bear Valley, I follow the foreclosure market very closely.  I find myself looking at the Notice of Defaults that are published in the local paper, as well as following the foreclosure data that is published by third party companies.  I find it worth noting that the number of notices of default, notices of sale, and properties that went back to the bank in February 2009 were the highest we have seen since the tracking started in October of 2006.   

What this means is that as consumers, you are going to see an increase of bank owned properties, REO's and short sales post on the market in the next few months.

One of the methods that banks are using to unload their Real Estate inventory is by sending them to auction.  The auction companies publish books with page after page of bank owned property that it is planning to be auctioned off.  As I looked through one of these books the other day, I noticed that the company publishes the starting bid as well as what is owed to the bank.  As you go through the book, you will see homes that are going to be auctioned off with starting bids of only $500.00! 

Before you get too excited about the possibility of buying a home in Big Bear for $500.00. You need to read the fine print.  In most cases, the bank has placed a reserve price on the home.  They can advertise that the starting bid is only going to be $500.00 but you are not going to buy the home for that if the reserve price is $100,000.00 If the auctioneer is not able to bring in enough money to cover the reserve price, then the bank will not sell the home, even if you were the highest bidder.

No matter what method the banks choose to use to liquidate their foreclosed properties, there are some great deals out there for the consumer.  For a free list of current listings in the Big Bear area, email me at tony@tonycard.com.