Sorry to disappoint, deals are (still) hard to come by
Not a week seems to go by during which I do not get texts, or emails, or calls from investors in the DMV looking for a steal. Most common requests are homes ripe for flipping, and distressed sales in any condition.
Sorry to disappoint, but this market segment is still extremely small, deals are still hard to come by. I do not see that changing anytime soon.
Consider the huge number of home owners with a mortgage that have a rate far below today's average. Lending guidelines have been strict(er than before the housing bubble) with buyers having to submit anything and everything - sometimes thrice - but for their death certificate.
I earned the SFR (Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource) certification years go and watch for developments daily. As of today, the numbers of actives are:
Howard County: 1 short sale and 4 REOs
Montgomery County: 6 short sales and 12 REOs
Of 1,400 homes on the market, 7 are short sales, zero are priced like a steal.
The DMV market overall is home to recession-proof and in-demand employers (politics, military, contractors, healthcare) but, of course, is not immune to major economical developments charged by geopolitical events. We, too, are seeing a noticeable slowdown in the market with buyer traffic 60something percent of that during the same time last year.
That does not translate into a flood of distressed sales coming soon, however. Many homeowners are sitting pretty on their looooooow rates and - provided they have job security - have little incentive to sell but every reason to stay put. That is what we call the lock-in effect.
Every so often, I see a steal, but so do many others. At this point in time, you'll still have to be prepared to act super fast, to do a quick preinspection (if welcome), to pay cash, and more than asking price if you want to get your hands on a rare super deal.
Andrea Bedard
Thompson Co., REALTORS®Silver Spring, Maryland
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