Distressed Properties Sale Articles

Find foreclosed properties for sale in Greater Baltimore as over $1.8 billion worth of commercial properties are already distressed, based on data from New York City-based Real Capital Analytics.

Owners and developers of these properties are already in default on their loans, behind on their monthly payments, in bankruptcy or already facing foreclosure.

The expected foreclosures will add to the already troubled commercial real estate market of Greater Baltimore, with many of its hotels, retail centers, high-end office buildings and development sites carrying large amounts of debts.

Baltimore is now getting closer to the situation in other cities battered by commercial foreclosures such as Las Vegas, which has $9.1 billion in troubled commercial properties and Manhattan which has almost $7.5 billion in troubled commercial investments.

According to the Real Capital report, the retail sector in Greater Baltimore has been the hardest hit sector. Almost $957 million worth of retail properties are struggling, including the Metro Plaza, Mondawmin Mall and Liberty Plaza.

The other troubled retail buildings are those developed by Chicago-based General Growth Properties, including the Gallery, Harborplace and the Columbia Mall. To be able to emerge from bankruptcy, the property firm has been trying to sell its major properties to other companies which had allotted funds to find foreclosed properties for sale.

One troubled commercial project in the Baltimore area is the Merritt Athletic Clubs complex in Canton. Owner Edwin Hale Sr. had to sell it to be able to avoid foreclosure on his Canton Crossing project.

Developer Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse Inc. has also sold off its Church Square retail center and its share in Brewer’s Hill. Rockville developer Opus East LLC has been selling its properties, including a large business park to recover from its Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.

Jack Billig, top executive of A.J. Billig and Company Auctioneers, said many developers have been approaching him to sell off their properties, including the commercial and residential complex in Franklin Square and a 9-unit apartment complex in the Union square neighborhood.

According to Raymond Truitt of Ballard Spahr, most banks are reluctant to foreclose on commercial properties because they do not like to manage properties. In cases where the properties have positive cash flows, lenders typically give extensions to developers to find ways to update their loans.

However, according to Carrolton Bancorp chief executive Robert Altieri, most banks have limits to their extensions. After holding off for a time, they will pursue foreclosures, giving good opportunities for investors to find foreclosed properties for sale.

Cheap foreclosed homes are available in Surprise, Arizona, based on data prepared by Jay Butler, an associate professor of real estate at the Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business.

Because foreclosure homes continue to enter the housing market, the median price for all types of homes, including foreclosed homes, new homes and existing homes, fell to $131,000 in August compared to $170,000 in August last year.

According to Jay Butler, more houses are being sold in August in the West Valley compared to last year and more foreclosures have been accounting for total sales. Out of every 3 previously owned homes sold in the West Valley, one was a foreclosure property.

While the 33-percent share was a decrease from the 44 percent share in August 2008, the share was still much higher than the three- to five-percent share in a normal housing market.

In addition, Butler said that the ratio of foreclosure sales should first go down to about one foreclosed home out of every 20 non-foreclosed home resales before the housing market becomes normal. Also, owner-occupants should be the ones driving activity in the market and not investors looking for cheap foreclosed homes that have strong profit potentials.

In Surprise, out of 510 houses sold in August, 180 units were foreclosed properties, a drop from 200 units sold in August last year. With 230 foreclosures, Glendale again led other cities in the West Valley in total number of foreclosed properties.

In El Mirage, 50 homes were foreclosed in August, pushing down the median home sales price to $73,250, which is far below the median price of $116,000 in August last year.

Based on data from ASU, out of approximately 6,000 existing homes sold in the Valley in August, about 3,100 were foreclosed units. This indicated that around 34 percent of all pre-owned homes sold were foreclosures in August. During the same month last year, out of 4,300 existing homes sold, around 3,300 units were foreclosures, representing 44 percent of total home resales.

However, Butler said that the foreclosure percentage in August is not as accurate as he wants it to be because about 50 percent of conventional home sales were made by banks selling residential properties they have previously repossessed from foreclosure auctions. He therefore contended that about 67 percent of all home sales in August were foreclosures.

According to a real estate research firm, a prospective home buyer can find cheap foreclosed homes in Surprise because there are currently more than 3,500 foreclosure homes in Surprise which are available at an average of $126,530.

Investors looking for cheap land for sale can find plenty of potential investments in idled subdivisions in metro Atlanta as banks that have foreclosed on the projects are now selling them at discounted prices.

Foreclosed homes for sale are being offered to lower-income families in Southern Nevada under a federal program launched in 2008 by President Bush to stabilize neighborhoods and another federal program launched by President Obama this year to stimulate the economy.

The substantial number of Indianapolis foreclosure homes has boosted home affordability in the city and helped put the city on top of a list of the ten most affordable cities to buy a house in the U.S.

Find foreclosures in Honolulu by considering foreclosed condos as the city’s condo market slowed despite sharp reduction in condo prices.

Nearly 70 Chicago foreclosure homes will be auctioned off in a special event this August at the Chicago Marriott Southwest.

More foreclosure houses for sale are expected in the coming months after the expected surge in loan modifications did not happen, according to a report from the Treasury Department.

More Los Angeles foreclosure homes are expected to enter the market as home prices rise, according to real estate analysts in Southern California. They contend that many lenders are holding out for higher prices and that the others are trying to comply first with the federal foreclosure prevention program before pursuing their foreclosures.

The percentage of FHA-guaranteed homes which ultimately went into foreclosure house listings in June increased to 1.76 percent compared to 1.6 percent in June last year. The delinquency rate for FHA home loans also increased, climbing up from 5.57 percent in June last year to 6.88 percent in June this year.