Short Sales-Still lurking around out there.

The improvement in home values over the past two years has greatly reduced the number of short sales on the market. For the investor or home buyer who is not pressed for time, a short sale can be a good buy. Generally you can purchase a home for below market cost because of the distressed nature of the sale. However, in many areas including the eastern and outlying portions of Montgomery County, home values have yet to appreciate above the dizzying heights achieved around 2005-6. This means that there are still many homeowners who have mortgages where the principal owned is still higher than the value of the home. For this reason, don't expect short sales to completely disappear for a few years yet. In the community where I live Hillandale MD there are now only four properties listed as short sales. This is far below the average numbers for the past few years. If you were to look in some communities in Howard or Prince George's Counties you will a greater proportion of short sales. In DC and West Montgomery County short sales have all but dried up.

There is good news in these numbers. The reduction in short sales on the market indicate a growing economy and improving housing market. This will help us all as equity in our homes in probably the biggest investment that most Americans will ever have. If you would like to explore distressed homes for sale in your community you can go to my own listing search engine. There you can use filters to find distressed homes or set up an alert to let you know when a distressed home comes on the market in your community.