Palm Beach Short Sales Gain Momentum
Palm Beach Short Sales Gain Momentum
The Palm Beach housing market has repeatedly made national news for leading the number of foreclosures nationwide in the wake of the housing crisis. As it struggles to regain stability, distressed property sales have sharply increased over the course of the past few years. As a result, they've helped to offset the decrease in inventory caused by investors and buyers scooping up the best Palm Beach short sales as soon as they hit the market. The amount of time homes in Palm Beach Florida spend on the market is now often less than a month, which is far less than the duration of listings prior to the housing crash. As bidding wars become increasingly common in the region, home values are trending upward and the supply of Florida homes continues to drop to record lows.
Yet, even though buyers are scrambling to bid on properties as soon as they're available, they still tended to avoid distressed property sales. Mostly, that was because banks often took months to come to a decision on offers. The lengthy process was enough of an inconvenience to make some buyers pay more for other listings that don't come with the long wait associated with short sales.
Now, banks have significantly sped up the process, and buyers are increasingly turning to Palm Beach short sale properties in Florida to get the best deals. Thanks to their increased popularity, short sale values are up throughout the state. For instance, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported that Central Florida's median price of short sales increased by approximately 19% in August, year-over-year. The increase in short sale values benefits the housing market overall, since an influx of foreclosures could cause prices to crash.
Short sales are now available to more Palm Beach Florida home owners than ever before. Federal legislation has relaxed the requirements for short sales, and home owners are protecting their credit by opting for short sales rather than foreclosures. So, banks are becoming much more experienced with short sales, which has been a contributing factor to the increase in short sale efficiency. Banks also have an easier time with processing short sales since new federal guidelines have cut down on the paperwork and process of completing a sale. Instead of waiting up to six months to close a deal, buyers of Palm Beach short sales now often wait less than a month for the deal to finalize.
If you’d like more information on Palm Beach short sales or Palm Beach housing trends, please don’t hesitate to contact our team of professional real estate agents. We’d love to keep you informed of Palm Beach housing market trends, and help you find the best home to suit your needs!
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