Maybe it is really a "Lender's Market"

A "Lender's Market"? What the heck is that?

A “Lenders Market” is typically where there is a large number of or a majority of the market is made up of distressed property sales where the owner is either in default of keeping the mortgage current or has already been foreclosed upon (Real Estate Owned or REO). A property is also said to be distressed if the value of the property is less than the mortgage or trust deed amount and the owners are unable to keep the mortgage current and want to sell the property. This is commonly known as a "Short Sale".

A "Lender's Market" might have a combination of many of these characteristics. Many of the buyers benefits in their offer to purchase are striped away including the pest inspection and clearance, closing costs, home warranties and repair requests with the lender opting to sell the property in it's present physical condition. Naturally there are exceptions to this depending on the Lender and whether the distressed property is a short sale or REO. By and large, lenders want the highest possible price with the least number of contingencies. Only Buyer’s with pre-approved loans are considered and in the case of REO’s, the lenders will give greater priority to All Cash offers over offers with financing even if the offering amount is slightly less. All Cash offers have less contingencies and can usually close faster clearing the asset from the lender’s books faster without any hassles or delays as may be occasioned by other banks that are providing the Buyer’s loan.

So depending on where you stand, it is either a "Buyer's Market" or a "Lender's Market". If you are trying to buy either and REO or a Short Sale, the terms are largely in the hands of the lenders, but the price is still clearly in the hands of the buyers. If you aren't in love with just any property, there can be some very significant buying opportunities in distressed properties, but there are also many potential pitfalls. You don't fall into a trap you can't get out of so this is the time to have an experienced team of real estate experts on our side. You can get that help at www.propertysiteonline.com