Consumers are increasingly wary of buying foreclosures as local real estate agents and homebuyers continue to lurch through an unstable housing market.
The percentage of adults at least somewhat likely to consider buying a foreclosed property was 43 percent last month, down from 55 percent in May, according to a report released Tuesday.
Interest in foreclosures also differentiated along age lines. More than half of people ages 18 to 34 were at least somewhat likely to consider buying a foreclosed home, compared with 24 percent of those ages 55 and older, said the survey conducted by Harris Interactive.
Most likely to buy foreclosures
» Current renters (57 percent) are more likely to consider purchasing a foreclosed home than current homeowners (38 percent).
» One in two U.S. adults (50 percent) who are single/never been married are at least somewhat likely to consider buying a foreclosed property, compared with 40 percent of adults who are married and 34 percent of adults who are divorced/separated/widowed.
Source: Trulia/RealtyTrac/Harris Interactive
The likelihood of a buyer purchasing a foreclosure also depends on the house’s condition, said Michael Cerrito, a real estate agent in Upper Marlboro. Foreclosure filings topped 2,000 in Prince George’s County last month, according to the online foreclosure-tracking site RealtyTrac — nearly one-third of Maryland’s total for November. Delays from courts and banks in processing foreclosures can damage properties for sale, he said.
“The better [conditioned] foreclosures are being absorbed faster and at a better pace,” Cerrito said.
Still, buyers are willing to invest in new purchases. The survey said 95 percent of U.S. adults were willing to invest money in renovations when buying a foreclosed property.
Teresa Dakon, who works in Prince William County’s budget office, is among that majority. Dakon closed on a property in July that had been foreclosed upon. She bought the house through the countyHome Help program, which provides incentives for county employees to purchase foreclosed homes in the county.
The home was, indeed, a “fixer-upper,” Dakon said. She added, though, that because of homebuyer classes and training that the program required, she knew what she was getting herself into.
Buyers such as Dakon may have to get used to seeing distressed properties on the market.Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, predicted that the historically high number of foreclosures would continue — and even increase — in 2010.
“It’s still very challenging for D.C. homeowners,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and chief executive officer of Trulia, a real estate search firm that released the survey with RealtyTrac.
