Foreclosure - especially in Florida is a hot topic among the press lately and it is interesting to see a staggering number of the sales in today’s market are comprised of foreclosures and/or short sales… especially in South Florida.  It’s hard to turn on the TV or open up a paper without seeing a sensationalized story about it.

But what’s even more interesting about the foreclosure situation is that they appear to be consolidated in certain areas of the country.  Of the four primary states… two of those were head and shoulders above the others.  [Woo hoo... we never do anything half baked here in FL!]  Okay, sorry, that wasn’t funny.

Drum roll please:  California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada take the cake.  Something worthy of note about these states is that they share some similar characteristics:

1. They all have relative [no pun intended] popularity with retirees
2. Popular with real estate investors
3. They have had large home value jumps during this decade

This creates some extraordinary opportunities for folks looking to buy a second home in Florida.

Everyone else… yeah… they are normal.  the other 46 states account for the remaining 48.8% of foreclosures, or a mere 1.06% average per state of October’s foreclosures.

Now, this isn’t meant to make light of the impact of these foreclosures on the economy — nope. Foreclosures harm to the nationwide home market because many mortgage lenders are national… at least on the wholesale level. I do like to highlight statistics like this, however, to show that the foreclosure “crisis” isn’t as bad as most of the mainstream media would have you believe around the country.

Moreover, lending institutions are jumping in in order to help curb the flow of defaults nationwide. Following the lead of JP Morgan and Bank of America, CitiMortgage just announced a sweeping plan to help homeowners stay out of default and stay in their homes.

Okay, what does this mean FOR REAL though?  I get that question a lot and is likely why many of you like my style of writing and informing.  For as good as this news is for home owners, it’s just as bad news for homebuyers .

As the amount of Florida foreclosures go down in any given market it, by default, reduces the inventory of homes available for sale. Remember Supply and Demand?  Lower supply levels often lead to higher sale prices and less room to negotiate. This may be, in part, what the banks are trying to accomplish.

What that means to you as a Home buyer [work with me here] is that by the time you hear this stuff in the news… you missed it.  Now is likely a time to seriously consider your home buying options.  To further that point, FHA loan limits are decreasing in Seminole County Florida next year, and for the first time home buyer, if you coupled the higher limits this year with the $7500 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit… the deck is stacked in your favor.

You may choose to complete an application to see if, indeed, now is the right time to make that move towards a purchase.