By Ian B. MurphyBanker & Tradesman Staff Writer
Despite thousands of foreclosed homes flooding the market in 2008, only 3 percent of Massachusetts homebuyers purchased a foreclosed property.
Foreclosed homes drew interest from 35 percent of homebuyers, according to a study by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors. But most buyers either couldn’t find the right property, or found the process too difficult.
"The home buying and selling process can be difficult to navigate in even a ‘simple’ transaction, and that difficulty level can go up by a factor of 100 or more when it comes to foreclosures and short sales," said MAR President Gary Rogers, broker at RE/MAX First Realty in Waltham. "As these types of deals continue to increase, working with a Realtor who is especially trained in loss mitigation is often the only way to keep these complicated deals together."
The Internet continues to play an important role in real estate, according to the same study. More than 90 percent of home buyers and sellers went online as part of their transaction.
Fortunately for Realtors, that migration to the Internet has not significantly hurt business, with more than 90 percent still using Realtors to complete the deal.
"The Internet continues to make the home buying and selling process much more efficient," said Rogers. "With access to extensive amounts of real estate data, clients are much more knowledgeable about the market and focused on what they want to do, yet at the same time they are relying more and more on Realtors to help interpret that data, to provide local market insight and to guide them through the complexities of buying and selling."
When it came to selling, 37 percent of home sellers did not reduce their asking price before the home was sold. Recent sellers typically sold their home for 95 percent of the listing price. According to the report, 33 percent of sellers offered incentives to attract buyers. Most often that assistance was applied to closing costs and home warranty policies.
