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10 years have passed since the memorable day of the World Trade Center disaster.  Many things have changed in our lives, including the real estate market.  No one had heard of short sales and foreclosures were rare.   Now, unemployment is up and our economy is struggling.

As of today, in our immediate market area of Yelm, Rainier, Tenino, McKenna and Roy there are 417 listings of single family homes.  Of those listings, 42 (about 10%) are foreclosures and 77 (18%) are short sales.  History shows that a foreclosure lowers property values in the neighborhood by about 7%.  Short sales are usually priced like foreclosures before they sell, and hence, have a similar effect on the market.

While no one ever heard of a “short sale” ten years ago, currently this is an unfortunate reality for many home owners.  Today most people know a short sale is a situation of where the net proceeds from the sale of a home are not sufficient to pay off the underlying loan and arrangements are made with the bank holding the loan to complete the sale.

All of the above is sad news for the Sellers.

However, there are huge opportunities for the buyers and investors.  There are some amazing bargains to be had.  That combined with historically low interest rates makes this a perfect time to buy.