Home Deals in Vancouver WA | Short Sales vs Bank Owned Homes

Which is The Better Deal?  Vancouver WA Bank Owned Homes or Short Sales?

In Vancouver WA and Clark County Distressed Properties - Foreclosures (aka Bank Owned Homes) and Short Sales Homes;  are a weighty part of the available housing inventory. The Big Question arises at this time: for Home Buyers - what's the best Deal? - will Foreclosures or a Short Sales be the better home to buy; or, is it a regular Owner Occupied Home for sale?

In finding an answer, we took a sample of Vancouver and Clark County homes sold in 2011 to see if any trends emerge. For this sample the main components were: Year Built: 1990 to 2010; Size of Home: 1,800' to 2,200'; Lot Size: less than 1 acre; Sold: between May and October, 2011.

This home search found a total of 297 Closed Sales; 152 of the houses sold were non-distressed; 57 were Short Sales; and 88 were Bank Owned (already foreclosed by the bank). Since not all short sales homes listed actually close, seeing fewer total short sales closed vs Foreclosures is not surprising.

We were also concerned that there are a good number of homes being purchased at the Foreclosure Auction, Rehabbed, then Flipped (listed and sold) as a "normal" sale. So, we went back to the list of 152 "normal" sales from the original screen and found 22 homes that were either Flips (16) or, HUD Foreclosures (6) homes that should have been listed as Bank Owned Homes. Revised Totals now show: 130 Normal Sales (43.8%); 57 Short Sales (19.2%); 94 Bank Owned Homes (31.6%) and 16 Foreclosure-Flips (5.4%). Below is a simple chart prepared to compare key elements:

Our findings shown on this chart show Short Sales are sold on average $2 per square foot lower than Bank Owned Homes. However, the Average Days on Market (DOM) figure for bank owned homes is much lower. Thus, it makes sense that home buyers that can be patient will be in a better position to pursue purchasing a short sale home.

Are you currently in the market for a home in Clark County or Vancouver WA? Whether you want Short Sales, Bank Owned Homes (including Foreclosures and HUD Foreclosures) we are experienced Brokers with REMAX Vancouver WA and will be glad to provide the assistance you need!