Market Watch – Foreclosures in Kokomo
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Where Do Foreclosures in Kokomo Fit in the Market?
In case you haven’t seen it, I’m offering a brand new service – A List of Foreclosures in Kokomo. You can get a list of foreclosures in Kokomo – with prices, addresses, number of bedrooms and baths as well as square footage and lot size.
When I got my first request for a list of Kokomo foreclosures priced from $60,000 to $90,000, I proceeded to the MLS to pull the list and send it. Well, I did the first part, I pulled the list. When I saw the list, I thought “No, this can’t be right!”
There were ONLY 10 houses on the list! I thought for sure I’d made a mistake in the search criteria! So, backed-up and rechecked to make sure I hadn’t accidently put an extra criteria into the search. No, I hadn’t. The search criteria were correct.
So, I decided to check each price range for the number of foreclosures. Again I was amazed by what I found! Take a look at the chart below. To explain just a bit… 64% of the houses for sale for less than $30,000 in Kokomo are foreclosures. There are no foreclosure homes priced over $225,000. (Click on the chart below for a larger view.)
We (buyers, sellers and agents) tend to believe that almost all the houses for sale in Kokomo are foreclosure properties. That is not true! In Kokomo and all of Howard County, the number of foreclosure homes for sale ranges from 13-15% of all homes for sale. That means the majority of homes on the market are NOT foreclosures! The only exception to that is houses priced less than $60,000 (see above).
80% of all foreclosure homes in Kokomo are priced below $60,000!
So what does all this mean to buyers and sellers in Kokomo?
Let’s start with sellers…
If your home is priced over $100,000, generally speaking, you should have little direct competition from the foreclosure market. Of course, there are exceptions to this…
- Your home is not priced correctly
- The home next door is priced at a steep discount (foreclosure, short sale, relocation, etc.)
The biggest obstacle sellers in the $100,000 and above range face is FEAR! Fear of the economy in general and in the Kokomo economy specifically. Many buyers are in a “wait and see what happens” mode.
Now to buyers…
The number one thing you need to keep in mind is that there are very few homes on the market that are not “bargains”! Yes, the real “bargains” are foreclosures; but keep in mind that many of these homes have been “used and abused”!
- A $60,000 house in a $120,000 neighborhood is priced that way for a reason… It needs work!
- A $30,000 house may not be habitable and is generally not in move-in condition! And may be difficult to finance – so be prepared to pay cash!
- A “bargain” home in a desirable area will sell quickly and often with multiple offers. Be prepared to act quickly! (That means to have your financing in order and don’t play around with “low-ball” offers! You could just miss out on a great deal!)
So, if you are looking specifically for foreclosures in Kokomo, sign up for a list of foreclosures and I will send it to you via email.
If you would like email alerts for all homes in your price range, go to Kokomo Home Alerts.
Was this information helpful? What else would you like to know about the Kokomo real estate market? Please comment below or send me an email.
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