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Florida Foreclosure Homes Make State a Buyer’s Market

by cassy82 | October 1, 2009 at 08:52 am

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Many bargain-hunting buyers are grabbing Florida foreclosure homes because of the continuous drop of home prices in the state. Home sales in the state rose by 20 percent last month.

Florida foreclosure homes have wreaked havoc on the lives of thousands of homeowners and bring devastation to neighborhoods. The increase in the number of foreclosure properties pushed down home prices and values, there by allowing those who have dreamt of owning a house a chance to buy one.

In Daytona Beach, cheap foreclosure properties have made the area a buyer’s market. According to industry experts, home values in Daytona have never been this low before, thus attracting many potential homebuyers who, during the peak of the housing market, could not afford to buy one.

Last month, home sales in Daytona rose by 20 percent compared with August the previous year. But home prices took a different direction, dropping by almost 19 percent. The saturation of foreclosures and short sale on the market allowed buyers to have a wide range of cheap properties to choose from.

By Cassiano Travareli

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a211423

at 10:43 on October 1st, 2009

If a buyers market reflects an increase in employement and consumer confidence then this is positive. We can get a better idea though by looking at who the buyers are. Are they first time home buyers and individuals moving into a better home? Or are they investors from either in Florida or out of state who are capitalizing on the investment and waiting to turn the property around in a year or two for a profit.

If it's investors, this does not help improve the neighborhoods or communities that have suffered having vacant, unkept properties. People with homes in these neighborhoods have seen their home values plummet next to the foreclosed homes.

While it might appear on the surface to be positive, an appraisal of who the buyers are might reveal a different picture.