Where have all the foreclosures gone? In the Twin Cities, foreclosure inventory is nearly half of what it was just a year ago and down nearly 60% since its peak:
Twin Cities Foreclosures Listed on the MLS
Based on data available as of June 19, 2012. All data from Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. Powered by 10K Research and Marketing.
Why have they declined so much? Well first of all, demand for foreclosures has been and continues to remain high from both traditional buyers as well as investors. The more important trend however is the decreasing supply of new foreclosures due to lower numbers of sheriff sales:
Sheriff Sales in Minnesota/Twin Cities:
Image from “Minnesota Foreclosure Update – 1st Quarter 2012” from HousingLink
Many have said that the “next wave” of foreclosures is coming soon. Well they’ve been saying that for several years now and we haven’t seen it come and I don’t think we will. Before a sheriff sale can happen, a preforeclosure notice must be published and those notices are typically 2-4 months prior to a sheriff sale. Look at how much they are down:
Minnesota Preforeclosure Notices
From MN Home Ownership Center’s blog.
We still have a high number of home loans in severe delinquency and we will see several more years of high levels of foreclosures but I firmly believe the worst is well behind us and that the trend of diminishing foreclosures and foreclosure inventory on the MLS will continue.
