More than 4.7 million homeowners lost their homes to foreclosure or short sale since 2007 nationwide and they’re not taking it anymore. What are they doing about it? They’re buying again, and they’re buoying the housing market from coast to coast. Boomerang Buyers Heating Up the Housing Market!
SW Florida certainly saw its share of financial hardship. Scores of homeowners were forced to short sale or were simply foreclosed upon as the local housing market dived and jobs were lost. Many left the area in search of work.
As the economy has slowly improved over the past few years some of those same people are moving back. Still others who never moved rented and kept their companies going anyway they could, or worked multiple jobs to survive. It’s been a tough 7 years for many locals, so it’s no wonder there is much joy in a rising real estate market.
As the market improves so does the economy as sales lead to jobs and construction. Construction leads to construction jobs and ancillary businesses, which leads to further opportunities.
Many SW Florida homeowners are still underwater even though prices are rising. They’re essentially trapped in their own homes waiting the market out for a time when they can afford to sell. A Boomerang buyer is free from the trap because they got out from under the crushing debt years ago. Lenders at the time said it would take 2-5 years before they could buy again but many had no choice. They had to sell.
Boomerang buyers took a hit on their credit reports and it did prevent them from buying, but they were released from the debt, and once could argue many of these buyers will be in a position to purchase well before some of the trapped homeowners will be.
I just had 2 Boomerang buyers contact us in the past week asking about re-entering the housing market as their business has finally picked up. I checked with a few lenders to see what the requirements are and found varying requirements.
Chase requires 36 months after a short sale which is fairly typical. I checked with two local mortgage brokers who can lend 2 years after a short sale provided borrower has 20% down. If the borrower only has 10% down it’s 4 years, and can be as much as 7 years with less than 10% down which makes FHA attractive. A FHA loan is 3 years, and VA is 0-1 years while USDA is 1.5-3 years.
If you’re not confused by now you probably worked in finance at some point in your life. The bottom line is there are options for you if you’re ready to re-enter the housing market. How long you have to wait depends on which program you finance under and how much you can put down. FHA, VA, and USDA will be the least down payment required.
Rates are low and prices are on the increase, and now that Hertz has announced they are relocating their world headquarters to Lee County, things are looking up. Inventory supply is already tight. I would suggest if you’re thinking about re-entering the market, sooner is probably better than later.
There is opportunity in this market. Even though prices are rising, they are nowhere near where they were at the height of the market. Combine that with today’s rates and buying power is strong. I would argue this market is much healthier and sustainable than it was at the height when everybody was buying. The herd was wrong at the top of the market. This, right now, today is the land of opportunity.
I’m not quite sure why people call back in 2005 the “Good Old Days.” There was no real opportunity back then, only heartache to come for so many. 2013 is the “Good Old Days.” Today is the land of opportunity, and even if you were hurt in the market in the past, you too can benefit going forward. We all suffered the last 7-8 years, and now we can all benefit.
The hangover is over, so raise your glass and toast to a new beginning, especially for the Boomerang Buyers.