Springfield....635 foreclosures last 12 mo. (Ozark: for sale, real estate, renting)

[redneck central]

According to the News-Leader this weekend. There are over 4000 properties for sale in Greee County. It is definately a buyers market around here.
There has been a tremendous amount of building in this area over the last 7 years. Combine that with speculation , loose lending standards , and a slowing economy, and it all adds up to oversupply, that will take years to straighten out.
Yes houses are still selling , but at a slower pace. The house I am currently renting , that is for sale, has had NO prospective buyers come thru in the 2 months I've lived here.
The speculators have left, the ARM loans that are resetting, and will continue for the next year , and the tightened lending standards , all are causing an oversupply that will sink prices, and keep them lower for years to come.
A 5 year old house , 4000 sq ft , with 40 acres came on the market 2 weeks ago, for 275K, is no longer on the market. Apparently sold. If you figure $3k per acre, that leaves a price on the house at $155k. Less than $50. a square foot.
Last week , as I mentioned in a post, I went to a 4 house auction in a suburb of Ozark. Brand new homes drew bids of $41 to $56 per square foot.
On Saturday, that same auctioneer advertised that 3 of the houses are for sale. So they accepted the bid price on one of the homes. What Im getting at is the demand is very weak for housing. The folks that bought a house during the price peak of 2005 will not get what they paid for it. They will be hit with a loss, or just decide to stay living there for a few more years.
If you are looking for a bargain, shop around, they are out there.
The people and the banks that are dumping properties on the market, will weaken the entire price structure of housing.
Yes, there will be exceptions , of out of state folks paying too much for their house down here, because they didn't do their homework, but overall the prices will be dropping for the next few years in my opinion.
Oh , I almost for got to mention Pres Bush's bail out plan.... from what I have read, it should help 1% of the ARM people. Nothing that will alter the big picture.
RC

[Currently a cheesehead]

We are currently actively looking at houses in the Springfield area and would like to know your "secrets" for finding the buys. We want a newer house (bigger the better of course) and at the least 10 acres suitable for horses. Of course we are looking at the normal places like the MLS, realtor.com etc..but wondered if you could recommend where to find the "buys" when they come on. We have noticed a big drop in prices in the 8 mos we have been watching.

[redneck central]

if you are from Wisc. Thats one expensive place to try to exist! Keep a close eye on the MLS. The house auctions are listed in the news-leader. Check out realtytrac.com for bank properties. Its tough to shop from 500 miles away. Billy Long is also comming up with his quarterly real estate auction toward the end of Sept. Check his web site for listings. He also posts what the properties sold for about a week after his auction. He will be auctioning close to 70 this round. Hang tough, your winter is fast approaching up there. Stay warm!

[Currently a cheesehead]

No need to tell me. Our property taxes up here are $6000...In the process of trying to find a "Mayberry" near the Springfield area so we can have a location in mind. The market is crazy and we are waiting on ours to sell her so when we do buy it will be a whirlwind purchase/move and probably not able to snap up the untimely bargains. We have been watching the MLS, but it is also depressing as the really good ones I fall in love with get snapped up and I am still on hold. Double edged sword.

Actually the winters up here are pathetic these days. Semi cold (not like it used to be) but with little snow. Only reason we tolerated that cold was the winter sports. With that limited there is nothing holding us here...

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by redneck central

A 5 year old house , 4000 sq ft , with 40 acres came on the market 2 weeks ago, for 275K, is no longer on the market. Apparently sold. If you figure $3k per acre, that leaves a price on the house at $155k. Less than $50. a square foot.

Where was this home located?

While I can appreciate you trying to tell prospective buyers about good deals, I still feel that you are skewing a lot of information. Take this home that you're talking about. You paint a rosey picture, but I can tell you from experience that deals like this sound way too good to be true. First, you don't mention the location, which is huge. Unless this was the deal of the century, I doubt this home was located very close to Springfield. Second, we don't know if the home sold. Third, we have no idea what the house is like.

I'm not suggesting the info that you've posted is false, but there are a lot of details that are missing. My point is that you have to post all of the relevant information so that people can get a true feel for the market in this area.

[redneck central]

Hi Snake,
I dont have a hidden agenda. The 4000 sq ft home on 40 acres I mentioned was 20 miles east of Springfield. Probably not in the fanciest of areas, but still one whale of a deal. ( Nor was it near the proposed alcohol plant) 2 story home a few years old. Not a prefab unit. If it was still listed on the MLS I would point you in that direction. The point I was trying to make, is if you watch the houses for sale in a given area, you will get a feel for which places appear to be great deals. Anytime you can get a custom built home for in the $50 a square foot range, it gets my attention. My guess is that the seller needed to move this property fast. There will be more deals comming down the pipe, as these crazy ARM mortgage payments reset upwards. Keep a watchin! Have a good one.

[8 SNAKE]

Redneck,
I didn't mean to imply that you had any hidden agenda. If you felt that way, I apologize because that was certainly not my intent.

You're spot on when noting that deals are out there to be had. The market favors the buyer, and those who pay attention can find some great bargains. In saying that, I also believe that you've highlighted the exceptions rather than the rule. People browsing this forum might get the impression that the market for homes around here is $50/sq ft and that's simply not the case. I just want to offer a bit of balance to people who are shopping for real estate in this area, so that they don't come in with preconceived notions that are not realistic.

Best,
M

[2beamissourian]

I have found several of them ........... all over the place depending on what your needs are ..desire of directions etc.......seems to me the farther out in the boonies ya are the better the prices ...
I for one wish I could live far out i the sticks .but do to my buisness being out of the home I can not ..but I will not give up still digging ahead!

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by 2beamissourian

seems to me the farther out in the boonies ya are the better the prices ...

You'll find that all over the country.

[gjs]

For the locals, on this subject. Why do you think that the foreclosure rate is so high in this area? ARM's or maybe loss of employment in the area?