Bank Owned Property Sales in the Santa Clarita Area

August 27th, 2007 admin Posted in Uncategorized |

Bargains are out there in the REO (bank owned) property arena, if you know how to look for them!

With short sales and REO’s (Real Estate Owned, or bank owned properties) hitting the news a lot lately, it’s time to take a closer look at the Santa Clarita market to see what’s really going on here.

A search of REO’s on the local MLS shows that 13 REO properties closed escrow within the last three months (May 27 through August 27, 2007). Of these, eight are in Canyon Country, three are in Saugus, one is in Stevenson Ranch, and one is in Valencia. We’ll take a look at the short sales data in a separate post.

Address	SF	YrBlt	List Pr	Sale Pr	Tract	City
18105 Sundowner Way 979	844	1985	$249,900	$254,000	AmBeautyCondo	CC
26914 Rainbow Glen Drive 212	1007	1988	$299,900	$280,000	AmBeauty	CC
19601 Bruces Pl	1700	1987	$514,900	$474,900	AmBeautyClassic	CC
26850 Claudette Street 160	964	1986	$320,000	$250,000	AmBeautyVill	CC
20788 Plum Canyon Road	799	1972	$286,000	$230,000	BouqetVill	SAU
25959 Stafford Canyon Road B	1667	1991	$439,000	$419,999	CrownVillas	SR
29201 Flowerpark Drive	2266	1969	$519,900	$495,000	Pinetree	CC
19736 Byrne Place	3058	2005	$758,500	$758,500	SiennaHills	CC
28746 High Ridge Drive	2828	2003	$645,000	$630,000	Sonata	SAU
30243 Jasmine Valley Dr	1326	1974	$504,999	$445,000	Timberlane	CC
27621 Nugget Drive 6	1275	1985	$354,900	$352,000	TresRobles	CC
27363 Dearborn Drive	2156	2004	$554,900	$539,900	WindsorColl	VAL
21167 Lone Star Way	2921	2002	$699,900	$695,000	WhisperOaks	SAU

The usual disclaimers apply: Information was obtained via SoCalMLS and is believed to be accurate but is not guaranteed.

A closer look at these properties reveals that this is not the first, or second, or even third time that many of these have been listed.

Case #1: 26914 Rainbow Glen Dr #212, CC

Purchased in 2002, went back to the bank in February 2007.
Listed December 2005 at $375,000 with out-of-area Realtor. Listing expired April 2006.
Listed October 2006 at $330,000 with out-of-area Realtor (Citrus Valley). Listing expired February 2007.
Listed February 2007 at $335,000 and reduced to $315,000. Vacant and in need of work. Listing cancelled April 2007.
Listed April 2007 as "rehabbed" by the bank at $299,900. Sold at $280,000 in June 2007.
Net reduction in original list price to final sales price: $95,000.

Case #2: 19736 Byrne Pl., CC

Purchased in February 2006 for $870,000, went back to the bank in April 2007.
Listed as short sale in December 2006 at $750,000. Shown as in escrow with first right of refusal, but apparently never closed escrow.
Listed in April 2007 at $758,500 as bank-owned property. Sold in June 2007 at $758,500.
Net reduction in purchase price in 2006 to final sale price as bank-owned in 2007 was $111,500.

Admittedly, many of these properties aren’t located in what would be considered "hot" developments in the Santa Clarita area, and in fact many are in the lowest price range. With lending guidelines and requirements tightening, it’s harder than ever for buyers in this lowest price range to get loans, since many don’t have down payments or stellar FICO scores.

What does all this mean? Well, 13 REO’s closing escrow in three months is such a small fraction of the homes listed and sold during that timeframe that it’s probably not even a measureable percentage. However, the numbers do show that banks are "dealing", and that there may be some bargains to be found in the REO market.

Interested in purchasing REO’s or short sale properties? Call Linda Slocum at 661.670.0349 or email her at Linda@SantaClaritaRealEstateBlog.com!