Upscale Foreclosures Poised to Enter Bergen County NJ Housing Market

Dec. 3, 2010 - PRLog -- Santa Barbara, CA ---- RealtyStore (www.realtystore.com) the premier provider of local residential foreclosure listings across the United States, announced the results of a foreclosure market study for Bergen County, NJ. The new Bergen County Foreclosures Review showed 357 foreclosures, or ‘REOs’ have been recorded locally. Of the total, RealtyStore concluded that only 32% of all Bergen foreclosures are actively listed for re-sale to the public.

“According to our data analysis, the vast majority, 68%, of completed foreclosure filings in Bergen County are not yet actively marketed for re-sale by their owners,” said Peter Ranck, Vice President at RealtyStore.  “Taking a closer look at this ‘shadow inventory’ of unlisted foreclosures, it is interesting to note they skew to significantly higher valuations. This suggests a high-end assortment of available foreclosures may be ready to enter the Bergen County market. ”

The growing foreclosure shadow inventory in many areas is a growing concern. Since shadow inventory has not been allowed to actively compete for home buyers in the market at large, its possible influence on local home sale turn-over rates and sales prices cannot yet be measured.

Nearly one quarter of Bergen County’s 357 foreclosures were recorded in three cities. Hackensack foreclosures number 34 properties, with a total assessed value of approximately $12.5 million. Teaneck followed with 30 foreclosures with an approximate total assessed value of $8.9 million. Englewood foreclosures were next, posting 22 foreclosures with a $7.5 million approximate total assessed value.

In terms of prices, the median foreclosure listed price in Bergen County is $297,000, which is well below the local market’s overall median price of $469,000. Looking more closely at the assessed valuations of the shadow inventory compared to the market median price, our data shows 54 foreclosures in shadow inventory with assessed values above the median. The shadow foreclosures’ values range between $472,000 and $2,537,000. This foreclosure population represents 15% of all foreclosures in the area, yet it remains off the market as of the date of this report. Of the foreclosures presently listed for sale, only 16, or 4% of the total foreclosure population, are priced above the current market median price. These 16 active for-sale foreclosure listings are asking prices in a range between $472,900 and $829,000.

How and when the dormant high-end foreclosures enter the market, and at what price points, will be influenced by a number of local and macro economic factors that the sellers continue to face. Regardless, it appears Bergen County’s foreclosures will offer an increased amount of higher-end foreclosed properties as banks and government enterprises continue to bring their full portfolio of foreclosures to the local market over time.

For Bergen County foreclosure listings, see http://www.realtystore.com/foreclosures/new-jersey-forecl...

For New Jersey foreclosure listings, visit http://www.realtystore.com/foreclosures/new-jersey-forecl...

More news about shadow inventory, see http://www.realtystore.com/realty-guide/foreclosure-gloss...

Glossary of foreclosure terms:
‘REO’ = Real Estate Owned, or a property which has been foreclosed upon and had title fully transferred to a lending institution such as a bank or government sponsored enterprise such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, VA, or HUD.

‘Foreclosure re-sale’ = An REO property being actively marketed for sale to third-parties, including the public at large.

‘Shadow inventory’ = For the purposes of this report, shadow inventory includes only those homes which have fully completed the foreclosure process, had title transferred to a lender owner, and are not yet listed for re-sale to third parties, including the public at large.

About RealtyStore
RealtyStore (www.realtystore.com), a division of Nations Info Corporation, is the leading provider of foreclosure listings and discount property data nationwide. RealtyStore's mission is to empower its customers with the tools, education and analysis required to identify and potentially maximize profits with undervalued real estate. Collected from hundreds of public and private sources, RealtyStore's proprietary database includes over 1 million listings including pre foreclosures, foreclosures, short sales, tax defaults and rent to own or owner financed listings.  As the foreclosure listings industry leader, RealtyStore.com is the most visited foreclosure website, averaging over 1.1 million unique visitors per month in Q3, 2010. Realtystore.com is the only specialized foreclosures website to rank in the Hitwise Top 20 Internet Usage Report for the Real Estate Category (October 2010).

Media Contact
Dara Peterson
RealtyStore
805-214-6968

Reporting methodology
The RealtyStore County Foreclosures Review provides the total number of REO (real estate owned) foreclosed properties with a recording date on or before the date of this release. REO properties have completed the foreclosure process and have been repossessed by a bank or government sponsored loan guarantor such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD or the VA. REO title holders and inventory counts in any area can vary at any time. Counts and prices are accessed through RealtyStore’s proprietary database which is derived through hundreds of public and private data providers.  Local housing market data is derived from third party and public records offices.

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RealtyStore.com is the leading provider of foreclosure listings and discount property data nationwide. We empower our customers with listings, education and analysis required to identify and potentially maximize profits with undervalued real estate.