Last Monday in Beaufort we had the Beaufort County foreclosure sale.  There were 266 properties on the foreclosure docket, which I think the most we have ever had in a month. 

People often say that foreclosures don’t affect the value of your property.  Unfortunately, they do.  A buyer does not care what the situation is on a property – they just want the best value.  With this many foreclosures, this does have an effect on what an individuals property is worth because they are competing with that.  Buyers are looking for the best value which sometimes is a foreclosure home. 

Whether it is or not, it does have an effect on property values because inventory affects pricing in any commodity.  If you have a lot of low priced inventory, it affects property values across the spectrum. 

I will be monitoring the number of foreclosures each month.  I hope we get to the point where we don’t have that many – then the market can stabilize and sellers can get a more reasonable price for their property. 

In the interim, buyers should be looking at some of these because they are great values.

I represent several banks, so if you are interested in getting a list of foreclosures please let me know.  A lot of these sell before they come on the market, so line up and I will help you out.