April 05, 2019
Miami Ranks Among the Most Profitable Markets for Foreclosure Investors
It should perhaps go without saying that where foreclosure purchases are concerned, the wise investor walks a conceptual tightrope. For it is manifestly the case that a metropolitan area where foreclosure is running rampant is not the best location to plunk down one’s hard-earned money: that is a market ripe for zombie homes, high vacancy—low demand. One could hardly do worse than to buy a home for rental or flipping purposes only to find neither purchasers nor renters looking to occupy the premises.
A September 2018 report by BankForeclosuresSale.com indicates that the markets with the highest rates of foreclosure fall in New Jersey, Connecticut, South Carolina, Illinois, Delaware, and Nevada. Yet, as indicated above, the locus of foreclosure and demand for housing are not always the same. One must search for a relatively high number of foreclosures, but perhaps not the highest number of foreclosures, if one’s goal is to turn a profit (and what investor’s isn’t?). According to the report, the cities where the numbers are right for investors are Chicago, Illinois; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; Miami (which falls within the Topouzis & Associates P.C. service area of Florida), and Houston, Texas. These areas have not become oversaturated with foreclosures or with investors looking to turn foreclosures around (which pushes up foreclosure prices).
Year-over-year, foreclosures have gone on the rise starting in mid-2018, turning on its head a general trend of year-over-year decrease in foreclosure starts over the course of the previous three years.
Where Florida in particular is concerned, the rise in foreclosure rates could be considered a surge. As of July, for example, a study by ATTOM Data Solutions showed that one in every 1,180 housing units in Florida was subject to a filing by a bank of pending foreclosure as a result of late payment. That was a 35 percent increase over the previous year.
Our team here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. does everything we can to be absolutely sure our clients are conveying and purchasing title clear of judgments and defects—whether it’s for a conventional sale or for the purchase of a foreclosed home. And, yes, we help our clients put into place a good policy of title insurance to make certain they don’t get surprised by any nasty lurking issues with a property. Contact us if you’d like us to do this for you.
