New Construction v Foreclosed Home Sales

Although we in the title business see our work as slow but steady, the pains of the real estate market are being felt heavily by the small town builder. In a report released today by the National Association of Home Builders, builders concede that the burgeoning market of foreclosed homes and properties has negatively impacted their business. It’s important to note that our “steady” stream of business is compensated for our lack of new construction home sales by the upturn in foreclosed property sales and “short-sale” transactions. The decline in builder confidence comes as a shocker to the every day “Joe” who typically assumes that low mortgage rates and a slight upturn in the U.S. economy would provide more favorable projections for the second half of 2010. Will lower interest rates be enough to bring the builder back to the closing table or will the proliferation of foreclosed homes on the market continue to hamper new construction in our area? It will be interesting to observe in the coming months…