A little more than a week ago I previewed suburban HUD homes with acreage.
The bid results are in! All five of the featured Columbus houses are in contract.
Three of these HUD homes for sale are in contract for more than list price. Actually, for substantially more.
It appears that the loss of the home buyer tax credit at the end of April has no effect on the sale of HUD homes.
On the other hand a number of expensive homes went into daily bidding, despite of the reduction of their listing price last Friday. I mentioned 2 of these HUD homes in Bexley and Worthington in previous posts. They are now available to investors and may present a terrific opportunity, as HUD accepts lower discounts when relisted homes become available to all bidders.
Why do some HUD homes sell above list price and why do others sit for weeks without an offer?
It’s pretty simple. It all comes down to the condition and the location of the property. Most of our featured HUD homes are in the suburbs. So they are in great locations – many of them in suburban school districts.
But location alone is not good enough, as you can tell from the 2 “lemons” in Bexley and Worthington. They are in pretty poor condition for the neighborhood they are in. Both of these homes need complete overhauls. This means a lot of work and additional costs for the prospective buyer.
Most owner occupant buyers can handle simple, cosmetic repairs, such as painting the interior or replacing carpets. They avoid complete remodeling projects. Investors, on the other hand, are up to the rehab challenge, however, they need to buy properties at substantial discounts to account for their efforts, risk and labor.
In my opinion the HUD homes in Bexley and Worthington will need to come down to the $150K range (or even below) to make them attractive to investors. After last Friday’s price reduction, HUD may go for an offer in that range, albeit very reluctantly.
Here are the bidding results of the 5 Columbus HUD homes featured a week ago.
2500 Wickliffe Rd, Upper Arlington OH
2BR/1.0BA 1,012 sqft Asking $162,000
Offer accepted on 06/01/10 for $152,000 – 6% below list
3749 Watt Rd, Gahanna, OH
3BR/2.5 BA 2,245 sqft Asking $122,000
Offer accepted on 06/01/10 for $145,000 – 19% above list
5776 Heirship Ct, Hilliard OH
3BR/2.5BA 2,046 sqft Asking $170,000
Offer accepted on 06/01/10 for $180,000 – 6% above list
8691 Clarksdale Dr, Lewis Center OH
3BR/2.5BA 2,555 sqft Asking $200,000
Offer accepted on 06/01/10 for $221,371 – 11% above list
5555 Cedardale Dr, Westerville OH
3BR/2.5BA 1,546 sqft Asking $115,000
Offer accepted on 06/01/10 for $100,000 – 13% below list
Call me at (614) 975-9650 to submit an offer!
Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650
