Foreclosures Driving Third-Quarter Sales in Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors released their third quarter statistics last week, and to no surprise, distressed home sales are driving the market. More than 1in 4 single-family houses sold in the third quarter were foreclosures or short sales. More than half of all the distressed sales were in Pawtucket, Providence, Cranston and Warwick, with double-digit price declines in these communities. Foreclosures and short-sales drove down the median prices 18% from last year to $230,000, excluding these distressed sales, the statewide median price of houses sold during the third quarter was $268,500. One bright spot, the median single-family house price increased in six communities: Barrington, Warren, Providence's East Side, Exeter, Charlestown and Narragansett. With more than 4 million homeowners, or 9 % of mortgages, either at least one month behind on their payments or in foreclosure, investors and savvy buyers are starting to get back into the market, so I thought it would be good to have my legal expert Sheila Harrington, from the Law offices of Harrington and Rhodes LTD. come on the show to discuss the pros and cons of buying distressed properties. The bottom line is there are bargains to be had, but there are pitfalls as well, due diligence and patience seem to be key in getting through the process. This Week's Real Estate Insight: If you are thinking about buying distressed property, you will want to make sure that you are armed with as much information as possible, RealtyTrac is a great place to start your education.