Potential foreclosure buyers in California and Arizona, as well as the Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan areas, may run into some friendly competition when submitting their offers, according to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal.

It appears that super low housing prices and high demand for properties in these desirable areas, among other favorable conditions, are driving deal seekers out of the woodwork and to the closing table.

The article explains:

“Bidding wars — common during the housing boom — had all but disappeared soon after the market peaked about three years ago. Even now, they remain the exception rather than the rule … there is still a glut of homes available in most markets. But the glut has shrunk, and some areas are running into shortages of moderately priced homes in middle-class neighborhoods.”

Smart buyers who have sat on the sidelines, waiting for the market to “bottom out,” are clearly beginning to make their moves. However, it may be a case of too little too late in hot markets like those mentioned above and others located throughout the United States.

Keep in mind that despite the “doom and gloom” that you may see on the nightly news does not often provide the clearest picture of the current real estate market. Is it the best it has ever been? Clearly, no. But it also hasn’t shut down entirely — buyers are out there and homes are selling.

Clearly, some places are going to improve faster than others, but the lesson here is not to assume that you can just saunter out and buy any home you want, whenever you want, at half the price because there is no demand.

On the contrary, the opportunities for buying homes right now are the best they have been in a very long time and most people understand that the window is going to start closing … sooner rather than later, depending on the zip code.

Palm Beach County, Fla., has been hit hard with a wave of foreclosures, registering nearly 2,500 active foreclosures on its books in April 2009, according to our most recent statistics.

It’s naturally had a significant negative impact on several neighborhoods, which are already struggling to maintain the highest possible property values because of the massive collective dip in home prices that has gripped the entire South Florida region.

As if the growing foreclosure situation and declining home values weren’t enough to handle, vandals and squatters who are often drawn to vacant homes are exacerbating the situation. Indeed, broken windows and the like have forced the county commissioners to take matters into their own hands.

Here’s a snip from Barbara Alterman, head of the county’s planning, zoning and building department, according to a Palm Beach Post article:

“There is a lot of vandalism going on. It is maintaining the neighborhood by allowing them to board up when there is vandalism. It is helping the neighborhood by keeping vandals out.”

Boarded up and shuttered homes are certainly not going to help banks move their inventories any quicker — it’s not the most eye-catching/appealing marketing tactic. These properties also won’t help raise the values of the inhabited homes on the block.

However, it will help preserve the homes until new owners move in, and perhaps more important for you, it could help you get into a very nice home at a price that you can afford. In short, it’s not an ideal solution, but one that you could use to your advantage if you are in the market for a real steal.

To check out the latest foreclosure and other distressed real estate listings in the Palm Beach County, Fla., area visit Foreclosure.com today right here.

First-time homebuyers are still taking advantage of the unbelievable real estate market conditions, pushing sales up 3.2 percent to 84.6 on the Pending Home Sales Index in March 2009, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

It’s 2.6 points higher on the index than in Feb. 2009 (82) and 1.1 percent more than March 2008 (83.7).

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, had this to say about the latest progress:

“This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a down payment. We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”

Remember that the $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers is only available until Dec. 1, 2009. And with the market showing signs of life there is no telling how long the record-low home prices and interest rates will remain at their current levels.

Put simply, now is the time to cracking on your home search before it’s to late.

Head over to Foreclosure.com today to see what deals are available in your area at rock-bottom prices. We offer the best listings in the nation and give you total access to our massive database for seven days free with no strings attached.

So what are you waiting for? Click here.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR)® recently issued its latest report on the status of the national housing sales market for March 2009, revealing that existing home sales declined 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units.

That’s a 7.1 percent drop in Feb. 2009; however, remember that those figures were actually a huge surprise (an increase of 5.1 percent between Jan. and Feb. 2009), which was largely attributed to the enormous interest in discounted foreclosure homes.

In fact, the report indicates that distressed real estate is selling for about 20 percent less than traditional homes right now. That’s perhaps a conservative estimate — we are seeing a tremendous amount of deals that offer great savings between 30 and 50 percent listed on Foreclosure.com every day.

Regardless, it’s good news for those buyers who are currently searching for homes … even if there are less of them — they have more options from which to choose and less competition!

First-time homebuyers are apparently responsible for about 53 percent of the transactions in March 2009, demonstrating that record low home prices and interest rates, as well as limited-time government incentives, are luring them to get while the getting is good. And Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, is confident that the number will increase sooner rather than later.

Here’s a snip:

“The share of lower priced home sales has trended up, indicating a return of many first-time buyers, which we also see in a parallel member survey…. Buyer traffic has been rising, and real estate offices are getting phone inquires about the tax credit. By early summer we should be seeing a positive impact on home sales from record-low mortgage interest rates in addition to the stimulus provisions.”

Be sure to check out Foreclosure.com today and take advantage of our FREE 7-Day Trial to search for amazing home deals in your neighborhood at absolutely no cost. It’s better (and wiser) to get in on the action before everyone else does!

While the final numbers may not be available for a few weeks or even months, a preliminary report released earlier this month by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration indicates that the recently introduced $8,000 tax credit for first time homebuyers is working better than expected.

In fact, as of either March 6 or March 7, 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) it appears that about 1.4 million taxpayers intend to claim the the tax credit on their 2008 tax returns. And as Inman News points, out that’s very close to meeting or exceeding “the 2 million target set by lawmakers before it sunsets Nov. 30, 2009.”

Of course, taxpayers had until April 15, 2009, to claim the credit on their returns, which means that the estimated 1.4 million figure will likely increase. What’s more, buyers who buy between then and Dec. 1, 2009, can also pocket the $8,000 on their 2009 tax returns.

But there does appear to be a little confusion: Of the 567,685 households that claimed the tax credit, 38,158 weren’t eligible because they may have been homeowners in the last three years.

So be sure you know the requirements before filling out form number 5405!

For those who may be a little late to the party let’s do a quick reset of the $8,000 tax credit, which was part of the $789 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — a blockbuster stimulus initiative that is expected to boost employment and jumpstart the national economy.

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