Realty Check
#DIANAOLICK ON TWITTER
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Huge Spike in Home Prices Is Not Real
- Investor Caution: Beware of Heat in Distressed Housing
- Foreclosures Move East as Hardest-Hit Markets Clear
- Foreclosures Fall...And That's a Bad Thing?
- After a Dip, Homebuilder Sentiment Surges Again
- Obama’s ‘Responsible’ Reno Homeowners: Are They?
- Mortgage Market Still Hampers Housing Recovery
- Bank of America Offers Principal Reductions to 200,000 Homeowners
- Short Sales: Necessary Compromise or Scamming the System?
MOST SHARED
- Madoff Case Is Paying Off for Trustee ($850 an Hour)
- ‘Shadow Banking’ Shrinking on Regulatory Scrutiny: Report
- China Big Four Banks a Huge Buying Opportunity: Goldman
- Shares to Open Higher; Investor Focus Turns Home
- Option Bulls Dig Into Ivanhoe Near Lows
- Don't Buy Hon Hai Shares on Apple TV Rumors: Analyst
- Greece to Leave Euro Zone on June 18: Wealth Manager
- Euro Zone Bank Safety Net Leaves Holes Unplugged
- Buffett-Backed BYD Defends Electric Car After Accident
- US Law Firm Dewey Files for Chapter 11, Seeks Liquidation
- Option Bulls Dig Into Ivanhoe Near Lows
- Facebook: The Song — Yes, We're Serious
- A New Look at the ‘New Poor’
- Six Pack: Beer Buzz of the Week
- Greek Exit Could Trigger 50% Fall in Euro Stocks: Analyst
- Under Pressure, FHA Skews to Wealthier Home Buyers
- Big Stock Upside for Hudson City Deal: Analyst
- 5 High-Yield Stocks Ready to Boost Dividends
- Yoshikami: Four Things You Need to Know About Gold Now
- JPMorgan Sells Good Assets to Offset 'London Whale'
- Roubini’s Das: Spain Needs a Bailout ‘Sooner or Later’
- Madoff Case Is Paying Off for Trustee ($850 an Hour)
- Trump Presses Obama to Release College Transcripts

- Ackman: JCPenney's Latest Sales Plunge Is a 'Bottom'

- Euro Isn’t Loved, but Few in Europe Want to Drop It: Poll
- Which Policies Could Hold Back US Growth?
- Cool Jobs: From Gold Stacker to Bed Tester
- Greece Pours $22.6 Billion Into Its Four Biggest Banks
RSS FEED
Housing Recovery: Faith or Just a Good Deal?
CNBC Real Estate Reporter
The good news is that more Americans say they are willing to consider buying a foreclosed property; the bad news is that they're expecting a bigger discount on that property than ever before.
![]() |
Paul J. Richards | AFP | Getty Images |
A new survey from online real estate sites RealtyTrac and Trulia finds 49 percent of those surveyed said they would be "at least somewhat likely to consider purchasing" a foreclosure, up from 45 percent last May; however, 2/3 of those respondents are expecting at least a 30 percent discount to real market value, and 1/3 expect a 50 percent discount.
So much for house prices finding a bottom any time soon.
The reason behind the discount is clear: Risk.
A growing number of Americans think that the process of buying a foreclosure is more risky than ever. There's your impact of the big bank robo-signing scandals. And those scandals, which helped to diminish faith in the mortgage market overall, also pushed back the housing recovery, at least according to the survey:
When Americans Think The Housing Market Will Recover: |
| YEAR | % OF AMERICAN ADULTS WHO BELIEVE HOUSING WILL RECOVER |
| Already recovered | 4% |
| 2010 | 1% |
| 2011 | 10% |
| 2012 | 27% |
| 2013 | 24% |
| 2014 | 12% |
| 2015 or later | 22% |
Source: Trulia.com/RealtyTrac |
Suffice it to say that faith is not abundant among today's potential home buyers, but that doesn't exactly mean they're immovable. Credit Suisse reported the first "uptick" in buyer traffic in November since last April:
"We heard varying reasons for the slight bounce in traffic, with some agents surprised and unsure of the real cause. One clear theme was the attractiveness of low mortgage rates and the fear of rising rates, which we think led some buyers to decide to act. In addition, many buyers emerged from their summer/fall sabbatical to see some of the bargains firsthand."
Questions? Comments? And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick










