Condo Foreclosures

According to information compiled by the Woodstock Institute, condo foreclosure  filings within the city of Chicago rose 37.5 percent during the first half of 2010, but if suburban condo foreclosures included, particularly in hard-hit northwestern Cook County, regional condo foreclosures have swelled 53.8 percent compared with 2009's first half, the Woodstock Institute study found.

Although a plethora of foreclosed condos can be detrimental to the complex they are located in, they are usually not visible from the outside, so they don’t have the immediate effect on local property values. This makes them unlike foreclosed, and boarded-up single-family homes, which are very visible in many neighborhoods, and have a detrimental effect on surrounding property values.

Also, observers have noted that many of the condo properties going into foreclosure were bought by developers, rather than individual homeowners. Many developers bought four or more apartments ir condos, with the intention of converting them to condos, or just fixing them up and selling them . But then the housing bubble burst and they were unable to sell them for a price that give them a return on their investment.

In any case, the high number of condo foreclosures is bringing the average price of property down, so it is a good time to buy a condo. And don’t be afraid of buying a foreclosed condo either, they are often in very good shape, and many banks are willing to make deals and negotiate the price.

Many homeowners considering moving have put off selling condos until they see the real estate prices going up, and that is bound to happen sooner rather than later. But there are plenty who are selling, and it is wise to remember that while there are deals available, few people are willing to just "give away" their property for a rock-bottom price. So if you are in the market to buy, don’t wait too long, expecting the prices to keep decreasing down to nothing. If you like a particular property, whether it is a foreclosed condo or not, and the price is affordable, you may as well go ahead and buy it. Because it won’t be there forever, and the price could go up.