December 15, 2008
Bank-Owned Listings Shoot Up
I was signing checks today when I noticed that our bill for obtaining bank-owned listings that have not yet appeared in the MLS (that is, those that are marketed on bank’s websites but not yet by a real estate agent, usually because the bank just took possession) in November had increased 123% from what it was in October. This was noteworthy because for the past year, what we pay has remained relatively steady. 
Since we pay by the record, this means that, for the markets we cover, the number of bank-owned listings not in the MLS has, in one month, increased 123%. Possible theories:
- The September and October credit crisis created a new spate of foreclosures.
- Banks have suddenly balked at hiring real estate agents to list their assets in the MLS, perhaps in part because real estate agents are now slower to take on poorly maintained, costly listings
- Our data provider is bilking us (this is extremely unlikely, as we check the bill carefully)
What’s your theory?
Sasha Aickin said:
4. Our data provider has found a new bank/source to get unique foreclosure info from.
December 15, 2008 4:55 PM
Ray Daly said:
I think they are trying to get business done before not kicking people out of their homes during the holidays.
December 15, 2008 6:54 PM
Sasha said:
To be clear, my #4 above was just another possible theory, not based on any facts in the world.
December 15, 2008 11:36 PM
haydesigner said:
Personally, I feel it is due to rural law enforcement officers spending too much time playing with their pet snakes.
December 16, 2008 2:58 PM
Kim said:
I suspected my x had once again fallen
into the hands of the law.
December 16, 2008 4:22 PM
Myrtle Beach said:
oh my god that is a big snake
December 16, 2008 8:11 PM
Ho said:
Banks, who are already losing lots of money on these properties, are trying to see whether they can keep the 3% selling agents’ fees for themselves?
December 20, 2008 4:30 PM
Glenn Kelman said:
Kim, that is the funniest comment I’ve seen in a long time.
And that’s a good theory Ho…
December 23, 2008 5:46 PM
A Bad Case of Indigestion… | Redfin Corporate Blog said:
[...] few months ago, in a post about foreclosures, we included a photo of a Burmese python that had been caught in the Florida Everglades. The [...]
April 26, 2009 9:53 PM