Video Story
Watch VideoForeclosures hitting across-the-board
Story By: Bea Karnes
Source: NBC
The foreclosure crisis is affecting families of all income levels. Lionell Woods, who lives in a gated golf course community just down the street from a 5,000-square foot foreclosure listed at $564,000, wonders what got his neighbors into trouble. "I don't know if it's loss of jobs, or the interest rate they were paying on the house," he said.
Realtor Michelle Boyd specializes in foreclosures and said even affluent families were caught off guard by rising interest rates. "We're seeing an increase in the high-end properties," Boyd said. "A lot of the people I've spoken to who were still living in the home they took out an adjustable rate mortgage and it just kept going up and they didn't re-finance."
In other cases it is the result of divorces or lost jobs. "It's tough to look at families who've lost their homes and they're leaving and they've lost their dream in many cases," said Realtor Mark Robbins.
Some of the high-end foreclosures happened because builders got in over their heads with pricey spec homes they could not sell. Experts say if you can afford to get into the high-end market, this may be a good time as prices drop on choice properties.
One house that was listed at $2 million a year ago is now listed for $1.5 million. "I think in our lifetimes this is one of the great times to buy real estate in the metroplex," Robbins said.
