During the housing decline around 2007-2009 there were a fair amount of “distressed” home sales in the South Bay and Beach Cities.  Distressed home sales encompass bank owned homes, notice of default sales, REOs and short sales.  We’re still contacted by buyers hoping to find a deal in the distressed market.  Unfortunately for them there just isn’t currently a market.  Values have gone up so consistently that it’s fairly difficult to be “underwater” on a mortgage.  If people struggle to make their mortgage payments or receive a notice of default….there’s usually plenty of equity in their home to simply sell it, pay off the mortgage and still come out ahead.

As you can see from the chart below, the number of active, pending and closed “foreclosure” home sales has slowed to a halt.

The chart below shows the past 10 years of of active, pending and sold short sales and bank owned sales in Redondo, Hermosa, and Manhattan Beach.