Foreclosure Listing

What is a Foreclosure Listing?

A foreclosure listing is a resource used by investors or purchasers of real estate property to evaluate a comprehensive list of foreclosed homes/properties by location and/or price. In addition to serving as a tool for the investor or individual purchaser, foreclosure listings serve as an economic indicator, gauging the overall health of the real estate market.

With the advent of the Internet, foreclosure listing databases are now accessible tools for which an investor, bank or individual purchaser can evaluate the health of a specific market or can shop for a property at discount.

The primary purpose of a foreclosure listing service is to pinpoint the location of distressed assets (homes that are being foreclosed on) in a particular region. These homes will invariably sell at a discount; the defaulted payments necessitate a quick flip strategy on part of the lender/mortgage holder. Banks want to dissolve distressed assets and mitigate losses associated with a foreclosure.

A Foreclosure Listing

As an economic indicator, a foreclosure listing will compile real estate data for each state, county or city and illuminate the area’s market. Through these statistics, economists, legislators, homeowners and prospective homeowners can gauge the health (or bleakness) of the real estate market and act accordingly (i.e. take economic action, pass legislation or buy/sell homes). The majority of foreclosure listings serve as a middle-man to facilitate the purchase or sale of a distressed asset. In addition to tangibly listing all foreclosed homes in a given area, a foreclosure listing service will provide market analysis, foreclosure trends and sales information for the macro-economy, as well as each individual state and coordinating county.

What is a Foreclosure Listing Service?

A foreclosure listing service is a third-party entity that provides foreclosure listings (a comprehensive list of foreclosed properties and bank seizures) within particular regions. In the United States, a listing service will typically provide foreclosure listings based on county. When published, a foreclosure listing is made available to the public and posted on the Internet or through a publication or newsletter.

While the majority of foreclosure listings are made available to the public, some services will require a website registration or subscription service before potential buyers can view the information concerning home foreclosures in a specific area. Furthermore, some foreclosure listing services will only provide partial information for free and charge a fee to view attached details.

A foreclosure listing service will typically feature databases of foreclosed homes and bank seizures in a specific area; however, these services may also provide ancillary services, including investor seminars, probate sales, tax lien sales and pre-foreclosure home sales.