"I Want to Buy a Bank-Owned Home in Gig Harbor"

"I want to buy a bank-owned home in Gig Harbor."

This is quite often what current buyers tell me. Their assumption is that the only "real deal" out there is a home that has gone back to the bank.

So let's take a look at home sales last month in Gig Harbor, WA. Out of 42 single family home sales, 7 were bank-owned. I checked assessed value of each home and calculated how much over or under it sold for. Not that assessed value is an accurate price indicator, but it's a decent place to start the comparison.

The 35 non-bank-owned homes that sold in November ranged in price from $230,000 to $1,075,000.

Assessed values of these homes ranged from 217,600 to $1,050,100. Only 13 of the 35 sold for more than assessed value, the rest (22) sold for below assessed value. How much over and how much under? Between 66.76% and 169.03%.

The 7 bank-owned homes ranged in price from $200,000 to $514,000.

Their assessed values were between $365,400 and $677,300. 6 of the 7 sold for less than assessed value, 1 sold for more. In this category, the sales prices ranged from 54.73% to 102.12% of assessed values.

Is buying a bank-owned home a good deal? Sure, in some cases. Just make sure that deferrred maintenance issues are factored into your decision. Especially in the winter months, a vacant home may develop some undesirable issues.

Can you get a good deal on a non-bank-owned home in Gig Harbor? Based on last month's sales, it sure looks possible. There are a lot of well-kept homes for sales in nice neighborhoods. Don't limit your possibilities - you just may find a "real deal" that's not a bank-owned home in Gig Harbor.