Boomerang BuyerThis article was an interesting read, even though it wasn’t about a local buyer, it still is relevant so I wanted to share it with our readers.

Ever heard of the term boomerang buyer? If not, it is something you might want to be aware of if you thinking about buying or selling. The boomerang buyer is someone who went through a short sale or foreclosure during the most recent recession but are poised to come back into the real estate market as those credit transgressions fall off of their credit reports. If you are thinking of selling your condo or house but fear things might be slowing down, this might make you think twice as boomerang buyers are great candidates and they are motivated to own a home and are adding additional demand to the marketplace. Or if you are a person wanting to buy a new home but fear your past credit issues resulting from the recession will prevent that, this is worth a read as you might be a boomerang buyer.



The jest of the article?  There is a larger than expected percentage of buyers that will be coming into the housing market in the next year or two as boomerang buyers.  They are among the 7.2 million former home owners that went through a foreclosure or short sale during the house bust.  Those people who once owned a house or condo but due to the various factors that affected them during the recession had to walk away from their home.  Interestingly, despite the bad experience of losing a home, they desperately want to own again.  They have been repairing their credit, saving their down payment money, paying all their bills perfectly on time and are now getting ready to get back into the housing market as a home owner.

With lenders having guidelines that allow them to be more “forgiving”  after a 3-7 year period after a foreclosure or short sale, we are now entering that period  of time where a lot of people who lost their homes during the bust and now are in that window of time, where buying again might be a realistic possibility.

According to the article it’s not certain what overall impact boomerang buyers will have on the velocity of markets in specific areas, but it’s something to think about and consider if you are possibly thinking of selling your home.  Or if you are a person that would love to own again, but have some past credit issue, it might be worth chatting with a lender.

By Marco Kronen with Seattle Condo Review: A guide to Seattle downtown condos.