A housing market bottom this year, and record-low mortgage rates are making homes more affordable than they have been in the past decade. Yet inventory of homes on the market has fallen by more than 20 percent over the past year – meaning many would-be home buyers are having a difficult time finding the right home. Buyers need a leg up in this kind of market, and that’s why today Zillow is excited to introduce pre-market inventory to the home search.
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Starting today, home shoppers on Zillow will be able to search for and find rich information on 1.2 million pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties, for free. These are homes that are not yet listed for sale, nor are they freely available on an MLS or other real estate sites. By giving buyers the ability to find information on homes that are about to come on to the market – inventory that typically only savvy investors know how to find – Zillow opens up more choice and opportunities to help buyers find the right home.
Once a buyer finds a pre-market home they are interested in, Zillow helps connect them with a local foreclosure specialist who can help take the next steps toward purchasing the home.
And because buying one of these properties is not your typical transaction, we’ve also created the Zillow Foreclosure Center, which offers has a tremendous amount of information and how-to guides on buying a distressed property or foreclosed home. Plus, the center also offers tips for homeowners and renters who could be faced with foreclosure.
To see the pre-market inventory in your area, select foreclosed and pre-foreclosure when you start your home search, then sign in to get the full details on these properties.
UPDATE: On October 26th, we corrected the number of pre-market properties found on Zillow that was originally cited in this blog post and in the press release as 1.8 million, but the correct number is 1.2 million.