In ZIP codes across the country, as once-inflated property prices bottom out housing sales are increasing dramatically. Earlier this year Herson and Liz Enerio put in a $400,000 bid on a four-bedroom house on a private street in Fairfield, Calif., with three pine trees and a backyard that opens onto a hiking trail.
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One would think that the 30-year-old police officer and his wife, who works as a nurse, were well positioned to negotiate, especially in a market like Fairfield, a town about 40 miles from both San Francisco and Sacramento where more than 80% of homes for sale are owned by banks or by homeowners facing foreclosure. For one thing, the people selling the home are under water on their mortgage and are trying for a so-called short sale, where the lender agrees to take less than what’s owed to prevent a foreclosure. But the Enerios decided to play it safe, bidding $1,000 above the asking price and offering to cover some of the closing costs, because Fairfield-like many of the most battered areas of California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona-is suddenly hot again.
Signs of Life In The Real Estate Market