Boomerang Buyers Emerge From 7-Year Hiatus

Here’s a bit of good news for Fort Lauderdale luxury home sellers; real estate analysts are predicting that a large group of home buyers will enter the luxury real estate market. After a seven-year absence, “Boomerang Buyers” are poised to start buying again.

The term Boomerang Buyers was coined in the wake of the subprime mortgage debacle. It describes folks negatively affected by the housing crisis. The group includes Baby Boomers and GenXers who got entangled by the effects of the Great Recession. For many who found themselves caught in the crossroads of the subprime mortgage cliff-dive and residential valuation collapse, short sales and foreclosures became their only option. This option damaged the credit ratings of millions of former homeowners, making it impossible for them to qualify for a new mortgage.

According to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosures, “the first wave of…homeowners who lost their home to foreclosure or short sale during the foreclosure crisis are now past the seven year window they conservatively need to repair their credit and qualify to buy a new home.” The number of these Boomerang Buyers might surprise you. “Nearly 7.3 million potential boomerang buyers nationwide will be in a position to buy again from a credit repair perspective over the next eight years,” says RealtyTrac. A similar opinion was expressed by Bankrate, the mortgage and financial advice website, which sees the group as particularly well-qualified.

According to FICO, a credit rating company, a foreclosure remains on a credit report for seven years, with the negative impact fading as time passes. Guidelines for the credit repair waiting period have sometimes been three years for FHA qualifiers, or even shorter for portfolio loans that lenders keep on their own books. Whether it’s three or seven years, the clock usually starts ticking only when a foreclosure has been completed.

If you are thinking about selling your home, now might be a good time to learn its market value. Contact us to request a free highest-price analysis. We can also discuss the best time to take advantage of potential Boomerang Buyers.