When we examined Concord Foreclosure Homes to see how much cheaper they were than regular Concord homes sold in the same period, we discovered they were substantially cheaper to buy.

Looking at the neighboring city of Walnut Creek, we can find an even greater margin between Walnut Creek foreclosure homes and traditional Walnut Creek home sale prices.

Using the  same January 2010 to December 2010 period, and the same parameters of single family homes between 1000 and 2000 square feet in living space, we again find a good sampling of Walnut Creek homes to examine.

During this period, there were 149 traditional Owner occupant-to-Buyer transactions and 50 bank owned repo home foreclosure sales.  This is a far different ratio than the nearly 50% foreclosure home sales we found in Concord.

The traditional Walnut Creek home sales averaged $383/ sq. ft., while the Walnut Creek foreclosure homes that sold brought only $316/ sq. ft.

If we take the middle-sized home in this sample, that means a foreclosure home in Walnut Creek sold for nearly $100,000 less than the same sized Walnut Creek single family home that was not bank or short sale related.

Again, we must assume that in a bank to Buyer transaction the condition of the home is often much worse than a “normal” sale, and there are certainly disclosure differences between what a bank or corporate real estate owner must disclose and what an owner occupant seller must disclose (It should be noted, however, that a short sale seller has the same obligation to disclose as a traditional equity seller).

Still, a single family detached foreclosure home in Walnut Creek that needs only carpet, paint, and a little clean up can reap huge upside rewards over a “move in condition” Walnut Creek home!

Especially if you will be changing the carpet and paint in a year or two anyway!