In addition to a deep average discount on short sales, the Chicago metro is one of the top places to buy foreclosed homes, with an average discount of 49.1 percent. Chicago sold 2,409 pre-foreclosure homes in the fourth quarter of 2011, at an average sale price of $156,349. That's a 28.9 percent increase from the fourth quarter of 2010.
Blumquist notes that the big winners in the shift to short sales are the neighborhoods. A number of foreclosed homes can doom the value of other properties nearby, because they usually sit vacant for several months and deteriorate. Homeowners who agree to a short sale get to stay in their house while it's on the market, maintaining its condition and more of its value.
