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Top 10 places to buy a foreclosed home

Here are the Top 10 metropolitan areas to buy a foreclosed home, according to RealtyTrac:

9. Orlando, Fla. – 19 percent discount

Scott Audette/Reuters/File
A group of tourists walk down International Drive in Orlando in 2008. Metropolitan Orlando saw a 64 percent jump in foreclosure activity between 2011 and 2012.

  • By Laurent Belsie Staff writer

Unlike Chicago, Orlando’s strong points aren’t deep discounts or a vast supply – the metro has only a 19 percent discount on foreclosures and a smaller inventory of foreclosed homes to sell. But it has other things going for it, including a 64 percent jump in foreclosure activity between 2011 and 2012.

Orlando’s economy is also on the rebound. The central Florida metro's employment growth matches the national average. The median sales price for a single-family home has jumped 8.5 percent in the past year, according to the NAR. One reason: Hedge funds, investors, and institutional buyers are moving into Orlando to scoop up foreclosed properties the way they already have in other markets.

Foreclosure sales were nearly a third of all home sales last year. After investors poured money into Las Vegas and Phoenix, home prices jumped 20 percent and 34 percent in those areas, respectively. Thus, metro Orlando probably offers a limited window for getting a great deal in housing.

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Mark Sappenfield
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