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How can you really tell that the real estate market in some regions has peaked and is on its way down? When the auctions at the county courthouse are not attracting the buyers they once did and those properties are having a hard time selling. When a home is foreclosed upon it typically is sold by auction at the county courthouse.

And in this age of Carlton Sheets and all of the other no money down courses for people looking to get rich selling real estate advertised incessantly on the television flocking to the courthouse to get the deal of a lifetime, this is amazing. The amateurs that would bid  up homes past the point of profitability following the concepts of these courthouses is the bane of all the people who have bought and sold homes over the years.

But now even these folks have understood that homes that are mortgaged to the hilt and have no equity in a market that is stagnant and has the potential to decline is not the smartest idea.

All of them are trying to scoop up homes that belonged to others who died, divorced, were thrust into bankruptcy or fell too far behind on their mortgage payments and failed to sell.But these days, those investors are having a harder time finding good deals, as the once red-hot housing market cools amid rising mortgage interest rates.

Many homes that do end up in court are saddled with more than one mortgage and have little or no equity - so the investors take a pass. “In the last six months or so, it has been like this,” said James Lee, who has mined trustee auctions for investment property for 15 years.

When home price increases were stronger, investors could buy a property and sell it a few months later for a hefty profit. “Now you’re getting into the market where there’s plenty to buy, but there’s nowhere to sell it,” said Peter Winn, owner of San Diego-based Westminster Investments. via the AP Wire

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