Looking for Black Hills Foreclosures? Good Luck.

Many of the buyers who call me indicate they prefer (even expect) to snare one of those foreclosures from the deluge they hear about on TV. Every time, I have to say again: "All real estate is local." (As I discussed on a TV newscast recently about our local market. See the video clip in the right margin.)

And if you want a striking visual, check out the map here. USA Today provided it to show that over half of the 1,500,000 foreclosures last year came from just 35 of the nation's counties, having only 1/5 of the nation's total households.

News Flash: "South Dakota and The Black Hills" don't even show a blip.

Sure, we have foreclosures. But nothing like the places emphasized on the TV news. It's kinda like they show on the news after a snow storm. The news crew drives around til they find the one tree that fell on a car, then feature that in the descriptions of "devastation gripping our city."

The value of a good deal in real estate is not measured by how low the price is compared to what it used to be when the prior owner had it. It's how low the price is compared to what it will be when you sell it. So, consider this. If the Black Hills market has fared this well during this mess, how well do you think it will do when those 35 counties have flushed through their fractured real estate bubbles, and the TV news has moved on?

But for now, it's a sellers' market in foreclosures in the Black Hills, because so many people are vying for so few foreclosures. I'll take that situation any time.