Freddie Mac's Winter REO Sales Promo Pays Extra to Selling Agents

Freddie Mac has announced the launch of a nationwide winter sales promotion to move its inventory of foreclosed homes and put them back into the hands of responsible homeowners purchasing a primary residence.

HomeSteps, the GSE’s REO sales division, will pay selling agents a $1,000 bonus for offers received on Freddie Mac-owned homes in select locations.
Initial offers must be received between November 15, 2011 and January 31, 2012 with escrow closed on or before March 15, 2012. The offer is valid only on HomeSteps homes sold to owner-occupant buyers.
Selling agent bonuses will be offered on HomeSteps sales in the District of Columbia and the following 28 states: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
The GSE is also extending additional incentives to its owner-occupant buyers. Throughout the winter sales promotion, HomeSteps will pay up to 3 percent of the final sales price towards the buyer’s closing costs.
Some HomeSteps homes are also eligible for a two-year Home Protect limited warranty that covers electrical, plumbing, air conditioning, heating, and other major systems and appliances. Home Protect also provides discounts of up to 30 percent on appliance purchases.
Freddie Mac held 59,596 single-family REO homes as of the end of September. According to the company, its HomeSteps properties accounted for about 4.4 percent of the nation’s inventory of foreclosed homes as of September 30, 2011.
The GSE says the pace of REO acquisitions remains slow due to continued delays in the foreclosure process – delays the company expects will continue into 2012. Freddie Mac acquired 24,385 REO homes through foreclosure during the third quarter of this year.
Currently, the GSE is selling more homes than it’s taking in. REO sales totaled 25,387 over the third quarter period.
Seventy-percent percent of HomeSteps homes are purchased by buyers intending to live in the homes as owner-occupants. Freddie Mac says its REOs sell for an average of 94 percent of the estimated market price