If this article gets enough publicity, maybe more people will attempt the practice. But I don’t think that NAR’s argument that such buying hurts “the average consumer” holds water. These new purchases are bringing down the comps, and moreover their old home is going back to the bank as foreclosure and which will be eventually sold for even less. So as an “average consumer” waiting on the sideline for the prices to drop to more reasonable ranges, I for one am not bothered at all by this practice, at least from a market perspective. Also, presumably owners that buy-and-bail are less likely to be bitter, and therefore less likely to cause unnecessary damage to their foreclosed homes when they leave.
This is all much better than the bank quietly writing down the loan and not allowing the local market to have the benefit of a low comp, and also better than a bitter owner leaving without a new home and intent on trashing the house.
