New homes are being "dumped" too, either by the builder or bank. I think the better bargains are in existing homes with distressed owners. In those instances they are not dealing with folks sophisticated in the financial world of residential mortgages.

The builders and mortgage bankers know their way around, and have many more resources available. I believe it is more difficult to get a panic sale out of them, but I have seen real bargains from completely fed up bankers who are tired of hanging on to a new property. Sometimes they are told to dump a new place rather than maintain it any longer. It looks bad for the uber-manager of the institution to have them on the books.

Arf