Call It REO Slow Wagon

Just before the start of the holiday season, philanthropist and investor Fred Kavli snagged a newly built REO property in Camarillo, CA for $10.8 million. The seller, Bank of America, shed the Creekside Executive Center in one of the largest transactions in Ventura County in the past few years. Another national bank also recently went to market with a portfolio of three REO properties and 22 performing and non-performing loans in California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida. The pack consisted of a golf course in California and residential land lots in California and Nevada.

Although these examples and a handful of others in recent months seem to indicate that REOs are increasing, quality is the important consideration in such deals, according to Gary Goodman, a senior vice president of acquisitions at Passco Cos. LLC. He says that REO activity varies widely, depending on product type and location.