There were over 11,000 foreclosure property sales in Houston alone last year. And with an increasing number of properties making it to some stage of foreclosure since then, including pre-foreclosure, default notice and foreclosure auction, there are thousands of properties out there in Houston to choose from, whether for living in or investment purposes.

Keep in mind that many properties on bank and government foreclosure listings in Houston require a little bit of fixing up and maintenance work to get them back to good as new ? but the costs of those repairs are most of the time minimal as compared to the actual market price difference you save. A national daily reports that an average house on market price went for almost $240,000 whereas a foreclosed property went for just about less than half of that ($115,000).
Another way to gain perspective on this is to consider the most highly-priced property on the regular market that went for almost $9 versus the most expensive foreclosure property that was sold for just a little over $1 million. Many of the houses on foreclosure listings in Houston are very good deals but as with most real estate transactions it is best to get one inspected by a licensed inspector before bidding.

It is also a good idea to get in touch with a realtor in your area of interest that specializes in foreclosure properties to find out about the auction bidding process. And with foreclosure properties making up more than 15% of all real estate transactions in Houston over last year it has become much more likely that you'll find something of interest there.