By: Jason Kobely, Internet News Producer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- More than one-fifth of the San Francisco Bay area properties that fell into foreclosure this year belonged to real estate investors instead of overextended homeowners.
That's according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which is also reporting Sunday that one in six of the properties repossessed through September had been owned by people with two or more foreclosures in their names.
Experts said the region's frenzied real estate market and the availability of subprime loans enticed novice and experienced speculators to snatch up properties with hopes of flipping them into a quick return.
The newspaper's analysis of more than 6,500 repossessed homes and condominiums found both naive investors and perpetuators of fraud among those facing multiple foreclosures. Nearly 70
percent of the investor-owned housing was purchased without a down payment.
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