Distressed Sales Rise Again Nationwide to 29% of All January Sales
According to First American CoreLogic, distressed home sales - such as short sales and real estate owned (REO) sales - accounted for 29 percent of all sales in the U.S. in January: the highest level since April 2009. The peak occurred in January 2009 when distressed sales accounted for 32 percent of all sales transactions. After the peak in early 2009, the distressed sale share fell to 23 percent in July, before rising again in late 2009 and continuing into 2010.
Distressed sales are non-arms length transactions such as REO or short sales. Market sales are arms-length transactions between a willing buyer and willing seller and they exclude distressed sales. Distressed sales have a very strong influence on home price trends and are an indicator of a housing market's health. The rebound in distressed sales occurred due to increases in both the REO and short sales shares.
Although the top 10 markets for foreclosures are all located in Florida, only two Florida markets, Orlando and Cape Coral, made the top 10 distressed sale list. The most likely reason: Florida is a judicial state where foreclosures process through the courts and take quite a bit longer than in California, Arizona or Nevada, where non-judicial foreclosures are the norm.
Orlando, Seattle and Houston were the only markets among the top 25 that experienced an increase in distressed sales, but the increases were small.
The average non-distressed market-sale price in January was $247,700 but the distressed average price was $161,600. The average REO price was $141,900, compared to $215,300 for short sales. The discount between market sales and distressed sales is currently about one-third and has been running at the low-to-mid 30s during the last 12 months.
Don't become a REO - short sales are better than foreclosures! Contact me right away if you are having trouble paying your mortgage. I have special training and loads of experience in this market!
Sherry Armstrong, Realtor
386-679-3191
yourkeytothebeach@gmail.com
www.sherryarmstrong.com
www.daytonabeachscene.com
www.ormondbeachscene.com
(data from RealEstateChannel.com)