One in four home sales are foreclosures; Short-sales hit 3-year high ...

This morning RealtyTrac? released its U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report? for the first quarter of 2012, which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the first quarter ? up from 22 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter and up from 25 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2011. The report also shows that, during the quarter, there were 109,521 short-sales, an increase of 16 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 25 percent from the first quarter of 2011 and the highest level since the first quarter of 2009.

Short sales are Hot and Cheap!

Not only did short sales increase to their highest level in 3 years during first quarter (hmm?.maybe we?re seeing some of the benefits of new deadlines imposed on lenders for responding to short sales?) and accounting for 12 percent of all home sales during the first quarter (up from 10 percent the prior quarter) but the average price paid for them dropped to $175,461, a decrease of 4 percent from the previous quarter, a decrease of 10 percent from a year ago and the lowest average pre-foreclosure price on record since RealtyTrac began tracking them in the first quarter of 2005.

Competition is causing prices to stay steady on REO?s

The increased interest in investing in rental real estate as well as the fact that REO?s are the ?low-hanging fruit? have driven up demand and, in contrast to short-sales, holding prices steady on REO?s. Additionally, as REO inventories decline, there are less opportunities. There were 123,778 bank-owned (REO) homes in the first quarter, up 2 percent from the previous quarter but down 15 percent from the first quarter of 2011. REO sales accounted for 14 percent of all sales in the first quarter, up from 13 percent of all sales in the previous quarter but down from 15 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2011. REOs sold for an average price of $147,995 in the first quarter, down less than 1 percent from the previous quarter and up 2 percent from a year ago. The average sales price of a bank-owned home in the first quarter was 33 percent below the average sales price of a non-foreclosure home, down from a 34 percent discount in the fourth quarter and a 37 percent discount in the first quarter of 2011.

Nevada, California, Georgia post highest percentage of foreclosure sales
Foreclosure sales accounted for over half (56 percent) of all residential sales in Nevada in the first quarter, the highest percentage of any state. The average price of a foreclosure-related sale in Nevada during the first quarter was $116,695, nearly identical to the average price in the previous quarter but down 5 percent from the first quarter of 2011.

California foreclosure-related sales accounted for 47 percent of the state?s total residential property sales in the first quarter, the second-highest percentage among the states. The average price of a foreclosure-related sale in California was $235,042 during the first quarter, an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous quarter and down 4 percent from the first quarter of 2011.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 46 percent of all residential sales in Georgia during the first quarter, the third highest percentage of any state. The average price of a foreclosure-related sale in Georgia during the first quarter was $103,909, down 3 percent from the previous quarter and down 10 percent from the first quarter of 2011.

Other states where foreclosure-related sales accounted for at least one in four sales in the first quarter were Arizona (40 percent), Michigan (39 percent), Illinois (31 percent), Colorado (30 percent), Wisconsin (28 percent), Oregon (27 percent), Minnesota (27 percent), Washington (26 percent), and New Hampshire (26 percent).

Atlanta sees largest annual increase in short sales, followed closely by Detroit?
Among the nation?s 20 largest metropolitan statistical areas, those with the biggest annual increases in pre-foreclosure sales were Atlanta (78 percent), Detroit (75 percent), San Antonio (74 percent), Sacramento (70 percent), and Dallas (69 percent).

Minneapolis has largest increase in REO Sales, with Boston close behind?

Metro areas with the biggest annual increases in REO sales were Minneapolis (33 percent), Boston (30 percent), Philadelphia (22 percent), Atlanta (15 percent), and Chicago (13 percent).

Related posts:

1. One in five home sales is a foreclosure and only two-thirds the cost of a non-foreclosure home
2. Foreclosures account for 28 percent of all home sales in first quarter 2011; Selling at discount of 27 percent
3. Buyers of distressed properties in third quarter reaped largest discount in five years
4. Three in Ten Home Sales in 2nd Quarter were Foreclosures
5. U.S. Foreclosures up slightly in January; down 17 percent from year before

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