According to a study released by RealtyTrac on May 29, 2013,
there were 107,371 distressed sales during Q1 2013. This accounted for 21% of
the total market, down from 25% at this time last year.
During the height of the foreclosure crisis in early 2009, 45%
of all homes sold nationally were foreclosures. The most striking trend in
distressed property sales now is the decline in short sales, where deals are
made on homes that are worth less than what sellers owe to the bank. Banks approve
the sales to prevent the home from going through the costly foreclosure
process, and forgive the unpaid debts. Nationally, short sales fell 35% in the
first quarter, compared with 12 months earlier.
The decrease in short sales may be attributed to rising home
prices as it takes away the incentive for a short sale on the part of both the
homeowner and lender.
Distressed property sales will continue to shrink as fewer
homeowners fall behind on their mortgages. Lenders repossessed fewer than
35,000 homes in April, a third of the number of foreclosures repossessed during
September 2010.
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