The average price of foreclosures sold in the second quarter rose 7% from last year while the total number of foreclosures and REOs hitting the sales block declined 22%, RealtyTrac said Thursday.
For the first time in two years, the average foreclosure sales prices jumped annually, RealtyTrac concluded.
Overall, foreclosure-related sales accounted for 23% of all home sales in 2Q, up 19% from last year and 22% from the first quarter.
Despite distressed sales making up a larger portion of all 2Q home sales, raw foreclosure data shows total U.S. foreclosure sales falling 22% from year ago levels with only 224,429 sales classified as REOs or foreclosures in 2Q.
Foreclosures that did sell during the second quarter saw their average price rise 7% to $170,040.
RealtyTrac views the nation’s declining number of foreclosures and escalating prices as evidence the distressed asset inventory has fallen.
“The second quarter sales numbers provide solid statistical evidence of what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from real estate agents, buyers and investors over the past few months: there is a limited supply of available foreclosure inventory to choose from in many markets,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac. “Given this shortage of supply and the seasonally strong buyer demand in the second quarter, it’s no surprise that the average foreclosure-related sales price increased both on a quarterly and annual basis.”
The average price of a distressed property may have risen, but it’s still selling below non-distressed assets, RealtyTrac said.
For example, homes in foreclosure or bank-owned properties sold at an average price that is 32% lower than what non-distressed assets went for in the second quarter.
