Foreclosures Account for 24 Percent of Q2 Residential Sales

IRVINE, Calif. — RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its Q2 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that foreclosure homes accounted for 24 percent of all residential sales in the second quarter of 2010 and that the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was more than 26 percent below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — down slightly from a 27 percent average discount in the first quarter.

A total of 248,534 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure — default, scheduled for auction or bank-owned (REO) — sold to third parties in the second quarter, an increase of nearly 5 percent from the previous quarter, but still down 20 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

“While foreclosure sales increased in the second quarter, non-foreclosure sales increased even more, spurred on by the homebuyer tax credit that expired during the quarter,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “That had the net effect of lowering foreclosure sales as a percentage of total sales during the quarter, but that may be a temporary dip as the removal of the tax credit could drive more buyers back to discounted short sales and REOs.”

Foreclosure sales by type in second quarter

A total of 151,290 bank-owned (REO) properties sold to third parties in the second quarter, up 3 percent from the previous quarter but down 28 percent from the second quarter of 2009. REO sales accounted for nearly 15 percent of all sales in the second quarter, down from nearly 19 percent of all sales in the previous quarter and down from nearly 20 percent of sales in the second quarter of 2009. REOs sold for an average discount of nearly 35 percent, close to the average discount of 34 percent in the previous quarter and also to the average discount of just over 35 percent in the second quarter of 2009.

A total of 97,244 pre-foreclosure properties — in default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in the second quarter, up nearly 8 percent from the previous quarter but down 3 percent from the second quarter of 2009. Pre-foreclosure sales accounted for 9 percent of all sales, down from nearly 12 percent of all sales in the previous quarter but nearly identical to the 9 percent of all sales in the second quarter of 2009. Pre-foreclosure sales, which are often short sales, sold for an average discount of nearly 13 percent, down from an average discount of nearly 16 percent in the previous quarter and down from an average discount of 19 percent in the second quarter of 2009.

Nevada, Arizona, California post highest percentage of foreclosure sales in Q2

Foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 56 percent of all sales in Nevada in the second quarter, the highest percentage of any state despite a decrease in foreclosure sales from the previous quarter and from the second quarter of 2009. Nevada pre-foreclosure sales jumped 29 percent from the previous quarter and were up 2 percent from the second quarter of 2009, but Nevada REO sales decreased 14 percent from the previous quarter and were down 43 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

Arizona foreclosure sales accounted for 47 percent of all sales in second quarter, the second highest percentage of any state. Pre-foreclosure sales in Arizona increased 9 percent from the previous quarter and 15 percent from the second quarter of 2009 while REO sales increased 15 percent from the previous quarter but were down nearly 34 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 43 percent of all sales in California in the second quarter, the third highest percentage among the states. California pre-foreclosure sales increased nearly 8 percent from the previous quarter but were down 4 percent from the second quarter of 2009. California REO sales increased 1 percent from the previous quarter but were down 45 percent from the second quarter of 2009.