Homes that were either in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 26% of all U.S. residential sales during the first quarter, according to new data from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac. This is up from 22% of all sales in the fourth quarter of 2011 and up from 25% of all sales in the first quarter of 2011.
Third parties purchased a total of 233,299 residential properties in some stage of pre-foreclosure – defaults and scheduled foreclosure auctions – or real estate owned (REO) properties during the first quarter, an increase of 8% from the previous quarter and virtually unchanged from the first quarter of 2011. The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or REO properties was $161,214 in the first quarter, down 1% from the previous quarter and down 2% from the first quarter of 2011.
Third parties purchased a total of 109,521 pre-foreclosure homes – in default or scheduled for auction – during the first quarter, an increase of 16% from the previous quarter and an increase of 25% from the first quarter of 2011. First-quarter pre-foreclosure sales were at their highest quarterly level since the first quarter of 2009. Third parties purchased a total of 123,778 REO homes in the first quarter, up 2% from the previous quarter but down 15% from the first quarter of 2011.
Foreclosure sales accounted for 56% 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% from the first quarter of 2011.
California foreclosure-related sales accounted for 47% 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% from the previous quarter and down 4% from the first quarter of 2011.
Foreclosure sales accounted for 46% of all residential sales in Georgia during the first quarter, the third-highest percentage of any state. Other states where foreclosure-related sales accounted for at least one in four sales in the first quarter were Arizona (40%), Michigan (39%), Illinois (31%), Colorado (30%), Wisconsin (28%), Oregon (27%), Minnesota (27%), Washington (26%) and New Hampshire (26%).