Distressed sales account for 45 percent of existing home sales
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) estimates that distressed sales have accounted for 45 percent of existing home sales in recent months, which is one reason why prices have fallen so sharply. The combination of falling home prices and lower mortgage rates has made home ownership much more affordable. The NAR Housing Affordability Index has surged more than 50 points over the past 6 months and is at an all-time high.
In Florida, nearly two-thirds of all sales are foreclosures and short sale properties, many of which are not counted by real estate agents since they are sold at auction or by banks directly to home buyers.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I would be interested to have these statistics expanded…what kind of properties have been involved…my reading tell me that it is going to reflect a large number of properties that were purchased specifically for short term speculation. Once these are out of the system…I think the picture will be very different.
April 24th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
There is still a lot of inventory out there and I think that prices are going to stay very good for the buyers for quite some time. That said, I have to believe we are near the bottom