Foreclosure Sales Nearly Third of Total in Q1

Miami, FL, July 13, 2010–Foreclosure Deals, an online company specializing in information about foreclosures, said that 31% of all residential properties sold in the first quarter were foreclosure properties.

The company said the statistic shows that people are continuing to turn to the foreclosure market as a plentiful source of low cost homes.

With 232,950 foreclosure homes sold during the first quarter, the total is down slightly from the final quarter of 2009, and down 33% from the total foreclosure homes sold in the first quarter of 2009.

The falling total sales could be an indication of a shrinking market, but falling prices over the same period show that foreclosure homes can still be purchased at prices far below the national average. The price of a foreclosure during the first quarter was 27% below the average sale price of a traditional home sale.

According to statistics, foreclosure home sales did increase by 25% from 2008 to 2009, and over 320% since 2007. During the first quarter, foreclosures accounted for more than 50% of home sales in California, Nevada and Arizona. Foreclosure homes accounted for at least 33% of home sales in Michigan, Massachusetts, Florida, Georgia and Illinois.

Bank-owned and REO properties accounted for 19% of all residential sales during the first quarter, with an average market value discount of 34%. Pre-foreclosure homes, or homes in default, accounted for 12%.