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Foreclosures Bring Out Bargain Hunters

August 14, 2008 6:21 PM

ABC News' Charles Herman reports:  Homes in foreclosure shot up 55 percent this past July compared  with  a year ago. 

And for some, that’s good news.

The National Association of Realtors reported today that home sales actually increased in many parts of the country where foreclosure signs instead of “for sale” signs dot neighborhood lawns. 

From April to June of this year, home sales increased 26 percent in California, 25 percent in Nevada, 21 percent in Arizona and 10 percent in Florida from the first three months of this year.  By way of comparison, foreclosures increased 19 percent in California, 26 percent in Nevada, 25 percent in Florida and 36 percent in Arizona according to RealtyTrac.

Foreclosures and short sales --  in which  a homeowner can sell a home for less than the loan -- accounted for  one-third  of all sales of existing homes in the second quarter. 

But those lower prices pushed the home prices down across the nation.  The median existing single-family home sold for $206,500 in the second quarter, down 7.6 percent from a year ago. Home prices fell in more than three out of four U.S. cities.

Sales prices dropped dramatically in places like Sacramento (down 36 percent) and Fort Myers,  Fla.,   (down 33 percent) and Riverside (down 33 percent).  “Each of these areas has seen a strong buyer response in recent months to the big cuts in home prices,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the realtors association.

While some home buyers profited from others homeowners misery, home sales nationwide dropped 16 percent.  Last year, 5.87 million units sold from April to June.  For this year, only 4.91 million homes were sold.

August 14, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (2)

User Comments

Posted by: johnvanwezenbeeck | Aug 14, 2008 7:52:07 PM

Posted by: Huh | Aug 25, 2008 11:56:21 AM

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