Nearly Half of Home Purchases Are Distressed Properties

Nearly Half of Home Purchases Are Distressed Properties The share of home purchase transactions involving distressed properties surged to almost half in February, reported the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance Monthly Survey of Real Estate Market Conditions. The report said distressed properties–those involving homes acquired as part of a foreclosure or pre-foreclosure sale–accounted for 48.1 percent of home purchase transactions tracked, up from the 37.3 percent level recorded as recently as November. It was also the highest distressed property market share seen since July. Short sales now account for the number-one category of distressed property, said Thomas Popik, research director for Campbell Surveys. Losses on short sales are typically lower than for REO, and both lenders and the government are pushing programs to facilitate short sales. But as more and more people default or simply want to walk away from their properties, mortgage servicers are having trouble expeditiously processing these complicated transactions.

Jeff Schurman Executive Director TAVMA P.O. Box 1196 Wexford, PA 15090 www.tavma.org