ATTOM Data Solutions released its Q3 2016 U.S. Home Sales Report, which shows that distressed sales — including bank-owned (REO) sales, sales of homes actively in foreclosure, and short sales — accounted for 12.9 percent of all U.S. single-family home and condo sales, down from 15 percent in the previous quarter and down from 15.9 percent in Q3 2015.
That’s the lowest share of distressed home sales since Q3 2007, when distressed sales accounted for 12.3 percent of all home sales. The peak in share of distressed sales was Q1 2009 at 43.9 percent.
The report also shows that all-cash purchases accounted for 25.9 percent of all single-family home and condo sales in Q3 2016, down from 27.4 percent in the previous quarter and down from 29.2 percent a year earlier to the lowest level since Q3 2007, when all-cash purchases accounted for 24.3 percent of all home sales.
The peak in share of all-cash purchases was Q1 2011 at 44.8 percent.
“Distressed inventory for sale is virtually non-existent in many of the nation’s hottest housing markets, and when a distressed property is listed for sale in those markets it often sells quickly and at little or no discount,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a press release. “The scarcity of discounted distressed inventory is chasing away cash buyers and other bargain hunters, but it’s certainly good news for home sellers, who nationwide realized the biggest home price gains since purchase in nine years.
“We are seeing the average seller home price gain since purchase start to wane in some of the highest-priced markets where appreciation is beginning to cool, indicating those markets are past their prime as sellers’ markets,” Blomquist continued. “Meanwhile there are still a number of buyers’ markets across the country where a high level of lingering distress and relatively weak demand from owner-occupant buyers provides investors with plenty of bargain-buying opportunities.”
Nationwide single-family homes and condos sold for a median price of $230,000 in Q3 2016, up 6 percent from the previous quarter and up 10 percent from a year ago to a new all-time high — 1 percent above the pre-recession peak of $227,000 in Q3 2005.
Out of 118 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed in the report, 47 reached new all-time home price peaks in Q3 2016, including Dallas; Atlanta; Detroit; Seattle; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Baltimore; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; and San Antonio.
Metro areas with the biggest year-over-year increase in median sales prices in Q3 2016 were Jacksonville, Fla. (up 24 percent); Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla. (up 17 percent); Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. (up 17 percent); Chicago (up 17 percent); and Pensacola, Fla. (up 15 percent).
Nationwide, homeowners who sold in Q3 2016 sold for an average of $43,000 above their purchase price, a 23 percent average home price gain since purchase — the highest since Q3 2007.
Among 118 metropolitan statistical areas with at least 1,000 single family and condo sales in the third quarter, those with the highest average home price gain since purchase were San Jose, Calif. (68 percent); San Francisco (67 percent); Portland, Ore. (51 percent); Seattle (51 percent); and Los Angeles (49 percent).
Homeowners who sold in Q3 2016 realized an average loss in home price since purchase in five of the 118 markets analyzed.
Among metropolitan statistical areas with at least 1,000 single family home and condo sales in Q3 2016, those with the highest share of distressed sales were Toledo, Ohio (36.4 percent); Tucson, Ariz. (24.4 percent); Rockford, Ill. (23.8 percent); Las Vegas (20.9 percent); and Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla. (20.1 percent).
Metro areas with the lowest share of distressed sales in Q3 2016 were Anchorage, Alaska (3.7 percent); Austin, Texas (4.2 percent); Boulder, Colo. (4.6 percent); Asheville, N.C. (5.4 percent); and Springfield, Mo. (5.7 percent).
Among metropolitan statistical areas with at least 1,000 single family and condo home sales in Q3 2016, those with the highest share of all-cash purchases were Raleigh, N.C. (53.1 percent), Miami (45.8 percent); Naples, Fla. (45.2 percent); Ocala, Fla. (44.9 percent); and North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. (43.2 percent).
Nationwide, buyers using loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) accounted for 15.9 percent of all single family and condo home sales in Q3 2016, down from 16.1 percent in Q2 2016 and down from 16.7 percent a year ago.
Nationwide, institutional investors (entities purchasing at least 10 homes in a calendar year) accounted for 2.7 percent of all single-family and condo home sales in Q3 2016, up from 2.6 percent in the previous quarter and up from 2.2 percent a year ago. It was the second consecutive quarter where the institutional investor share of sales increased from a year ago following 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year decreases.