The nationwide percentage of bank-owned sales, third-party foreclosure auction sales, and short sales declined during the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions.
ATTOM’s 2017 U.S. Home Sales Report found that distressed sales accounted for 12.5 percent of all home sales during the third quarter of 2017, down from 13.5 percent in the previous quarter and down from 14.1 percent one year ago. The 12.5 percent is the lowest level in 10 years.
“Distressed sales nationally are now the exception rather than the rule, and we would expect the distressed sale share to return to the pre-recession norm of single-digit percentages within the next year given the current downward trajectory,” ATTOM Data Solutions Senior Vice President Daren Blomquist said in a release. “Distressed sales have become more localized in nature, with some of the biggest increases from a year ago in markets experiencing regional economic weakness or a natural disaster event that has triggered a jump in foreclosure activity.”
Although the nationwide percentage of distressed sales declined, there are still metropolitan areas where they still represent a higher-than-normal share of real estate transactions. According to the report, shares of distressed sales were highest in Atlantic City (35.2 percent); McAllen-Edinburg, Texas (24.5 percent); Montgomery, Ala. (23.7 percent); Akron, Ohio (23.2 percent); and Youngstown, Ohio (22.5 percent).
The metropolitan areas with the smallest share of distressed sales were San Jose, Calif. (3.1 percent); Salt Lake City (3.3 percent); Austin, Texas (4.1 percent); San Francisco (5.2 percent); and Provo-Orem, Utah (5.5 percent), ATTOM found.
Twenty-percent of the metropolitan areas analyzed experienced year-over-year increases in percentage of distressed sales during the third quarter, the report found. Those areas included Corpus Christi, Texas (up 33 percent); Indianapolis (up 30 percent); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (up 29 percent); Baton Rouge, La. (up 25 percent); Provo, Utah (up 22 percent); and Oklahoma City (up 22 percent).
Other areas experiencing year-over-year increases in distressed sales were New York (up 6 percent); Dallas (up 13 percent); Houston (up 7 percent); Philadelphia (up 1 percent); and Phoenix (up 6 percent).
The report also found that the median sales price nationwide in the third quarter was $248,000, up 10 percent from a year ago to a new all-time high. ATTOM said the third quarter was the second consecutive quarter where median home prices nationwide were above the pre-recession peak.
ATTOM said median home prices increased to new all-time highs in 55 of 126 metro areas analyzed, including in Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit and Seattle. Median home prices remained below pre-recession peaks in 43 of 126 metropolitan areas analyzed, including in New York (6 percent below); Chicago (10 percent below); Philadelphia (2 percent below); and Washington, D.C. (3 percent below).
The report said the areas where median home prices during the third quarter were the furthest below the pre-recession peak were York, Pa. (60 percent below); Naples, Fla. (24 percent below); Modesto, Calif. (21 percent below); Bridgeport, Conn. (20 percent below); Mobile, Ala. (19 percent below); and Las Vegas (19 percent below).
The markets with the biggest year-over-year increases in median home prices were Ann Arbor, Mich. (up 16 percent); Ocala, Fla. (up 16 percent); Salt Lake City (up 14 percent); San Jose, Calif. (up 14 percent); St. Louis (up 14 percent).