Foreclosures Make Up Larger Percentage of Sales

Irvine, CA, Aug. 30, 2012 -- Homes in foreclosure, as well as sales of bank-owned homes declined sharply in the second quarter due to limited supply, according to tracking firm RealtyTrac.

However, foreclosure sales as a percentage of all sales grew in the quarter, RealtyTrac said.

Homes linked to foreclosure represented 23% of all home sales in the quarter, up from 19% a year earlier and 22% in the first quarter.

The combination of fewer bank-owned homes for sale and stronger demand pushed sale prices higher.

Bank-owned homes and those in the foreclosure process posted the biggest annual increase in average sales price since 2006.

As of last month, there were 1.47 million U.S. homes in some stage of the foreclosure process or owned by banks.

Of the 620,751 owned by banks, only about 15 percent are listed for sale, according to RealtyTrac.