Distressed properties, including short sales and REOs, accounted for 29 percent of all home sales in the United States in January, according to new data released Thursday by First American CoreLogic. The company says it's the highest level of distressed transactions since April 2009. Among the largest markets, Riverside, California had the highest percentage of distressed sales at 62 percent, followed closely by Las Vegas, with 59 percent, and Sacramento with 58 percent.
New data from Clear Capital shows that U.S. quarter-over-quarter home prices in March dipped 3.9 percent, the first decline recorded by the company in nine months. The asset valuation firm's report says that the national quarterly downturn limited year-over-year gains to 5.1 percent, while REO saturation rates continued last month's trend, rising to 28.9 percent. Clear Capital says the numbers reflect the fragile and volatile state of many housing markets and could signal a trend to renewed price lows for some areas.
In a 7-1 vote, the California Senate Banking, Finance, and Insurance Committee approved a measure that would better protect homeowners in the Golden State who are at risk of foreclosure. SB 1275: Homeowners Bill of Rights contains two major provisions. It would require all mortgage servicers doing business in the state to evaluate delinquent borrowers for a modification before proceeding with foreclosure, and if a servicer fails to do so, it would give the homeowner the right to bring an action to either void the foreclosure or recoup damages.
For many U.S. markets, the return to peak home prices will be a long, slow road, according to Fiserv, Inc. The company says markets that experienced the biggest price bubbles, including certain metro areas in California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada, won't see home prices return to pre-crisis levels until 2025 or later. Many other markets, including major urban centers in the Northeast and industrial Midwest, may need to wait a decade or more until prices get back to to their previous peaks.
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