U.S. residential properties sold at an estimated annual pace of nearly 5.15 million in November, up 10% from 2012, according to housing data source RealtyTrac.
The November 2013 U.S. Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report includes single family homes, condominiums, and town homes. Despite the double-digit climb from last year, the sales pace rose less than 1% from the revised pace of nearly 5.13 million homes in October, related to the volume of distressed versus non-distressed properties on the market, according to RealtyTrac.
November sale volume declined from the previous month in 18 states on an annualized basis and was down from 2012 in four states: California (down 14%); Arizona (down 12%); Nevada (down 9%); and Rhode Island (down 4%). Additionally, annualized sales volume was down from one year ago in 14 of the nation’s 50 largest metros, including seven in California and two each in Arizona and New York, along with declines in Las Vegas, New Haven, Conn., and Portland, Ore.
Sales volume is expected to keep going down unless more non-distressed sellers enter the market, RealtyTrac says.
However, the national median sales price of all residential properties, including distressed and non-distressed sales, rose 1% to $169,000 in November from the previous month, a 7% increase from 2012. This represents the 19th consecutive month of median home prices increasing on an annualized basis, according to RealtyTrac.
Distressed residential properties, whether those in foreclosure or bank-owned, logged a $110,500 median price in November, 39% less than the median $181,500 sales price of non-distressed residential properties.
“Lenders are taking advantage of this environment to unload more of their bank-owned inventory and in-foreclosure inventory at the foreclosure auction,” ” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, in a statement. “But as the backlog of distressed inventory available dries up in many of the markets with the most efficient foreclosure processes—namely California, Arizona and Nevada, with Georgia not far behind—overall sales volume is declining and will continue to do so until more non-distressed sellers enter the market.”
