Foreclosure prices rise to highest increase since 2006

Foreclosure sales prices rose 6 percent in the second quarter and were up 7 percent year-over-year, RealtyTrac reports. This marks the largest annual increase in foreclosure-related sales prices since 2006.

During the second quarter, the average foreclosure-related sales price was $170,040.

“The second-quarter sales numbers provide solid statistical evidence of what we’ve been hearing anecdotally from real estate agents, buyers, and investors over the past few months,” said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president. “There is a limited supply of available foreclosure inventory to choose from in many markets. Given this shortage of supply and the seasonally strong buyer demand in the second quarter, it’s no surprise that the average foreclosure-related sales price increased both on a quarterly and annual basis.”

Still, foreclosure and other distressed properties (real-estate owned, or REO) sold at an average price that was 32 percent lower than the average price of a non-foreclosure home.

Meanwhile, the gap between REO sales and short sales continued to narrow during the second quarter. REO sales outnumbered pre-foreclosure sales by 9,833 – the smallest difference since the third quarter of 2007.

The number of short-sale transactions rose 18 percent year-over-year, accounting for 14 percent of all sales during January through May time period, RealtyTrac reports.