Investors pushing up prices of bank-owned properties

REO prices have risen 5.5 percent over the past year, whereas market sales prices have fallen 2.9 percent, Clear Capital reports in its April housing data index.

REO (real estate owned) typically are foreclosures or distressed properties taken back by banks and other lending institutions. Since they are viewed as non-performing assets, banks are eager to move them out of their portfolios as quickly as possible. Investors are snatching up REOs, fueling price gains for distressed properties.

Clear Capital, which measures median price per square foot, finds that REO prices are rising at a much quicker pace than prices for non-REO sales.

“Should investor interest continue to drive the expansion of REO-to-rental programs over the next several months, there could be a significant impact on the market overall in terms of providing a rising floor to home values,” says Alex Villacorta, Clear Capital’s director of research and analytics.