The price gap between non-distressed properties and damaged REOs is widening, according to results from the January ""Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey"":http://www.insidemortgagefinance.com/housing_pulse/.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]According to the survey, while non-distressed property prices--based on a three-month moving average--have risen to their highest level in three years, damaged REOs, or bank-owned properties in need of repair, fell in January.
Prices for damaged REOs were down 17.1 percent from the average price recorded a year ago and average $88,100, the lowest level seen in the survey's four-year history.
The survey also found that while the investor share of purchases for damaged REOs has increased, interest for properties in that category has waned among current and first-time homebuyers.
In January, investors accounted for 65.4 percent of damaged REO home purchases, up from 58.1 percent a year ago and the highest level the survey has recorded thus far.
At the same time, current homebuyers accounted for just 15 percent of damaged REO purchases, while the share for first-time homebuyers was 19.6 percent, a near-record, according to the survey.
The HousingPulse survey includes about 2,500 real estate agents nationwide each month.