The California Association of Realtors [1] (CAR) released a new report, revealing sales of distressed homes have plummeted in the past five years. The report comments that sales of distressed homes have shrunk due to rising home prices.
In January, 2009, 69.5 percent of all homes sold in California were distressed, which included short sales and real estate-owned properties (REO). The report issued Monday noted that five years later, distressed home sales made up only 15.6 percent of sold homes.
During the same time period, the report notes, "California's median home price has soared more than 64 percent from $249,960 in January 2009 to $410,990 in January 2014."
"The dramatic drop in the share of distressed sales throughout the state reflects a market that is fully transitioning from the housing downturn," said CAR President Kevin Brown. "Significant home price appreciation over the past five years has lifted the market value of many underwater homes, and as a result, many homeowners have gained significant equity in their homes, resulting in fewer short sales and foreclosures."
Statewide, the share of equity sales hit a high of 86.4 percent in November 2013, and has been above 80 percent for the past seven months.
Stainslaus County was one of the hardest hit counties, experiencing a distressed market of 93.6 percent in 2009. The market has since shrunk to 24.8 percent in Stanislaus County. San Joaquin County’s share of distressed sales made up 93 percent of available homes; that figure has since dropped to 25.1 percent.