O.C. short sales gain traction

(Update: Short sale listings also on the rise.)

Some Realtors say the sale of a home for less than the owner owes on it has gotten smoother, while others say those underwater sales are as difficult as ever.

Whatever the case, Orange County’s year-long uptick in “short sales” increased another notch last month, rising to 21.3% of all existing home sales, according to figures from the Southern California Multiple Listing Service.

That’s up from 19.4% in September and the highest percentage this year.

Short sales also outpaced the sale of repossessed homes, or REO’s, for a second straight month, even though REO sales increased slightly, too.

Details from the latest SoCal MLS report include:

  • Orange County home sellers completed 530 short sales in October, 80% more than took place at the start of the year.
  • Short sales on average accounted for 18.6% of O.C. homes sold through the MLS during the first nine months of the year, falling as low as 16.7% in March.
  • Repossessed homes resold by lenders accounted for 17.8% of sales in October, down from 44% at the start of the year.
  • All distressed sales combined jumped to just over 1,000 in October.
  • But distressed sales accounted for just 40.7% of all existing home sales last month, vs. 64.8% at the start of the year.click to enlarge

Posted in: Selling patterns • • posted by Jeff Collins

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