This morning RealtyTrac® released its U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™ for the first quarter of 2012, which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 24 percent of all St. Louis metro area home sales during the first quarter — up from 17 percent of all St Louis home sales in the fourth quarter and the same as the first quarter of 2011. The report also shows that, during the quarter, over 10 percent (10.36) of St Louis metro home sales were short-sales, an increase from 5.85 percent the previous quarter and an increase from 7.46 percent from the first quarter of 2011.
St Louis Short sales are Hot and Cheap!
Not only did St Louis short sales increase 77 percent in the first quarter of 2012 form the prior quarter, (hmm….maybe we’re seeing some of the benefits of new deadlines imposed on lenders for responding to short sales?) and accounting for 10 percent of all home sales during the first quarter but the average price paid for them dropped to $88,384, a decrease of 8 percent from the previous quarter, and a decrease of 21 percent from a year ago when the average price was $111,833.
Competition is driving prices up on St Louis REO’s
The increased interest in investing in rental real estate as well as the fact that REO’s are the “low-hanging fruit” have driven up demand and, in contrast to short-sales, are driving prices up on REO’s in St. Louis. Additionally, as REO inventories decline, there are less opportunities. St Louis REO sales accounted for 13.5 percent of all St Louis home sales in the first quarter, up from 11 percent of all sales in the previous quarter but down from 16.18 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2011. St Louis REOs sold for an average price of $77,041 in the first quarter, an increase of over 11 percent (11.6) from the previous quarter and about the same as a year ago.
One in three home sales in the City of St Louis are foreclosures…worst in State…
During the first quarter, over one-in-three (34.92 percent) of all home sales in the City of St. Louis were foreclosures, a higher rate than any other county in the state of Missouri (I know the city of St Louis is not a county, but since it is not part of St Louis County it is treated as a county for the purposes of RealtyTrac’s report). In St Louis county, 23.13 percent of the home sales in first quarter were foreclosures, St Charles county 27.58 percent, Jefferson County 23.32 percent and Franklin County 11.29 percent. For Missouri as a whole, 23.27 percent of all home sales during the first quarter of 2012 were foreclosures.
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