Foreclosed home sales in area, state down in third quarter 2010

There were 53 foreclosed homes sold in the Fort Smith region during the third quarter of  2010, down from the 68 in same quarter of 2009, and with the average price discount hitting 37% on a foreclosed home sold in Sebastian County.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac reported Thursday (Dec. 2) foreclosure homes accounted for 25% of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2010 and the average sales price of properties that sold while in some stage of foreclosure was more than 32% below the average sales price of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 26% discount in the previous quarter and a 29% discount in the third quarter of 2009.

Sebastian County had 21 foreclosed homes sold during the third quarter at an average price of $88,325. In the third quarter of 2009 there were 38 foreclosed homes sold in Sebastian County at an average price of $83,642. The foreclosed homes sold in Sebastian County during the quarter represented 6.75% of all home sales in the period.

Crawford County had 17 foreclosed homes sold during the third quarter at an average price of $86,722. The average sales prices was 24.85% lower than the average price for non-foreclosed home sales. In the third quarter of 2009 there were 21 foreclosed homes sold in the county at an average price of $91,091. The foreclosed homes sold in Crawford County during the quarter represented 13.6% of all home sales in the period.

Leflore County in Oklahoma had 14 foreclosed homes sold during the third quarter at an average price of $78,349. The average sales prices was 23.74% lower than the average price for non-foreclosed home sales. In the third quarter of 2009 there were seven foreclosed homes sold in the county at an average price of $78,875. The foreclosed homes sold in Leflore County during the quarter represented 16.47% of all home sales in the period.

Arkansas had 521 foreclosed homes sold during the third quarter, down 47.74% compared to the same quarter of 2009. Also, the 521 homes represented 12.76% of homes sold statewide during the quarter. The average foreclosed home sale price was $128,368, a 20.6% discount from the average sale price of non-foreclosed home sales.

Oklahoma had 604 foreclosed homes sold during the third quarter, down 39.6% compared to the same quarter of 2009. Also, the 604 homes represented 10.25% of homes sold statewide during the quarter. The average foreclosed home sale price was $96,377, a 35.61% discount from the average sale price of non-foreclosed home sales.
 
A total of 188,748 U.S. properties in some stage of foreclosure sold to third parties in the third quarter, a decrease of 25% from the previous quarter and a decrease of nearly 31% from the third quarter of 2009, according to the RealtyTrac report. The average sales price of properties in some stage of foreclosure was $169,523, down 2.46% from the previous quarter and down 0.44% from the third quarter of 2009.

“The expiration of the homebuyer tax credit in the second quarter created a substantial dip in overall buyer demand in the third quarter,” RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said in a statement. “Demand for foreclosures also dipped in the third quarter, but those who did purchase a short sale or REO during the quarter were able to get an average discount of more than 32 percent — the highest average foreclosure discount we’ve seen since the fourth quarter of 2005.