Connecticut ranked second in the nation for the largest share of distressed home sales in November 2015 at 19.1 percent, according to an analysis of real estate trends by the California-based data and analytics company CoreLogic.
Nationally distressed sales, which include real-estate owned (REO) and short sales, accounted for 11.9 percent of total home sales nationally in November 2015, down 1.9 percentage points from November 2014 and up 1.4 percentage points from October 2015.
According to CoreLogic, the national month-over-month increase was expected due to seasonality, and the magnitude of the change was in line with previous Novembers.
Maryland had the largest share of distressed sales of any state at 20.2 percent1 in November 2015
While the numbers may seem a cause for concern, the company cautions there will always be some level of distress in the housing market, and rightfully so, it added, as distressed sales help to clear out foreclosed properties.
CoreLogic said the pre-crisis share of distressed sales was traditionally about 2 percent. If the current year-over-year decrease in the distressed sales share continues, it will reach that “normal” 2-percent mark in mid-2019.
The company also cites additional positive indicators.
Within the distressed category, REO sales accounted for 8.7 percent and short sales accounted for 3.2 percent of total home sales in November 2015. The REO sales share was 1.5 percentage points below the November 2014 share and is the lowest for the month of November since 2007. The short sales share fell below 4 percent in mid-2014 and has remained in the 3-4 percent range since then. At its peak in January 2009, distressed sales totaled 32.4 percent of all sales, with REO sales representing 27.9 percent of that share.
All but nine states recorded lower distressed sales shares in November 2015 compared with a year earlier.
