Survey Finds Short Sales Outnumber REO in January Purchases
Short sales accounted for 15.9% of home purchases in January, surpassing the share of other distressed property activity, when real estate owned (REO) properties are measured separately, according to a monthly Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance (IMF) survey of more than 1,500 real estate agents, conducted by Campbell Surveys.
The share purchases taken up by short sales surpassed the share of move-in-ready REO purchases (13.8%) and damaged REO (13.4%).
These figures show a reversal from a recent trend of fairly even distressed sales across these categories. As recently as November 2009, according to the Campbell/IMF survey, short sales accounted for 12.4% of purchases, while move-in-ready REO took 12.6% and damaged REO took 12.3%.
The January survey also showed first-time homebuyers most often purchased short sales. Campbell/IMF attributed this trend to the fact first-time homebuyers tend to only have one sale and closing time line to work around, whereas existing homeowners often have to plan around selling a current residence at the same time of purchasing a new residence.