U.S. foreclosure sales prices are up 6 percent

The average sales price of bank-owned homes or homes in the process of foreclosure in the second quarter rose 6 percent quarter-over-quarter and 7 percent from the second quarter of 2011, according to a report released today by RealtyTrac. The average price comes in at $170,040 and marks the first year-over-year increase in average price since the second quarter of 2010, as well as the biggest year-over-year increase since the fourth quarter of 2006.

“There is a limited supply of available foreclosure inventory to choose from in many markets,” Daren Blomquist, the vice president of RealtyTrac, said in the release. “Given this shortage of supply and the seasonally strong buyer demand in the second quarter, it’s no surprise that the average foreclosure-related sales price increased on both a quarterly and annual basis.”

The amount of foreclosure-related sales dropped in the second quarter to a total of 224,429 — a 12 percent decrease quarter-over-quarter and a 22 percent fall from the second quarter of last year.

Homes in the process of foreclosure or ones that were already bank-owned sold at an average price 32 percent lower than a home not in foreclosure, the study found. This figure is up from a 30 percent discount quarter-over-quarter, as well as a 30 percent discount from the second quarter of 2011.

Pre-foreclosure homes — homes in default or homes scheduled for an auction that are often sold through short sales — traded for an average price of $185,062 in the second quarter. This price shows a 5 percent increase quarter-over-quarter and a 1 percent decline from the same period last year.

In total, sales of homes in some stage of foreclosure marked 23 percent of all residential sales across the nation in the second quarter — up slightly from the first quarter’s 22 percent and up from the 19 percent at the same period last year. — Zachary Kussin