Foreclosed Homes: 41% Of Total Home Sales

DETROIT (WWJ) - New numbers show that foreclosed homes make up 41 percent of total home sales for the second quarter of 2011 for the state of Michigan.

Realty Trac Senior Vice President Rick Sharga told WWJ that most property depreciation is for distressed homes, with prices way down.

"If you look at just non-foreclosure property sales on a year-over-year basis, we're actually seeing over a three percent increase in home prices. So, again, as soon as we can clear out the distressed inventory, the sooner we can take out the depreciation factor and the sooner the housing market can begin to heal."

Sharga credits benefits lenders, borrowers and prospective buyers for speeding up the processing of distressed properties.

"They're avoiding going through a full foreclosure proceeding on these borrowers who are in distress, accepting a discount earlier and clearing out this inventory before they have to go through a full foreclosure."