During the fourth quarter of 2015, the share of distressed inventory was again roughly one in ten for central Ohio, according to the 4Q-2015 Lender-Mediated Properties report from Columbus Realtors.
A “lender-mediated” property is one that is listed as a bank-owned/REO, HUD, short sale, VA, or foreclosure.
The 605 lender mediated properties for sale at the end of 4Q-2015 in central Ohio was 34 percent lower than those reported in 2014, in addition to being down 15.4 percent from the previous quarter.
Nearly 25 percent of the distressed properties for sale in central Ohio were in the $80,000 or below price range. Twenty-four percent of distressed properties fell between $80,000 and $160,000.
“Properties that are in the process of a short sale or foreclosure may not appeal to everyone, but there’s still a strong market for them,” suggests 2016 Columbus Realtors President John Royer. “It might be beneficial for central Ohio home buyers to consider the option of a distressed property, particularly while the traditional supply of homes and condos continues to be so low.”
The number of lender-mediated properties added to the market during the fourth quarter was down 30.3 percent from a year ago and also fell 20 percent from the previous quarter. As a result, the number of lender-mediated new listings accounted for 13.1 percent of all new listings added during the fourth quarter.
The median sales price of all residential properties rose 4.3 percent in 4Q-2015 to $154,900. The median sales price of a traditional home rose 3.1 percent to $168,000, yet the median sales price of a lender-mediated home declined five percent to $68,505.
Fewer distressed homes for sale resulted in fewer sales during the fourth quarter. There were 971 residential lender-mediated sales during 4Q-2015, down slightly from the 985 distressed homes sold during the same period in 2014.
The share of all lender-mediated closed sales fell to 15 percent, just 0.8 percent lower than the same period in 2014.
Although the inventory of traditional homes (those not in a distressed state) was down 26.6 percent from properties for sale a year ago, sales of traditional homes were up 5.1 percent to 5,521, in 4Q-2015.
During the twelve months of 2015, the share of lender-mediated sales fell 9.1 percent to land at 13.7 percent of the market. In 2011, distressed properties made up 35.1 percent of the sales.
“It’s impressive to realize how much of the distressed inventory we’ve been able to absorb over the past five years,” said 2016 Columbus Realtors President John Royer. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we anticipate this to be the norm for a while.”
