California’s distressed housing market is a shadow of what it was at the height of the Great Recession, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) reported today.
In January 2009, nearly seven of every 10 homes sold in California were a short sale or foreclosure. This January that number had shrunk to 15.6 percent.
CAR President Kevin Brown said today’s report confirms the state’s housing market is transitioning from the housing depression.
Some of California’s hardest-hit communities have experienced dramatic reductions in distressed sales. CAR reported Riverside County went from 79 percent in January 2009 to 15.6 percent in January 2014. San Joaquin County – where foreclosure bus tours were popular in Stockton at one time – went from 93 percent five years ago to 25 percent.
Brown notes that home appreciation over the last five years has helped underwater owners, which is why there’s been a reduction in short sales and foreclosures.
