With rising home values and fewer foreclosures, the share of distressed sales to total residential sales continues to be on the downtrend, according to the June 2014 REALTORS® Confidence Index. Distressed sales accounted for 11 percent of sales in June: 8 percent of reported sales were foreclosed properties, and about 3 percent was short sales.
In December 31, 2013, the tax break from mortgage debt forgiven as a result of a short sale expired. About 12 percent of REALTORS® reported that they have experienced a case where a seller decided not to sell due to the tax implications.
