One fourth of sales foreclosure-related in third quarter

(Crain's) — Nearly one-fourth of all homes sold in Illinois during the third quarter were foreclosure-related, mirroring the national figure and consistent with the second quarter.

There were 6,844 foreclosure-related sales in Illinois the third quarter, accounting for 24.7% of all homes sold in the state, according to a report released Thursday by Irvine, Calif.-based online distressed-property listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.

The number of foreclosure-related sales in Illinois decreased from 8,909 in the second quarter, but the percentage of overall sales was relatively unchanged because there were fewer sales in the third quarter.

Nationally, the 188,748 foreclosure sales in the third quarter accounted for roughly 25% of all homes sold.

Foreclosure-related sales include bank-owned properties and other homes in some stage of foreclosure. They include homes sold by banks and short sales — when the homeowner and the bank agree to sell the property for less than what is owned on the mortgage.

“The expiration of the homebuyer tax credit in the second quarter created a substantial dip in overall buyer demand in the third quarter,” James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, said in the report. “Demand for foreclosures also dipped in the third quarter, but those who did purchase a short sale or REO during the quarter were able to get an average discount of more than 32 percent — the highest average foreclosure discount we've seen since the fourth quarter of 2005.”

The average sales price of a foreclosed home in Illinois was $142,214 in the third quarter, up from almost $140,000 in the second quarter. That's about 41% below the average sales prices of homes that weren't being foreclosed on.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.