home sale trends

Home sales tumbled this summer, and foreclosed properties bore the brunt of the pain. Sales of foreclosed homes plunged 31% from the year-ago period -- and 25% from the previous quarter. Prices for these properties also fell more than other homes.

Pending home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell 1.8% in September, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday. It was the statistic's first decline in three months, and one that suggests that the housing sector's recovery is likely to remain uneven through at least early 2011.

New data from RealtyTrac shows that 24% of all U.S. properties sold in the second quarter were foreclosed homes. The group projects that the U.S. "will get through the distressed inventory largely by the end of 2013."

A Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey published last week suggests that most homeowners think the worst is over, and don't anticipate further declines in the value of their properties in 2010. Just 15% of homeowners surveyed in January expected their homes to decline in value over the...

The percentage of Americans owning homes that are under water is falling, according to Zillow's third-quarter Real Estate Market Reports, which focus on 156 metropolitan areas. The other good news is that home values were relatively flat between the second and third quarters, so the price declines...