Growing share of home sales are from foreclosures

Associated Press - February 12, 2008 12:53 PM ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - It is another sign of the gravity of the housing market collapse.

A growing share of home sales are from foreclosures, especially in the hardest-hit states.

In some parts of California, nearly 50% of home sales involve foreclosed houses.

The problem is putting additional downward pressure on home prices. Other states hit hard include Nevada, Colorado, Tennessee and Michigan, while the problem is evident in Ohio, Georgia, Florida and Arizona, according to an Associated Press analysis. In Nevada, for example, 17.5% of home sales were from foreclosures, more than quadruple the number in 2006.

Thomas Blanchard, who sells bank-owned properties in Las Vegas, says he believes that 60% of properties on the market there are in foreclosure. He says the only people putting their homes on the market in Las Vegas are those who have to sell.