US sales of bank-owned homes fell in 1st quarter

Source: AP-Excite

By ALEX VEIGA

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Bank-owned homes and those in some stage of the foreclosure process saw their share of overall U.S. home sales grow in the first quarter.

The increase was driven by a spike in short sales, or homes that sell for less than what the owner owed on their mortgage, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.

Short sales make up the vast majority of homes sold while still in the foreclosure process. Those that aren't sold or auctioned off typically end up being repossessed by banks, what most people commonly think of as foreclosures.

In the first quarter, short sales grew 25 percent from a year earlier, hitting a three-year high. In contrast, bank-owned properties declined 15 percent versus the first three months of last year, the firm said.

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