Foreclosure fuels sales bounce in hard-hit areas

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Good trend-spotting by the Wall Street Journal: ‘Home sales are rising in some U.S. metropolitan areas where lenders have slashed prices on foreclosed properties.’

Metro areas such as? Such as Sacramento: ‘In California’s Sacramento County, sales of single-family homes totaled 1,669 in April, up 41% from a year earlier, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a research firm. The median sales price was $226,250, down 34%. Alan Wagner, president of the Sacramento Association of Realtors, says the rise reflects more aggressive pricing by lenders. ‘They’ve got to liquidate inventory. They’re taking that house and dropping $100,000 off the price, and all of a sudden they’ve got multiple offers,’ he says. Some homes that sold for more than $400,000 a couple years ago now go for $225,000 to $260,000, Mr. Wagner says.’

Lastly, check out what has happened in the city of Detroit: The average price of a home sold in the first four months of the year dropped 56% from year-ago levels to $20,514. That is not a typo.

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