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Quality of Life

Foreclosed Home Sales Down In California

Foreclosed Home Sales Down In California
Fewer foreclosed homes were sold in California compared to a year ago, but the price of those homes has gone up.

The number of foreclosed home sales in California is down. The average sales price for a home is up. The two pieces of good economic news come from the real estate tracking service, "Realty Trac."

Daren Blomquist with Realty Trac said 30 percent of California sales in the first three months of this year involved a foreclosed home, but that was down from nearly 40 percent a year ago.

"Home prices have clearly hit bottom in California and are rising up pretty rapidly and that is helping to lift all boats and help some homeowners - who were at risk for foreclosure - to be able to avoid foreclosure by selling their home or by refinancing because they now have equity in the home," Blomquist said.

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The number of short sales statewide was also down. Blomquist said people in the industry hope that's a sign of a stronger economy and not a sign banks are making short sales harder to come by.

The price of a foreclosed home was up by 21 percent in Sacramento and by 17 percent in Los Angeles compared to a year ago.