Florida Among Biggest Sales Gains In 2008 Due To Foreclosures

Foreclosures drove U.S. home sales up 7 percent in 2008 after a 40 percent plunge the prior year, with eligible buyers lured by deep discounts and low loan rates, according to real estate data company Radar Logic. So-called "motivated sales," or foreclosed houses sold at auctions or by financial institutions, surged 177 percent last year while all other sales in the 25 metro areas tracked by Radar Logic fell by 17 percent. "The market seems to have migrated to the point where motivated sales have become a far more constant part of the housing sales market," Michael Feder, chief executive of Radar Logic, told Reuters. These distressed transactions represented as much as a third of all activity last year, he said. "Buyers recognize that those are at significant discounts versus what all other people are asking for homes and are migrating to those first," Feder said. Ultimately, that could be a positive for housing, suggesting there is a price point that has been reached that is attracting buyers, he added. The biggest sales gains were in areas with the largest annual price declines: California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida.

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