Banks have 2 year supply of unwanted houses, 1Q 2011 foreclosures consume greater share of market-AP

.
Banks alone have a 2 year supply.

5/26/11, "Report: Sales of foreclosed homes fell in 1Q," AP, by Alex Veiga

Foreclosures in the first quarter "accounted for 28 percent of all home sales — a share nearly six times higher than what it would be in a healthy housing market....While the number of bank-owned properties sold declined,

• they grew as a share of all home sales....

"It's an astronomically high number," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. "In a normal market, you're looking at the percentage of homes sold in foreclosure to be

• below 5 percent."

In California, foreclosure sales accounted for 45 percent of all home sales in the first quarter, down from nearly 48 percent a year earlier. The average foreclosure property sold for nearly

• 34 percent less than the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure.

In Arizona, foreclosure sales represented 45 percent of all home sales for the quarter, down from 47 percent a year earlier.

Several other states had foreclosure sales that accounted for at least one quarter of all home sales in the first quarter:

• Idaho, Florida, Michigan, Oregon,
  
• Virginia, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia and Ohio."

via GWP