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| Daren Blomquist |
IRVINE, CA — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the
nation’s leading source for comprehensive housing data, released its January
2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that institutional
investors — defined as entities purchasing at least 10 properties in a calendar
year — accounted for 5.2 percent of all U.S. residential property sales in
January, down from 7.9 percent in December and down from 8.2 percent in January
2013.
The January share of institutional investor purchases
represented the lowest monthly level since March 2012 — a 22-month low.
Metro areas with big drops in institutional investor share
from a year ago included Cape Coral-Fort Myers Fla. (down 70 percent), Memphis,
Tenn., (down 64 percent), Tucson, Ariz., (down 59 percent), Tampa, Fla., (down
48 percent), and Jacksonville, Fla., (down 21 percent).
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| Michael Mahon |
Counter to the national trend, 23 of the 101 metros
analyzed in the report posted year-over-year gains in institutional investor
share, including Atlanta (up 9 percent), Austin, Texas, (up 162 percent),
Denver (up 21 percent), Cincinnati (up 83 percent), Dallas (up 30 percent), and
Raleigh, N.C. (up 15 percent).
The report also shows that short sales and
foreclosure-related sales — including both sales to third party buyers at the
public foreclosure auction and sales of bank-owned properties — accounted for a
combined 17.5 percent of all U.S. residential sales in January 2014, up from
14.9 percent of all sales in December but down from 18.7 percent a year ago.
“Many have anticipated that the large institutional
investors backed by private equity would start winding down their purchases of
homes to rent, and the January sales numbers provide early evidence this is
happening,” said Daren Blomquist.
“It’s unlikely
that this pullback in purchasing is weather-related given that there were
increases in the institutional investor share of purchases in colder-weather
markets such as Denver and Cincinnati, even while many warmer-weather markets
in Florida and Arizona saw substantial decreases in the share of institutional
investors from a year ago.”
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| Sheldon Detrick |
"We have seen the big hedge fund investors entering
into particularly the Columbus and Cincinnati markets, trying to buy up
portfolios of distressed properties and then turning those properties into
rentals, and I think that’s contributing to the lower levels of inventory
available on the market.” said Michael Mahon, Executive Vice President
at HER Realtors, covering the Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton markets in Ohio.
“We’ve also seen a dramatic decrease in short sales
because of the expiration of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which
provided short sellers protection from being taxed on debt forgiven through a
short sale.”
“Buyers are starting to emerge again, and we are seeing
multiple offers on REO properties due to low levels of available homes on the
market,” said Sheldon Detrick, CEO of Prudential Detrick/Alliance Realty
covering the Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Okla., markets. “Increased demand of properties and reduced supply of housing
inventory result in price escalation, which explains the continued increase in
home prices throughout the market.”
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| Chad Ochsner |
“The Denver metro area did not experience the typical
winter slowdown that many markets across the country experienced and we
continue to be very busy,” said Chad Ochsner, owner of RE/MAX Alliance
covering the Denver, Colo., market.
“Our January year-over-year sales counts are up about 7 percent, which
is really encouraging. I think it has a
lot to do with improved consumer confidence and low interest rates.”
“The Salt Lake Valley market is showing a 5 percent
decrease in the number of residential properties sold compared to last year,
but the market is still in line with projected home price increases of 5 to 7
percent,” said Steve Roney, CEO of Prudential Utah Real Estate covering
the Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah markets. “Housing inventories remain low, but are gradually growing as
underwater homeowners regain equity positions in their homes.”
“The Park City resort market tells a different story with
a slight increase in the number of properties sold and a slight decrease in
median sales prices. Park City housing
inventory is at a historic low with significant demand for entry-level housing
and ultra-high-end resort properties,” he added.
For a complete copy
of the company’s news release, please contact:
Jennifer von Pohlmann
PR Manager
Office: 949.502.8300 ext
139
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