Short sales have dropped significantly this year in Meridian by about 49%. In total, there were 306 short sales last year compared to only 144 sold to date in 2013. Short sales peaked last year in May at 38, and then dropped to their lowest in the last couple of months; 6 in October and 7 in November. The significant decline started last fall and continued to decrease with various peaks, but started to fall dramatically in the late summer of ’13.
Not only have the number of short sales declined in Meridian this year, but we are also seeing the same drop in the number of bank-owned and HUD home sales. As you can see in the graph below, in the last two years, bank-owned and HUD homes peaked at 35 in March of 2012, however in just one year they dropped to just 2 in March of this year. That is a 94% decline in 12 months short months. On average this year, bank-owned and HUD homes have dropped by 39%. This is slightly lower than the drop in short sales which have dropped by 49%.
The graph below gives a snap shot of the drop we’ve been seeing this year on the foreclosure rate in general. The most recent foreclosure rate in November was 10.2% of real estate sales. This reflects a 52% drop in just one year, compared to a 21.7% foreclosure rate in November the previous year. The decline shows the increased stability we’ve been seeing this year in the market not only in Meridian but also through the entire county. Also, the low rate has only varied slightly since early summer, varying between 10.3% and 6.7%.
