65% of Sacramento, California Homes Sold in May Were Bank-Owned

The Wall Street Journal reports:

The Sacramento Association of Realtors says that a whopping 65.5% of 1,654 homes sold by Realtors in May were bank-owned, foreclosed, homes. The median sales price in Sacramento County and the City of West Sacramento May was $230,250, down 34.2% from a year ago.

The good news for the overall housing market is the inventory of foreclosed homes is starting to move. Realtor sales overall in Sacramento in May were up 76% from a year ago and up 14% from April, the local trade group said.

But as housing economist Thomas Lawler pointed out in a recent research note, “non-distressed home sellers found little solace” in the Sacramento sales “boom.” The banks appear to be offering bargain basement prices that mom-and-pop home sellers can’t stomach.

Ouch.