Q4  Foreclosure Sales Volume Down Despite 21 Percent Jump in December  
    28 Percent Average  Discount on Foreclosure Purchases in 2010

IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 24, 2011 — RealtyTrac® (http://www.realtytrac.com/gateway_co.asp?accnt=137300),  the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Year-End  and Q4 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™, which shows that foreclosure homes  accounted for nearly 26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the year,  down from 29 percent of all sales in 2009 but up from 23 percent of all sales  in 2008. The report also shows that the average sales price of these  foreclosure properties was more than 28 percent below the average sales price  of properties not in the foreclosure process — up from a 27 percent average  discount in 2009 and a 22 percent average discount in 2008.

A total of 831,574 U.S. residential properties either  owned by banks or in some stage of foreclosure — default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in 2010, a decrease of 31  percent from 2009 and a decrease of nearly 14 percent from 2008. Meanwhile  sales volume of non-foreclosure properties in 2010 decreased nearly 19 percent  from 2009 and nearly 27 percent from 2008.

A total of 149,303 foreclosure sales were recorded  in the fourth quarter, down 22 percent from the previous quarter and down 45  percent from the fourth quarter of 2009 — despite a 21 percent monthly uptick  in foreclosure sales volume in December. Mirroring the year-end statistics,  foreclosure sales in the fourth quarter accounted for 26 percent of total sales,  and foreclosure properties sold for an average sales price that was 28 percent  below the average sales price of properties not in foreclosure.

“Foreclosure sales in the fourth quarter faced the  twin headwinds of the expired homebuyer tax credit — which began to stifle  sales volume during the third quarter — and the foreclosure documentation  controversy, which hit in the fourth quarter and temporarily froze sales of  foreclosures from several major lenders,” said James J. Saccacio, chief  executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Given those factors, it’s not surprising that  in the fourth quarter foreclosure sales volume hit its lowest level since the  first quarter of 2008.

“Still, foreclosures continue to represent a  substantial percentage of all U.S. residential sales and continue to sell at an  average sales price that is significantly below the average sales price of  properties not in foreclosure — the result of a bloated supply of foreclosures  and weak demand from homebuyers,” Saccacio continued. “The catch-22 for 2011 is  that while accelerating foreclosure sales will help clear the oversupply of distressed  properties and return balance to the market in the long run, in the short term  a high percentage of foreclosure sales will continue to weigh down home  prices.”

Foreclosure sales by type
A total of 512,886 bank-owned  (REO) properties sold to third parties in 2010 — down nearly 32 percent  from 2009 — at an average discount of 36 percent, up from an average discount  of 33 percent in 2009. REO sales accounted for 16 percent of all sales in 2010,  down from nearly 18 percent of all sales in 2009 but still higher than the 13  percent of all sales they accounted for in 2008.

In the fourth quarter, a total of 95,683 REO  properties sold to third parties, down 17 percent from the third quarter and  down 43 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009. Fourth quarter REO sales  accounted for nearly 17 percent of all sales during the quarter at an average  discount of nearly 37 percent.

A total of 318,688 pre-foreclosure properties — in  default or scheduled  for auction — sold to third parties in 2010, down nearly 30 percent from  2009. Pre-foreclosure properties in 2010 sold at an average discount of 15  percent, down from an average discount of nearly 17 percent in 2009.  Pre-foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 10 percent of all sales in 2010,  down from nearly 11 percent of all sales in 2009 and virtually the same  percentage of sales as in 2008.

In the fourth quarter, a total of 53,620  pre-foreclosure properties sold to third parties, down 29 percent from the  previous quarter and down 49 percent from the fourth quarter of 2009. Fourth  quarter pre-foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 10 percent of all sales  during the quarter at an average discount of nearly 13 percent.

Nevada, Arizona, California post highest percentage of foreclosure sales  in 2010
Foreclosure sales accounted for 57 percent of all residential  sales in Nevada in 2010,  the highest percentage of any state, but still down from a peak of 67 percent  of all sales in 2009. Fourth quarter foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 59  percent of all sales in the state, up from nearly 54 percent in the third  quarter.

Arizona foreclosure sales accounted for 49 percent of all sales in 2010, the second  highest of any state but down from a peak of 54 percent in 2009. Fourth quarter  foreclosure sales accounted for 55 percent of all sales in the state, up from  46 percent in the third quarter.

California foreclosure sales accounted for 44 percent of all sales in 2010, the third  highest of any state but also down from a peak of 57 percent in 2009. Fourth quarter foreclosure sales in California accounted for 45 percent of all sales, up from 40 percent in the third quarter.

Other states where  foreclosure sales accounted for at least one-quarter of all sales in 2010 were  Florida (36 percent), Michigan (33 percent), Georgia (29 percent), Idaho (28  percent), Oregon (28 percent), Illinois (26 percent), Virginia (25 percent),  and Colorado (25 percent).

10 states post foreclosure discounts of more than 35 percent in 2010
Ohio foreclosures  sold for an average discount of nearly 43 percent in 2010, down from an average  discount of nearly 47 percent in 2009, but still the highest of any state. Kentucky foreclosures sold for an average discount of more than 40 percent in 2010, the second  highest of any state and up from nearly 38 percent in 2009.

Eight other states posted average foreclosure sale  discounts of 35 percent or more in 2010: Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin.

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report is  produced by matching national address-level arms-length sales deed data against  RealtyTrac’s foreclosure database of pre-foreclosure (NOD, LIS), auction (NTS,  NFS) and bank-owned (REO) properties. A property is considered a foreclosure  sale if a sales deed is recorded for the property while it was actively in some  stage of foreclosure or bank-owned. The foreclosure discount is calculated by  comparing the percentage difference between the average sales price of  properties not in foreclosure to the average sales price of properties in some  stage of foreclosure or bank-owned. States without sufficient foreclosure sales  data to calculate average prices are not included in the report.

Glossary of Terms
Foreclosure (FC) sale: a sale of a property that occurs while the property  is actively in some stage of foreclosure (NOD, LIS, NTS, NFS or REO). This  includes only sales to third-party buyers or investors not involved in the  foreclosure process. It does not include property transfers from the owner in  default to the foreclosing bank or lender.

REO sale: a sale of a property that occurs while the  property is actively bank owned (REO).

Pre-foreclosure sale: a sale of a property that occurs while  the property is actively in default (NOD, LIS) or scheduled for foreclosure  auction (NTS, NFS).

Pct. of all sales: total number of Foreclosure Sales (or  Pre-Foreclosure Sales or REO Sales) as a percentage of all residential sales  during the quarter or year.

Avg. FC sales price: the average sales price of Foreclosure Sales (or  Pre-Foreclosure Sales or REO Sales) during the quarter or year, excluding sales  with no sales price.

Avg. FC discount: the percentage difference between the average sales  price of foreclosure sales and the average sales price of non-foreclosure sales  during the quarter or year.

Avg. REO discount: the percentage difference between the average sales  price of REO sales and the average sales price of non-foreclosure sales during  the quarter or year.

Avg. pre-foreclosure discount: the percentage difference between the average sales  price of pre-foreclosure sales and the average sales price of non-foreclosure  sales during the quarter or year.

Report License
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report is the  result of a proprietary evaluation of information compiled by RealtyTrac; the  report and any of the information in whole or in part can only be quoted,  copied, published, re-published, distributed and/or re-distributed or used in  any manner if the user specifically references RealtyTrac as the source for  said report and/or any of the information set forth within the report.

About RealtyTrac Inc.
RealtyTrac (http://www.realtytrac.com/) is the leading online  marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 1.5 million default,  auction and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed  property, loan and home sales data. Hosting more than 3 million unique monthly visitors,  RealtyTrac provides innovative technology solutions and practical education  resources to facilitate buying, selling and investing in real estate. RealtyTrac’s  foreclosure data has also been used by the Federal Reserve, FBI, U.S. Senate  Joint Economic Committee and Banking Committee, U.S. Treasury Department, and  numerous state housing and banking departments to help evaluate foreclosure  trends and address policy issues related to foreclosures.

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Media Contacts:
Michelle Schneider
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michelle.schneider@realtytrac.com

Christine Stricker
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christine.stricker@realtytrac.com

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