9:45pm | The share of distressed homes sold in March fell from February, while pending home sales rose, according to a California Association of Realtors report issued on Wednesday. 

“Consistent with the state as a whole, nearly all the counties for which we have data also experienced an improvement in distressed sales,” CAR President Beth L. Peerce said in a statement. “However, distressed sales in most of the counties were higher than a year ago, as the market continues to work through large numbers of troubled mortgages.”

The improvement in distressed sales is particularly positive for affordable markets, such as Long Beach, where many homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments or have been forced into a selling situation.

CAR’s distressed housing market data is as follows:

  • The total share of all distressed property types sold statewide fell in March to 51 percent, down from 56 percent in February. It was unchanged from March 2010.
  • Non-distressed sales made up the remaining 49 percent of sales in March, up from 44 percent in February, but unchanged from March 2010.
  • Of the distressed properties sold statewide, the total share of REO (real estate-owned) sales was 31 percent in March, down from 33 percent in February and down from 32 percent in March 2010.
  • The statewide share of short sales also dropped in March to 20 percent, down from 23 percent in February but up from 19 percent in March 2010.

The median price of homes sold in the state ranged by property type. Non-distressed properties sold for much higher prices than short sales and foreclosures, according to the CAR report.

“Price differences across short sales, REOs and non-distressed properties reflect variances in the condition of the property, with REOs typically being in worse condition than short sales and non-distressed properties,” the report states. “A seller’s circumstance, such as needing to sell under duress, is also a factor.”

The statewide median price of non-distressed properties sold in March was $386,500, 41 percent higher than the short sale median price of $274,700 and 88 percent higher than the REO median price of $205,000 for the same time period, according to the report.

Pending California home sales in March rose from February, with an index of 128.7 last month. That’s 15.2 percent over February’s revised index of 111.7, based on contracts signed in March, according to CAR. The index was down 0.3 percent from March 2010, when the presence of housing tax credits played a strong role in home sales.

Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market, according to CAR.