Foreclosed Homes in U.S. Appreciate Faster than Typical Homes

According to a new report by Zillow, the value of U.S. homes that were foreclosed on during the Great Recession is appreciating rapidly, up 10.3 percent over the past year, while the typical U.S. home is appreciating 6.5 percent annually. Throughout the recovery, foreclosed homes have gained 74.5 percent in value, compared to about 46 percent for all homes. This means that homes that were foreclosed on during the housing crisis have made far greater gains in value than the typical U.S. home. While the value of foreclosed homes is quickly appreciating - they finally passed their pre-recession peak 10 months earlier than all homes - the people who lost their homes to foreclosure during the housing bust have not benefited from these gains. And because nearly half of all homes foreclosed on during the bust were low-end homes, the housing bust widened the gap between the rich and poor in the U.S.