by Calculated Risk on 4/25/2011 08:39:00 AM

From Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse: HousingPulse Distressed Property Index Rises for Month; Homebuyer Traffic Flattens

The HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI), a key indicator of the health of the U.S. housing market, rose to 48.6 percent in March – the second highest level seen in the past 12 months.
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The HousingPulse DTI indicated that nearly half of the housing market is now distressed properties. This trend is likely to continue as a backlog of foreclosures and mortgage defaults make their way through the housing pipeline.
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Survey respondents reported mixed opinions on traffic for the winter and spring housing market. “January, February and March sales were characterized by a wait and see attitude of buyers.
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[S]hort sales boomed in the month of March and the proportion of damaged REO fell. Short sales rose from 17.0% in February to a record-high 19.6% in March. Damaged REO fell from 14.9% in February to 12.0% in March.

This fits with other data showing a high level of distressed properties, and this suggests further declines in the repeat transaction house price indexes.