Distressed sales in Tampa among highest in nation

TAMPA — Distressed home sales in the Tampa region, which include real estate-owned and short sales, were among the highest in the nation, according to data provider CoreLogic.

Of the 25 largest core based statistical areas based on mortgage loan count, the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area had the third largest share of distressed sales, with a rate of 18.6% in March 2016. The Baltimore area, at 19.8%, region had the highest rate, the report shows. Chicago, Orlando and Newark, N.J. are the remaining regions in the top five.

Florida as a whole also had one of the highest shares of distressed sales, the study says. The state's rate was 17%, ranking as the fourth highest nationwide. Maryland, Connecticut, Michigan and Illinois round out the top five.

Nationwide, distressed sales accounted for 9.9% of total home sales, the report says. That is a drop of 2.7 percentage points from March 2015 and a drop of 1.7 percentage points from February 2016.