LONDON-Growth in global distressed property listings eased inmore than 85% of countries surveyed in a report by the RoyalInstitution of Chartered Surveyors.

In the second quarter, 13 of the 25 countries surveyed reportedan increase in distressed sales, an improvement on the 17 countriesreporting in the first quarter. The largest growth was reported inPortugal, followed by the US and Republic of Ireland. However, thepace of increase moderated across the majority of markets with onlythree countries - Portugal, Spain and Germany - reporting thatdistress in the market is increasing at a faster pace than lastquarter.

Real estate professionals expect the number of distressedproperties coming onto the market in the third quarter to increasefurther in 14 of 25 countries surveyed. Respondents in Portugal andIreland expect the fastest growth, followed by Spain andScandinavia.