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IRVINE, CA-The number of US properties in some stage of foreclosure or REO that were sold during the first quarter decreased 18% from the previous quarter, down 22% from first-quarter 2012, according to locally based online real estate and foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac. In addition, non-foreclosure short sales decreased 4% during the quarter, the firm reports.

Foreclosure-related sales accounted for 21% of all US residential sales during the first quarter, down from 25% of all sales in first-quarter 2012 and down significantly from a peak of 45% of all sales in first-quarter 2009. Properties not in foreclosure that sold as short sales in the first quarter accounted for an estimated 15% of all residential sales, bringing the total share of distressed sales during the quarter to 36%, according to RealtyTrac. Non-foreclosure short sales also trended lower in the first quarter, down 10% from the previous quarter and down 35% from first-quarter 2012.

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Carrie Rossenfeld

Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.