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IRVINE, CA—“Distressed salescontinue to represent a smaller share of the overall sales pienationwide, helping to boost median home prices higher given thatdistressed sales tend to be in lower price ranges,” according toDaren Blomquist, VP ofRealtyTrac. The firm reports that distressed andshort sales were doen to 14.3% of US residentialsales in May, down from 15.6% in April and down from 15.9% in May2013.

As GlobeSt.com reported earlier this week, USresidential properties, including single-familyhomes, condominiums and townhomes, sold at an estimated annual paceof nearly 5.2 million in May, a number that is virtually the sameas April and representing an increase of less than 1% from May2013, according to a report fromRealtyTrac. However, median home pricesincreased 6% in May as compared to April and rose 13% from May2013, representing the biggest annual increase since US home pricesbottomed out in March 2012.