REALESTATE REPORT

Ritzy homes selling well

Home sales overall are down this year from last, but luxury home sales are way up, according to a report released last week by the real-estate listing service Redfin.

Sales of the priciest 1 percent of homes in the markets covered by Redfin are up 21.1 percent so far this year, following a gain of 35.7 percent in 2013.

The price needed to reach that top 1 percent varies widely by metro area.

In San Francisco, the most expensive 1 percent of homes sold for $5.35 million or higher. Next most expensive are the metro areas of Los Angeles, where the top 1 percent of sales start at $3.65 million; Orange County, Calif. ($3.45 million); San Jose, Calif. ($3.38 million); and Miami ($2.9 million).

At the bargain end, buyers could land in the top 1 percent by spending $815,000 in Raleigh, N.C.; $861,000 in Atlanta; or $881,000 in Minneapolis.

Foreclosure rate falls

Foreclosures continue to decline in Columbus and across Ohio, according to figures released last week by CoreLogic.

According to the mortgage and real-estate information service, 1.61 percent of mortgages in central Ohio were in foreclosure in March, down almost a point from a year earlier and from 3.28 percent in March 2012.

Statewide, 1.87 percent of loans were in foreclosure; nationally, 1.86 percent.

As of March, 4.52 percent of Columbus-area loans were at least 90 days delinquent, down from 5.69 percent a year earlier.

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