More than three-quarters of all buyers expect a discount of at least 25 percent on a foreclosure purchase, according to survey results released today by RealtyTrac and Trulia. The survey also showed that 30 percent of adults expected a discount of 50 percent or more with a foreclosure purchase.

The expected discount may be a compensation of sorts for the perceived negative aspects that a growing number of buyers associate with foreclosure purchases. According to the survey, 80 percent of  buyers believe there are negative aspects to buying a foreclosure, up from 69 percent in April 2008. Less than half of buyers surveyed -- 47 percent -- said they would consider buying a foreclosed home, down from 54 percent in April.

Despite these trends, however, there is no doubt that sales of properties in some stage of the foreclosure process are growing and accounting for a bigger percentage of overall sales. Nationwide, sales of properties in some stage of the foreclosure process in the 12-month period ending Dec. 1, 2008, increased 103 percent from the previous 12-month period. Although that did not translate into a notable decline in average sales price on a national level (average foreclosure sale price went from $210,251 to $209,413), median prices on foreclosure sales did drop substantially in some states hit hard by foreclosures. The median foreclosure sales price was down 30 percent year over year in California, down 23 percent in Florida and down 25 percent in Nevada.

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