Mortgage Recover may still be rocky

Home prices and home buyer confidence are rising in tandem, as the housing recovery appears to be gaining steam, even into the winter months.

A drop in sales of distressed properties are largely to thank for both.

Just under 34 percent of homes sold in November were either foreclosures or short sales, according to a new report from Inside Mortgage Finance.

That's the lowest level in three years, down from a record high of nearly 46 percent in 2011.

"Current homeowners are continuing to drive the recovery of the housing market," according to IMF's latest HousingPulse.

"In November, current homeowners accounted for 46.3 percent of the total home purchase transactions tracked. This was the highest level ever recorded in the HousingPulse survey and was up from 44.8 percent a year earlier."

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