March REO Property Inventory Hit All-Time High
May 3rd, 2011
As banks increased the pace of foreclosures, the national inventory of REO properties hit an all-time high in March 2011. 2.2 million properties were bank-owned at the end of March[1]. While this certainly added to the looming shadow inventory, on the whole things are currently looking up for the market. Foreclosure sales on are the rise, delinquencies are down and analysts are starting to tentatively suggest that the foreclosure glut could, in fact, be temporary.
Although the wave of foreclosures is forcing home prices down, overall economists say that this is a good situation for the housing market[2]. Prices are finally low enough that both investors and traditional homeowners are starting to move, snapping up foreclosures around the country, particularly in hard-hit areas like Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, Phoenix and Tampa. Celia Chen, Moody’s Analytics senior director, believes that “if we were to see several consecutive months of supply getting smaller, it would point to an improving housing market.”
Are you getting excited about the apparent improvement in the housing market, or do you think people are celebrating too soon?
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[1] http://www.upi.com/Real-Estate/2011/05/03/Banks-Build-Record-Foreclosure-Inventory/9731304423291/
[2] http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20110501/BUSINESS/105010334/1003/Foreclosure-sales-shrink-backlog-across-country
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