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Showing posts from November 3, 2013

Real Estate Pulse: The Decline of Shadow Inventory

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For those that do not know, “shadow inventory” refers to the real estate property inventory that is either in foreclosure and has not been sold, or properties that have been withheld from the active market with hopes of a price improvement.  With seller uncertainty of the best time to list properties, this shadow inventory causes data on housing inventory to understate the actual inventory levels in the real estate market. High levels of shadow inventory, especially in the form of underwater, modified, and delinquent mortgages, pose as a significant factor to the recovery of the housing market, but refinancing and strong investor demand for distressed properties have helped bring many properties out from the shadows and into the sunlight.   Active, Pending, and SOLD! As the largest quarter-over-quarter decrease since the beginning of the credit crisis, shadow inventory dropped from 3.28 million loans in Q1 of 2013 to 2.99 million in Q2. This represents a 35% dr...