“Shadow Inventory” is often overlooked in housing data numbers…

From Signonsandiego.com Aug 19,2008

“Sood, in a recent report, lays out a case for why the surge in foreclosures isn’t being fully reflected in the resale inventory levels, as measured by the real-estate databases known as multiple listing services, or MLS. In nine of the 33 markets Sood examined, distressed inventory is significantly higher than what is found in the MLS listings.

This is most pronounced in what have been deemed “bubble” real estate markets, which saw the biggest gains during the home buying boom and are experiencing the largest declines since the pullback began more than two years ago. For instance, in Sacramento, the foreclosed inventory was 31,219 units, or more than twice the 14,913 units on the MLS listings. San Francisco had foreclosures running at 190 percent of MLS listings, while foreclosures in Phoenix ran at 130 percent of the MLS listings.

Sood attributes that gap largely to bank-owned foreclosed homes that aren’t always captured in the MLS listings. He calls that the “shadow inventory,” and says the behind-the-scenes glut of properties wreaks havoc on housing-related statistics. “

Full Article Here

August 21, 2008 - Posted by picklerealestate | Banking, Foreclosure, Lending