Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Shadow Inventory and the Housing Market

I know people hate those that "toot their own horn", hell I usually do too.

But I simply can't resist...(and am taking my horn out of its case right now) :)

Last year I posted this blog entry about the shadow inventory in this country. I even posted a solution almost two months prior (and now nearly a year old).

It may not be the perfect solution, but at least it addressed the core issue.

With this being said, I just came across this article in today's Barron's, the preeminent weekly of Wall Street.

According to the article: "The so-called shadow inventory of residential properties on the market jumped 10% in August, the most recent month for which data are available, to 2.1 million units, CoreLogic reported Monday...The latest month's data represented an increase from 1.9 million units a year earlier, equal to five months' supply.

The visible supply of properties listed was flat, at 4.2 million units, in August but because the slower pace of sales, this represented 15 months' supply, up from 11 months' a year earlier. All told, the visible and shadow supply totaled 6.3 million units, or 23 months' supply at the current sales pace, up from 6.1 million a year earlier, or 17 months' supply back then. In other words, we're falling farther behind."

Wow.

I'm sure I speak for many in the Real Estate and Mortgage industries when I voice my utter frustration at the Olympic FAIL that is the Government "solutions" to the housing crisis.

Rather than confront the problem, and really look, we have seen two years of ad hoc "solutions" meant to do nothing but keep the current house of cards propped up.

From the chaos at the major banks with their foreclosure procedures and document disasters, to the current investigation (finally) of MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) the Government seems to be years behind.

It will be very interesting to see what comes of the current investigations.

Stay tuned folks, this is just starting to get interesting.