(BN) ‘Shadow Inventory’ of U.S. Homes Climbs, Report Says (Update1)

‘Shadow Inventory’ of U.S. Homes Climbs, Report Says (Update1) 2009-12-17 21:06:40.230 GMT (Adds details from report in second paragraph.) By Brian Louis Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The number of homes that may be in the pipeline for a sale because of foreclosure and delinquency climbed about 55 percent to 1.7 million at the end of September, according to estimates by First American CoreLogic. The “... [more]

‘Shadow Inventory’ of U.S. Homes Climbs, Report Says (Update1) 2009-12-17 21:06:40.230 GMT (Adds details from report in second paragraph.) By Brian Louis Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- The number of homes that may be in the pipeline for a sale because of foreclosure and delinquency climbed about 55 percent to 1.7 million at the end of September, according to estimates by First American CoreLogic. The “shadow inventory” rose from 1.1 million a year earlier. Such properties include those taken over by banks and mortgage companies and those where the loans are at least 90 days delinquent, the Santa Ana, California-based research firm said in a report today. The number of unsold homes listed for sale was 3.8 million in September, down from 4.7 million a year earlier, First American said. Unemployment in the U.S. is helping drive foreclosures, which may slow the real estate recovery as more houses come on the market. Total inventory -- including the shadow supply -- was 5.5 million in September, down from 5.7 million a year earlier. “While the visible month’s supply has decreased and is beginning to approach more normal levels, adding in the pending supply reveals there is still quite a bit of inventory that will impact the housing market for the next few years,” First American said. [less]