According to new data from CoreLogic, the shadow inventory is shrinking.
The shadow inventory decreased by 14.8 percent year-over-year in April, according to new data from analytics firm CoreLogic.
Since April 2011, the shadow inventory has fallen by more than 300,000 units to its present level of 1.5 million, which is a four months’ supply and the same level as in October 2008. CoreLogic attributes the decline to a higher volume of distressed sales, which have offset the flow of new seriously delinquent mortgages.
Other data highlights included:
- CoreLogic considers the shadow inventory as the number of distressed properties that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure and REO – but not currently listed on an MLS.
- At 1.5 million, the shadow inventory is just over half of the 2.8 million properties in foreclosure, REO or seriously delinquent, and is at its lowest level in three years.
- Specifically, of the shadow inventory, 720,000 units are seriously delinquent (two months’ supply), 410,000 are in some stage of foreclosure (1.1-months’ supply) and 390,000 are already in REO (1.1-months’ supply).
- The dollar volume of the shadow inventory was $246 billion as of April 2012, down from $270 billion a year ago and a three-year low.
For months, the shadow markets have lurked around the corners, casting doubts on what many have pegged as the first sustainable real estate recovery since 2007; with inventories falling, though, perhaps those boogeymen will become less prevalent.