While home sale numbers have been pretty encouraging since the first of the year, most economists agree that these numbers may have been distorted upwards because of the federal tax credits. While I agree that many buyers rushed to complete their contracts in time for the deadline, what about the long term outlook? Won't the continuing economic recovery keep home sales positive? Nationally, consumer's confidence in the economy and their own incomes has been steadily increasing, and in many markets, home buyers no longer fear further price declines and in fact studies by both Case-Shiller and the National Association of Realtors show gains in the majority of the metro areas. Unemployment and fears of a shadow inventory of distressed properties are two factors that still are holding the recovery back. This Week's Real Estate Insight The term "shadow inventory" refers to homes that are not currently on the market, but have the potential to come on the market as a distressed sale. But not all of these home will go through the whole foreclosure process, as long as they still have a job, many homeowners with delinquencies often are able to work through their problems.The Shadow Knows
- By Michael McCann
- Posted
While home sale numbers have been pretty encouraging since the first of the year, most economists agree that these numbers may have been distorted upwards because of the federal tax credits. While I agree that many buyers rushed to complete their contracts in time for the deadline, what about the long term outlook? Won't the continuing economic recovery keep home sales positive? Nationally, consumer's confidence in the economy and their own incomes has been steadily increasing, and in many markets, home buyers no longer fear further price declines and in fact studies by both Case-Shiller and the National Association of Realtors show gains in the majority of the metro areas. Unemployment and fears of a shadow inventory of distressed properties are two factors that still are holding the recovery back. This Week's Real Estate Insight The term "shadow inventory" refers to homes that are not currently on the market, but have the potential to come on the market as a distressed sale. But not all of these home will go through the whole foreclosure process, as long as they still have a job, many homeowners with delinquencies often are able to work through their problems.
