http://www.floridarealtors.org/NewsAndEvents/article.cfm?p=4&id=260334

And it is expected to double again.

I'm not deep into analysis, but this doesn't surprise me and I would not be surprised if NY was not far behind. I literally drive by the units everyday, some empty, some occupied, none performing. I guess the question is when do they get to the market, but is seems like we have been kicking that one around for 2 years.

Good news (for us!)

Ahhh.....private property becomes corporate property.....glorious. Overtaken by banking interests.

What irritates me is that the realtor associations and other "in the know" companies keep saying we are in a housing recovery with less houses on the market. Sometimes I feel like reo and bpo agents are the only ones paying attention to the fact that the banks are holding properties off the market, thus decreasing inventory - so we get the reports of how the foreclosure market is down and things are getting better. From the Ohio Association of Realtor's May Newsletter
"Just like the weather, the market across Ohio is really heating up. And positive news abounds!

After three-plus years of what can generously be called a challenging marketplace, we’ve really begun to see signs of stabilization and growth within the residential sector. Most importantly, we’ve seen the average price of homes sold in nearly every geographic market track closely with the prior year. This is critical to the long-term viability of a recovery--as current homeowners will regain confidence that their home has value while would-be buyers are beginning to feel a sense of urgency that they shouldn’t wait much longer to take advantage of the tremendous conditions that exist with historic low rates and favorable pricing."
It drives me nuts.

I read that a rolled my eyes. What a bunch of doofs. No different than the NAR propoganda from that moronic economist they have....I can't remember his name though.

There is a heavy duty rant about this in NRBA. It totally rips NAR's statistics to shreds. Read NRBA.com Industry Buzz.

No more Govt. Cheese means double dip is now in affect and the stock market is starting to show it. IMHO, we are still 3-5 years away from a true recovery.

And I don't see the foreclosure rate going back to 2007 levels anytime soon either. You know there a LOT of people with ARMs out there getting by on these very low rates. When interest rates kick back up, people are going to start missing payments and then won't be able to sell their house for what they owe on it. Then we have another wave of foreclosures.

The same can be said in the Phoenix-Metro area about the press. The local newspaper, the Arizona Republic, is stating that foreclosures are down and inventory is shrinking. They immediately say that the market is getting better. What they fail to mention is that there is an unofficial moratorium on foreclosures due to the robo-signing mess.

They also report that average sale price is increasing. Yes, it is.

However, that is because we were selling homes that sold in 2006 for $100-$200K that sold in 2010 for $60K.

Now we are selling homes that sold in 2006 for $300-$500K for $120K. Yup, average sale price is up but as a percentage the depreciation continues.

We just have a better class of foreclosure.

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." - The Wizard of Oz

Grampa is right! I've also noticed that the "better class foreclosures" get more waaaay more successful short sales closed than the previous class of foreclosures. Why? I don't know - might be pressure to foreclose less and short sale more.

Jack I'm reading your rant in NRBA.com and I'm laughing...I, too, read Rip Van Winkle and enjoyed it. You make a lot of sense. Now I know you like reading fiction...LOL
I know that the economic indicators are not in place to support any sustained growth.

Thank you much. I have a ton of fun ranting on this industry. Such a large easy target