As the number of HUD homes, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other bank-owned properties has dropped substantially since the beginning of the year, we are all wondering what happened to the so-called Shadow Inventory. That’s all of the foreclosed homes that are owned by banks or soon to be owned by banks that are not listed for sale.
In early 2011 it was rumored that the Shadow Inventory was huge and that it will tear the real estate market to pieces.
2011 is over and the real estate market is improving. REOs and foreclosed homes did not flood the market as predicted. According to a recent report by CoreLogic there’s only one foreclosed home in the “shadows” for each home that’s currently listed.
It appears that the Shadow Inventory does not affect the Columbus market. Many HUD and bank-owned homes sell for asking price or above. The market is not flooded with foreclosed homes and the total number of HUD homes for sale has dropped significantly.
Columbus Real Estate Stats
Let me share a few data to show that the Columbus real estate market is very active and alive, as we enter the new year. Below you can see the current number of government-owned, foreclosed homes in Central Ohio.
HUD Homes: 71
Fannie Mae: 233
Freddie Mac: 105
Here are more indicators of a vibrant real estate market:
The inventory of homes for sale on the Columbus MLS dropped by 27.5% from 17,471 to 12,675 (within one year – Nov 2010 to Nov 2011).
Pending contracts increased by 37.4% from 1,341 to 1,843.
If the shadow inventory does not show up soon, we are actually heading in a sellers market.
