First up is some positive breaking news for the housing market. Shadow inventory
of homes is declining, providing a dose of good news for the glum housing
market. Shadow inventory, or homes on the verge of foreclosure, fell to 1.6
million units representing a five-months supply in July compared to 1.9 million
units representing a six-months supply a year ago, according to CoreLogic. It’s
a good sign that troubled homes, normally headed toward foreclosures, are
getting sold faster. Lesser inventory will help stabilize falling prices on
homes for sale. Of course we won’t be seeing a drastic change in numbers, but
even a small percentage of troubled homes off the market is a blessing for
sellers and the industry as a whole.
"The steady improvement in the shadow inventory is a positive development for
the housing market," CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Gleming said in a press
release. "However, continued price declines, high levels of negative equity and
a sluggish labor market will keep the shadow supply elevated for an extended
period of time."
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Housing Prices Increase, but not Enough.....
Some more indication of baby steps toward a market recovery. For the fourth
consecutive month, home prices were on the upswing in July compared to the
previous month. But the bump wasn’t good enough to give the market a clean bill
of health, yet. According to data released by S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price
Indices, home prices across 20 major urban areas in July remained flat when
adjusted seasonally, and down 4.1 percent compared to a year earlier, despite
showing a 0.9 percent gain. The trend of prices rising is a good sign, analysts
said.
"With July's data we are seeing not only anticipated monthly increases, but
some fairly broad improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices,"
said S&P's David Blitzer, according to an AFP story. However, he said, "if
you look at the state of the overall economy and, in particular, the recent
large decline in consumer confidence, these combined statistics continue to
indicate that the housing market is still bottoming and has not turned around."
Prices across the country were at the level of 2003, according to the report.
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Denver Area Real Estate Market or get a market analysis report for your neighborhood, contact the
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