'Shadow Inventory' of Homes Plummets

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The number of U.S. homes in the so-called "shadow inventory" of foreclosures has dropped by almost 20 percent in the past year, according to a report released today.
 
As of January, there were 2.2 million homes in the category, an 18 percent drop from a year earlier, CoreLogic reports. The inventory is 28 percent below the peak level in 2010, when more than 3 million homes were listed as distressed but not advertised for sale.

CoreLogic defines the shadow inventory as homes that are "seriously delinquent," in foreclosure and held as real estate owned by mortgage services, but not listed for sale on multiple listings services.

"The shadow inventory continued to drop at double the rate in January from prior year levels," said Anand Nallathambi, chief executive of CoreLogic, in a statement. "At this point in the recovery, we are seeing healthy reductions across much of the nation."

There has been "significant declines" in inventories in California, Arizona and Colorado, CoreLogic found. But the recovery has been slower in Florida, New York, California, Illinois and New Jersey, which now account for more than half the shadow inventory.

The 2.2 million units represents a nine-month supply, CoreLogic found. Of the properties listed in the inventory, 1 million are "seriously delinquent" and 798,000 are in some stage of foreclosure.