CoreLogic: ‘Shadow inventory’ of homes tops 2 million

The residential market’s “shadow inventory” is up more than 10 percent from a year ago, according to real-estate research firm CoreLogic.
That puts overall inventory at more than 6.3 million unsold homes on the market, nearly a third of which are so-called shadow inventory or  “pending supply” — those homes that are seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or being held off the market by banks or other investors. The total unsold homes on the market represents a 23-month supply, up from 17 months last year, the company said.
CoreLogic estimated 2.1 million units in shadow inventory at the end of August, up from 1.9 million a year earlier. The states with the highest supply of distressed homes are Maryland (24.4 months), New Jersey (24.1 months), Illinois (23 months) and Florida (20.8 months). Alaska has the least at 2.3 months, followed by Texas (5.5 months) and Montana (5.7 months). Three of the top 50 metro areas (Miami, Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y., and Chicago) have more than a 30 month supply of distressed homes, CoreLogic said.