According to a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle, a vast swath of foreclosed homes have fallen into shadow. There are an estimated 600,000 properties across the country, that is, that have been foreclosed but mysteriously held off the market; watchers fear that a flood of these missing properties onto the market would further wreck housing prices, and life in general.
An analysis found more than a third of San Francisco Bay Area foreclosures in such "shadow territory." Some possible reasons for the shenanigans: banks are holding back on reselling, mindful of housing prices; banks are deferring sales so they don’t have to record how much money they’re losing; and "pig in the python," a glut of foreclosures that the system simply has to take a while to work through.
Copyright (c) 2009 Curbed.com LLC
***
What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.
