Mary Leizinger

I saw an interesting article on Inman News today.  An estimate is being made as to how many months it will take to clear the "Shadow Inventory" of distressed properties.  The analysis suggests that it will take about 4 years to clear the mess on a national basis.  In the Minneapolis market, the shadow inventory is still rising, up 10% from 3rd to 4th quarter of 2010, and up 77% from 4th quarter 2009.  While the year over year change in months of shadow inventory for the Minneapolis market was the largest jump of all 20 cities measured,  the Minneapolis market was on the lower end of the months of inventory scale, with an estimated 38 months to clear the shadow inventory.  Shadow inventory is defined by Standard and Poors, the analysts behind the forecast, as properties that are bank owned, in the process of foreclosure, or 90 days or more delinquent on payments.  This may be the light at the end of the tunnel, albeit 3 years away!