Shadow market clouds regional housing outlook

More properties may be headed for foreclosure than current estimates suggest, said LPS Applied Analytics, a firm that supplies loan data to the federal government. Although last week’s report from the National Association of Realtors showed median home prices stabilizing and sales rising, LPS said the shadow market, or the properties that will eventually be listed for sale because they are nearing foreclosure, threatens to drag each of those measures back down. There are nearly five times as many properties in South Florida’s shadow market as the number of residential properties currently listed for sale by the Florida Association of Realtors, according to LPS. Jesse Acevedo, president of the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale, said his own analysis of properties in Tamarac also showed that banks owned about 300 properties, though only 81 were currently listed for sale. Economists say the looming surplus of housing means banks will be forced to cut home prices further in the future. [Miami Herald]