Glendale Home Foreclosure Wave… Not?

I have heard buyer after buyer cite the coming tsunami of foreclosures as a good reason to hold off on buying a home.  Heck, I’ve even said that the foreclosures are “out there”, though I thought they would show up in a loooooong steady stream.

Out in the Twitterverse, however, I came across an interesting article that posits the idea (documented, according to the author) that this is just a myth.  There is no “shadow inventory of foreclosed homes”.

The article was posted on ForeclosureTruth.com and it tells us that far from having a lot of homes to buy…

As a result, the pendulum has swung to the other side. Instead of a glut of properties hitting the market, as so many have warned, we currently don’t have enough inventory for those who want to buy homes, and homeowners are still in trouble because the so-called solutions (foreclosure moratoriums, loan modification, refinancing) don’t fix the real problem, which is negative equity.

The article is certainly interesting in an of itself.  However, I found the comments even more enlightening.  A fascinating tidbit was in the last comment where the author responds to a critic:

One thing that she may not understand is that it does take some time from the date the property is foreclosed on, until it is listed. Evictions are getting lengthier right now, especially with recent legislation that protects renters from eviction for the remainder of their lease. It also takes a little time to clean trash out, and list the property as well. Properties in this process aren’t being “withheld” by banks in the “shadows”. As we point out it takes banks on average 7 months to resell these properties, and they have less than 5 months of inventory on hand. There is no excess, hidden, inventory of bank owned homes in CA, whatsoever.

Not only is this true, it is not possible to buy the home while it is being “processed”.  A lot of buyer demand can build up while we wait for these homes to wend their tortuous way through the bank’s gauntlet.

What does this mean?  The same thing I always say.  If it is the right time to buy, buy.  If the right house is in front of you for a price you can afford, buy. If you need to sell, sell.  It is not likely to get worse, but, darn it, we aren’t on the cusp of a renaissance either.

Here are the foreclosures available for sale in Glendale- is one of them right for you?