Foreclosures Surge – Hardtack Relation

May saw a record number of foreclosures in the US, up nearly 90% from the same month in 2006.

There were 176,137 notices of default, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions last month, led by California, Florida and Ohio, the Irvine ...

"Such strong activity in the midst of the typical spring buying season could foreshadow even higher foreclosure levels later in the year," [James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac] said in the report. That will add "to the downward pressure on home prices in many areas."

At present Hardtack is showing inventory (under track) at 1,939,682 units. To put that another way, nearly 10% of everything you see on the market is under foreclosure. Not all of those are in the MLS, some of them have already dropped off and are in the process of becoming REO (Real Estate Owned). This means we should be seeing increasing inventory again in a few month. I find it tough to imagine the overhang would be even larger soon.