Well off our Bottom...

....is how today's Case Shiller housing value index describes the market in South Florida (slightly paraphrased).  Month-over-month single family value was up 2.12%, the eighth consecutive month of increases.  July values were 5.35% over those in July 2011.  Some people (your humble blogger included) might have some concern that the market is becoming too heated but it sure feels good to report positive numbers for a change.

The inventory of homes available for buyers has been shrinking for months and there is evidence that many who would like to sell are holding off for a couple of years hedging for considerably better selling prices.  There's a lot going on in the world economically so stay tuned.

Not so Sure About that Shadow Inventory of Foreclosures

For months the housing industry has been under the cloud of the so called shadow inventory, a suspected tsunami of foreclosures damed up while lenders sorted through the sloppy procedures they were following for the first few years of the correction.  The article in the link below presents new evidence that lenders and homeowners are finding alternatives to foreclosure.  By the way, Core Logic,  whose statistics and analysis are cited in the article, also has a division that provides data services for most of the MLS (multiple listing service) used by Realtors throughout the country (including all of South Florida).

Foreclosures Article