The latest Case-Shiller reading showed another sequential uptick in July, which is all fine and well, but watch out: There's a huge flood of houses being held back from the market, either due to bank-ownership, or loan delinquency.
Check out the chart below, from Amherst Securities. It shows the number of delinquent mortgages that have yet to be liquidated-- a number that Amherst puts at a shocking 7 million (135% of the number of houses sold in a year right now). Eventually the houses attached to these loans have to hit the market. When they do, expect them to go at a firesale.
