There's little doubt that the nation's residential real estate market is in the doldrums - but at least it may not get significantly worse.
Barclays Capital reports this week that the "shadow inventory" of distressed properties - the number of homes that are in the foreclosure pipeline but have not yet been foreclosed upon - contracted in July. For five consecutive months, the shadow inventory of distressed homes has shrunk as increases in the mortgage delinquency rate have moderated.
Another piece of good news came from the National Association of Realtors, which revealed last week that pending home sales ticked up in July. The industry group's pending home sales index, which reflects contracts, rather than closings, rose by 5.2 percent.
The index's increase came as a surprise to analysts, Bloomberg reported - and it could presage improvements in the state of the housing market.
But home prices may not rise for some time.
In fact, Barclays Capital predicted in its shadow inventory report, prices are likely to fall by 2 percent in the coming months thanks to an increase in distressed-property sales. It may be some time, therefore, until the real estate market returns to health.
