Shadow inventory down nationwide

“Shadow inventory” decreased nationwide by 200,000 units year-over-year in January, according to the most recent data by CoreLogic.

Shadow inventory refers to either real estate properties that are in foreclosure and have not yet sold or homes that owners are delaying putting on the market while they wait for prices to improve.

Nationwide, shadow inventory stood at 1.6 million units in January, down from 1.8 million in January 2011. The 1.6 million units represent half of the 3 million properties currently seriously delinquent, in foreclosure, or categorized as non-performing assets on a bank’s books. Numbers at the state or county levels were…