Top 10 Real Estate Predictions For 2012

There is a lot of talk in media about shadow inventory. When I hear reporters talk about shadow inventory, it's often reported incorrectly as though the reporters do not understand the term shadow inventory. This is not the number of homes going into foreclosure. Shadow inventory is the numbers of homes that have been foreclosed upon and yet not available for sale.

Bulk sales is typically the most profitable for investors because the discounts are steep. The catch is investors are required by the bank to buy a bundle of homes at one time to get that discount. Then, investors will fix up the homes and put them on the market, staggering the sales so the market is not inundated with inventory. That's because investors want to maximize returns on investment.

Investors have 3 ways to buy a foreclosure home. They can buy the home on the courthouse steps during a bidding frenzy, they can buy the home through MLS after an REO agent has listed the home, or they can buy a group of homes offered as bulk sales by the banks that have foreclosed on those homes.