, the nation’s premier provider of local residential foreclosure listings, announces its East Baton Rouge Parish Foreclosures Review counts 452 current local foreclosures as of November 29, 2010. Of the total, RealtyStore determined that 139 foreclosures are listed available for re-sale to the public. The remaining 313 foreclosures are not yet listed for re-sale and are considered “shadow inventory”.

“The foreclosures available for public purchase represent only 3.8% of the 3,602 homes currently up for sale in East Baton Rouge Parish,” said Peter Ranck, Vice President at RealtyStore. “But, it is interesting to note these listings only represent a small fraction, just 31%, of all foreclosed properties recorded for the Parish. The other 69% of foreclosures are not yet on the market and remain in the local shadow inventory of repossessed homes.”

Shadow inventory includes foreclosed homes (REO properties) which banks are not actively marketing for re-sale to the public. By remaining off the market, this inventory does not increase the number of local homes for sale, causing inventory to remain artificially low. This in turn can influence home prices.

RealtyStore also compiled foreclosure pricing and found the average foreclosure list price in the Parish of E Baton Rouge is $119,139 which is 49% below Louisiana’s overall average price of $233,580. “Foreclosures presently offer an attractive financial opportunity for East Baton Rouge home buyers,” continued Peter Ranck.  

While foreclosure prices are generally below the market average, it remains to be seen how and when the impact of shadow inventory could affect local prices in the future.

It appears banks continue to carefully manage their East Baton Rouge foreclosure inventory.  Given current market conditions, the balance of the shadow REOs are not expected to come to market rapidly, so prices are not expected to drop significantly in the near term. However, home sellers in general may need to consider the broader availability of discount homes, like foreclosures, and adjust their pricing strategy and sales expectations accordingly.

To sample East Baton Rouge County listings, visit: http://www.realtystore.com/foreclosures/louisiana-forecl …

For more information about Shadow Inventory, visit http://www.realtystore.com/realty-guide/foreclosure-glos …

About RealtyStore
RealtyStore (http://www.realtystore.com), a division of Nations Info Corporation, is the leading provider of foreclosure listings and discount property data nationwide. RealtyStore’s mission is to empower its customers with the tools, education and analysis required to identify and potentially maximize profits with undervalued real estate. Collected from hundreds of public and private sources, RealtyStore’s proprietary database includes over 1 million listings including pre foreclosures, foreclosures, short sales, tax defaults and rent to own or owner financed listings.  As the foreclosure listings industry leader, RealtyStore.com is the most visited foreclosure website, averaging over 1.1 million unique visitors per month in Q3, 2010. Realtystore.com is the only specialized foreclosures website to rank in the Hitwise Top 20 Internet Usage Report for the Real Estate Category (October 2010).

Media Contact
Dara Peterson
RealtyStore
805-214-6968
DaraP(at)RealtyStore.com

Reporting methodology
The RealtyStore County Foreclosures Review provides the total number of REO (real estate owned) foreclosed properties with a recording date on or before the date of this release. REO properties have completed the foreclosure process and have been repossessed by a bank or government sponsored loan guarantor such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD or the VA. REO title holders and inventory counts in any area can vary at any time. Counts and prices are accessed through RealtyStore’s proprietary database which is derived through hundreds of public and private data providers.  Local housing market data is derived from third party and public records offices.