This report lead one to think it is more real than o=anyine want to let out of the bag.

RBS says 2.7 million more distressed sales in pipeline

 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) economists say that recent months of nascent housing recovery remain overshadowed by the delinquency pipeline that threatens to put as many as 2.7m distressed sales on the market in the US.  Given the lag time between a start and a completion, homebuilders and new home buyers probably had to act by July in order to feel confident that they would be able to claim the credit, said RBS chief economist Stephen Stanley, explaining the surge in sales earlier this year.  So, a portion of the increase in both starts and sales in recent months likely reflected activity being pulled forward into the summer.  According to the report, resales are likely to be soft in coming months if the tax credit expires and is not extended as some industry groups are calling for Congress to do.  The inventory of existing homes held at 3.622m in August, 21% below the 4.575m peak in July 08. The dip may be due to various foreclosure moratoria as well as  a delay in the process of foreclosed properties to reaching the market, RBS said. The typical foreclosure timeline is doubled in some cases from 12 months to 24 months.  A housing market that is just beginning to climb from the ashes would be unable to handle influx of nearly 3 million additional homes for sale all at once, RBS economists said.