Why wait for after the elections - we need inventory NOW!!

I was recently at an REO industry conference where I was able to speak to heads of many of the financial institutions about where all the assets are, since we've been told since last year that they're coming.  All said that they have a huge amount of assets and that they won't be out until the beginning of the 4th quarter at the earliest.  I had to ask the question - WHY???  Their response was that they've had pressure from the administration to hold their inventory until after the elections.  The reason will amaze you, as I was dumbfounded that one, the administration had that kind of power and two, that the banks would agree to holding all those costs to maintain those vacant assets just sitting on the market. 

First and foremost the administration wants property values to appear to be increasing, which obviously happens when there's no inventory - remember economics 101 regarding "supply and demand" - thereby falsely reporting our current market as good, when in fact the real story is that we have a HUGE inventory being held back.

Secondly, by not releasing the inventory we are extending the time it will take to move through all these properties and causing the lack of available inventory when there is a plethora of buyers out there just waiting to purchase a home.  Due to the hold back there are multiple offers on just about every property, with lots of frustrated buyers when they loose out on a home.  Not to mention all the starving Realtors® who need to make a living and can't because there's no homes to sell.

It makes no sense to prolong this situation and hurts eveyone involved in our industry, as well as our country as a whole.  The administration is doing this to help them in their re-election - Don't they remember President Kennedy's words, "Do not ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country" - I'm sure they know, that by causing this dearth of homes available for purchase they are worsening our economic conditions, but instead they are only looking to what benefits them - how sad!