Countrywide Conundrum: What to Do with 7,000 Houses?

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As the chart indicates, and as this fascinating little blog documents, Countrywide suddenly finds itself owning a LOT of foreclosed houses -- 7,000 houses and counting. Countrywide, of course is a lender and is generally not in the business of owning and selling real estate.

A close look at the numbers shows how California-centric the foreclosure crisis really is. In California, Countrywide owns 1,173 houses valued at a total of $464 million. There’s no other state where it owns as much as $100 million in foreclosed houses. Its holdings of California homes have more than doubled this year. (I would remind you it is only April).

What is Countrywide going to do with all these houses? Move them in a hurry at fire-sale prices? Rent them out? A broker in Encino told me last week this is the biggest question hanging over the market right now: what are the banks and lenders going to do with all the foreclosed property they’re amassing?

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