Banks ignoring foreclosure in wealthy housing markets -- Beverly Hills MLS lists zero foreclosures for the 90210 zip code but distress inventory still high.

This is an interesting process. We highlight a home that was bought in 1999 and was largely used as an ATM for the decade until the bubble burst. At the peak, they could no longer pay their mortgage without refinancing. Yet the bank stalls the process out for 1.5 years. In reality, this family probably couldn't pay their mortgage for many years and simply kept refinancing as the bubble grew to pay their mortgage. C'est la vie in wealthy markets and now with our lax accounting standards, banks can elect to inflate whatever markets they like. Unlike Arizona or Nevada, banks are yanking homes back quickly so they can sell them to flippers and investors. In more expensive markets, they are fine with constraining supply courtesy of our modern day bailout system for real estate.