A Keyhole View of the Banking/Real Estate Crisis

The press has been discussing that banks are holding onto a great deal of real estate rather than completing the foreclosure process. I asked a prominent real estate figure in Chico about how large this phenomenon was. He replied that although no public data exists, he could show me houses that have ceased payments more than 18 months ago. He said that the banks are even paying the taxes on the properties rather than booking a write-down.