Bank-Owned Listings Shoot Up

I was signing checks today when I noticed that our bill for obtaining bank-owned listings that have not yet appeared in the MLS (that is, those that are marketed on bank’s websites but not yet by a real estate agent, usually because the bank just took possession) in November had increased 123% from what it was in October. This was noteworthy because for the past year, what we pay has remained relatively steady.

Since we pay by the record, this means that, for the markets we cover, the number of bank-owned listings not in the MLS has, in one month, increased 123%. Possible theories:

1. The September and October credit crisis created a new spate of foreclosures.
2. Banks have suddenly balked at hiring real estate agents to list their assets in the MLS, perhaps in part because real estate agents are now slower to take on poorly maintained, costly listings
3. Our data provider is bilking us (this is extremely unlikely, as we check the bill carefully)

What’s your theory?