Like so many real estate markets across the country, real estate in Knoxville has taken a hit since the onset of the financial crisis and the blowup from the subprime mortgage crisis burst the housing market bubble across the nation. The Knoxville real estate market began to see signs this summer that the worst was over and that the market had hit its bottom and was on its way back up.

However, figures from 2009’s third quarter, which includes July, August and September, suggest that the market may still have more recovery left to achieve. According to the Knoxville Association of Realtors, there were 3,024 sales in the third quarter of this year, down from last year of the same quarter’s figure of 2,253 and from the peak in 2005 of 5,112. Sales had been increasing steadily month to month since the start of 2009, from 498 in January to 1,044 by July. But in August, volume dropped off a bit again, falling to 970 before rebounding slightly to 993 in September, showing there is a great amount of instability and unpredictability in this market.

As a market that was not incredibly overpriced pre-crisis, the values of homes in Knoxville have not been eroded nearly as harshly as in other markets in the U.S., but values have still fallen from their highs. In the third quarter of 2009, the median price of a three-bedroom home is $139,000, off from 2008’s $145,500 and the peak in 2007 of $154,500.  Inventory of homes for sale in Knoxville is still high as well for higher-priced homes, especially. For homes in the $1 million-plus range, the supply stands at 42 months. However, as that range slides to the $100,000 to $150,000 range, the supply dwindles to just nine months, indicating that higher-priced homes are having more difficulties attracting buyers than more moderate, starter-priced homes.

Knoxville realtor Jim Lee, who compiled the Knoxville Association of Realtors data, says the numbers, however, should not be reason to worry: “There will continue to be homes bought and sold every day, just fewer of them and probably not for top prices as before.”

Located inland in California, one of the states hardest-hit by the recent housing market collapse and U.S. financial crisis, Palm Desert has suffered many of the same pitfalls as other cities in the Golden state, including crashing home values, rising foreclosures and an increase in inventory. Recently, however, real estate in Palm Desert continues to experienced a mixed bag of signals, as home sales volume rises but prices remain stagnant or falling.

According to The Desert Sun, the region saw a near-record in the number of home sales over the past two-plus years, but sales prices are also at near lows. The median price for a home in the Coachella Valley has now fallen 57% from its June 2005 high of $393,370, to just $169,080 in August of this year. The median sales price in August had fallen 24% from the price at the same time last year.

In Palm Desert, the average price of homes for sale in Palm Desert in July 2007 ranged from $508,000 to $620,000, depending on ZIP code. By September of this year, those figures had fallen to $313,000 to $373,000. The prices were off by 22% to 30% from 2008 figures, and by 38% to 40% from sales price figures from 2007. The volume of sales in Palm Desert, however, is up by 13% since 2008 and by 16% to 45% from 2007 volume.

One consequence of the lower Palm Desert real estate prices is an upswing in the amount of first-time home buyers, many of whom have been likely spurred on by a government’s program to offer up to $8,000 in tax rebates to first-time home buyers who purchase a house before Nov. 1 and meet certain qualifications. In the greater region, first-time home buyers accounted for almost half of all sales. Prices are expected to hover near the current levels into 2010, experts say.

Though prices have been falling for the past year and seemed to be near reaching a bottom, the most current figures show that real estate in Atlanta is not quite out of the woods yet. In September, according the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, sales volume in the city was down by 4% year over year, despite being up nationally as many buyers are lured back into the market by low prices and incentives for a government program that grants tax rebates of up to $8,000 to many homebuyers.

The median sales price in Atlanta was also down , this by 13% year over year. There are many reasons that can be attributed to Atlanta’s lag in catching up with the national improvement, foremost of which could be its still double-digit unemployment rate. Seven other major cities also reported falls in sales volume from 2008 figures.

But local realtors caution not to read too heavily into the most recent data, noting that September 2008 could have been particularly strong for an unknown reason, and reminding those looking for homes for sale in Atlanta that these cycles can fluctuate wildly from month to month. Roger Tutterow, professor of economics at Mercer University’s Stetson School of Business, told the AJC, “I just can’t image Atlanta is that far out of whack with what is actually happening nationally. I would caution us not to read too much into one month’s data.”

Chicago is a huge city, one the country’s biggest, so recent trends in the Chicago real estate market must be closely examined before entering the market. Because the city is so big, it must be viewed instead as a large grouping of smaller neighborhoods and their trends. Viewed as the entirety of Cook County, real estate in Chicago is still showing slight declines, suggesting that its ultimate bottom may not have yet been reached.

Data from Zip Realty for the entire area in September seemed to show some slight signs of improvement. There were 1,886 homes sold, an increase of 7% from September 2008’s 1,766, though the sales price was down 17% for the year at $271,394 from $327,116. The number of days homes are spending on the market is falling as well though, from 166 in September 2008 to last month’s 149, a decline of 10%. This shows more inventory is moving as buyers enter the market.

For month-to-month changes, figures showed slight falls from August, with sales volume down a slight 2% and prices falling by 8%. Price per square foot was down 7% from August to September. The only improvement in real estate in Chicago was the monthly data was the days on the market, which fell to 149 in September from 154 in August.

According to data from real estate data provider Zillow available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, there were 16,760 homes for sale in Chicago in mid-October with a median price of just under $295,000, unchanged from September sales figures. There were five new homes for sale in the city with a high-end median price of $950,000, and there were more than 21,300 foreclosed homes on the market in Chicago, with a median price of $216,000, up slightly by 0.7% from September’s numbers.

Southern California is popularly known across the country for being home to some of the most exclusive neighborhoods and priciest homes, and real estate in Orange County is no exception. The county commonly tops lists of the most expensive places to live in the country, though since the economic crisis and the burst of the housing bubble, prices have fallen, making properties here within reach to at least a slightly few more buyers.

According to the Orange County Register, the current Orange County real estate is seeing mixed signs across various communities. For a nearly three-week period ended Oct. 6, statistics showed 495 homes for sale in Orange County, up 16% from the year prior. The median price was at $685,000, a fall of only 1.9% from the price during the same period in 2008.

But upon closer examination of the county, regional differences can be seen. The southern part of the county showed the most positive signs, with 814 sales, up by 27% from 2008 volume, at a median price of just over $500,000, an increase also in the price from last year, though just by 0.2%. The northern part of the county had a lower median price, at $440,000, but that price was down 2.5% from last year’s figures. This area saw 739 homes sold, up 6% from 2008. The mid-part of Orange County experienced the worst signals in recent weeks. Real estate in that region sold at a median price of $353,750, down by 0.2% from 2008 figures. Additionally, volume was down as well with 872 homes sold, a decrease of 10%.

Foreclosures have plagued the county’s market as well. As of August, according to the Orange County Register quoting First American Corelogic, 6.9% of mortgage holders in the county were 90 days or more past due on their loans. The foreclosure rate in Orange County stands at 2.5%, up by 58% from 2008’s rates but still lower than California’s overall foreclosure rate of 3.5%.

The Salt Lake City real estate market is sending indications that it still has some work to do before it will be out of its sluggish position that came as a result of job losses across the state coinciding with the global recession and the world financial crisis after the subprime mortgage crisis imploded.

According to the Salt Lake City Tribune in August, sales of existing homes declined, as did the median price of sale, despite sales being up in June and July 6% and 5%, respectively, compared with year-earlier figures. Throughout Salt Lake County sales were down 4.5% in August from 2008 figures and median prices were down about 3%. The market hasn’t fallen completely off a cliff as in some communities, however, as the August median sales price is just about 10% down from June 2007, when home prices peaked. money.sltrib.com
Experts are hoping the soon-to-expire government tax rebate of $8,000 for select buyers will help lure more into buying real estate in Salt Lake City before it expires Nov. 1, unless Congress decides to extend the rebate. “Prices have fallen so much in the West that I think that’s also encouraging some buyers — both investors and those who intend to actually live in their units — to come back into the market,” Celia Chen, senior director at Moody’s Economy.com, said to The Associated Press.

According to data from real estate data provider Zillow available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, there were almost 2,200 homes for sale in Salt Lake City in mid-October 2009, with these homes having a median price of $265,000, a fall of 1.8% from September prices. There were no new homes on the market, but 1,430 foreclosed homes were up for sale at a median price of $158,000, a 2% fall in price from September sales figures.

According to the Star Bulletin, in September, the state of Hawaii ranked 15th in the U.S. for the most foreclosed homes, not exactly a shining beacon the state of islands wants to promote. Across the islands, 969 properties received foreclosure notices in September, the second-highest month of foreclosure activity in 2009, up by almost 12% from the previous month and an increase of more than 63% from activity in 2008. Only July saw more Hawaii foreclosures, with 990.

The state’s foreclosure rate per household bested the U.S. average however, at just one for every 523 households in Hawaii, compared with the U.S. average of one for every 372. Some cities and islands have been hit harder than others, however, as Maui’s foreclosure rate tops the U.S. average at one of every 255. Much of the foreclosure activity in Hawaii real estate is among non-owner-occupied homes, as many buyers have chosen homes in Hawaii as an investment or as a second-home or vacation property. Almost half of all foreclosures have been at these owner unoccupied homes.

According to data from real estate data provider Zillow available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, as of the middle of October, there were nearly 9.700 homes for sale in Hawaii at a median price of $485,000, an increase of 2.1% from September figures. There were an additional 1,662 foreclosed homes on the market at a median price of just over $379,000, a slight increase of 0.6% from September sales figures.

There were 15 single-family homes for sale in Mission Beach that sold in September 2009, at a price of $552 per square foot, down 22.7% from September 2008’s price of $714 per square foot, according to DQ News. Additionally there were 24 condos sold during September at a price of $402 per square foot, which was actually an increase from 2008’s figure of $384 per square foot of 4.7%.

The San Diego area, of which Mission Beach real estate is a part, seems to be slowly on its way back to normal levels. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, which reviewed new quarterly data from MDA DataQuick in October 2009, eight of its 56 neighborhoods saw higher prices than a year ago, compared with only one or none in the recent quarters. San Diego as a whole’s overall median home price was $360,000, down 5% from the same quarter in 2008, compared with 2008’s fall of more than 24% from 2007 figures, which were around $500,000.

The paper also reported the San Diego area is experiencing a decline in its long overloaded inventory of homes for sale. Quoting the San Diego Association of Realtors, it said the number of listings for detached homes during the week of Oct. 17 was 5,670, down from 8,562 in mid-July. Foreclosures is another problem this area must deal with. In September, San Diego.

Though it suffered many of the side effects from the bursting housing bubble that cities across the nation are also facing, the Austin real estate market as of late is showing signs of improvement, giving a sense of temporary optimism to buyers and sellers in this market.

According to the Austin American-Statesman newspaper, existing home sales of real estate in Austin in the greater region were up by 6.4% in September of this year compared with last year’s figures, the area’s first yearly increase in more than two years. The median price of home sales was up as well, increasing by 2% to $185,250, the newspaper said, citing the Austin Board of Realtors. There were 1,780 sales last month in the greater Austin area, up from August’s 1,748 and September of 2008’s 1,673.

Additionally, October sales seem to be pointing to an improvement as well. Sales volume due to close in October was on track to be up by nearly a quarter from 2008 figures. Many agents and brokers are crediting the rise in sales to the government’s plan to offer up to $8,000 in tax rebates to select home buyers who meet the criteria, which has prodded some into the market who may have otherwise waited on the sidelines for a few more months. Indications seem to show that the market “is beginning to recover,” Charles Heimsath, an Austin real estate consultant, told the Statesman, though he cautioned it will likely bring “a slow ascent into recovery over the next 12 to 18 months.”

According to data from real estate data provider Zillow available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, as of mid-October, there were just over 8,100 homes for sale in Austin. Those homes had a median price of $269,000, down 2.2% from September’s figures. There were nearly 100 new homes with a median price in the $380,000 range, an encouraging sign that builders in Austin still have enough confidence to continue making homes despite the slumping market. Additionally, there were more than 1,150 foreclosed homes on the market, selling at a median price of just over $143,000, a slight fall of 0.7% from September’s prices.

The Phoenix real estate market has been battered in the past couple of years along with the onset of the bursting bubble of the U.S. housing market and the slump in the economy in general. The area has seen many job losses and as a result many foreclosures. Signs now point to a market still struggling to dig out of a hole. Though sales volume is up, prices and home values are still off their peak.

According to DataQuick News, sales volume fell in August from July by 15.5%, a steep month-over-month decline but still representing a 20% increase from sales volume in August 2008. Sales volume has increased on year-over-year figures for eight months in a row. The median price paid in August for new and resale homes and condos was just under $135,000, up 1.3% from July’s figure but down 29.1% from 2008’s median price of $190,000 and nearly half — 49% — off of the area’s peak median price of $264,100 of June 2006.

The Arizona Republic reports that “Phoenix was the biggest overall home-value loser in 2009, with the city’s median home price dropping from $229,000 to $82,000 between September 2008 and Aug. 31, 2009,” showing that real estate in Phoenix has a long way to go before it can be considered a fully recovered market.

According to data from Zillow makes available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, as of the middle of October, there were just over 7,400 homes for sale in Phoenix, with a median price of just $180,000, a decrease in price of 4.8% from September. There were 50 new homes for sale here, a figure higher than in most cities nationwide, where the figure remains at or near zero. The new homes had a price of just under $364,000, a 13.1% increase from September sales figures. There also were more than 20,700 foreclosed homes on the market, with these homes having a median price of $165,000, a slight uptick of 0.2% from September’s prices.

The broader bursting of the U.S. housing market has had its share of effects on Seattle real estate, bringing down average sale prices and home values but making many homes affordable for a new class of buyers.

Sales are up in the Seattle area as of late. According to the Seattle Times, the number of closings on single-family homes in Kings County, in which Seattle is located, was up by 14.3% in September 2009 from figures of September 2008, an encouraging figure. Other positive signs on real estate in Seattle include the fact that September was the fourth month in a row where the monthly increase bested its figure from 2008. The uptick in sales in credited at least in part to the government’s plan to offer tax rebates of $8,000 to first-time home buyers.

In the city of Seattle, September’s median price was off 3.6% in September from a year earlier, however, though Northeast Seattle saw a year-over-year gain of 4.7%. Though the price of sales in Seattle have declined, the number of homes changing hand has risen, the homes are just selling at lower prices than before. The number of sales in September 2009 was up by 16.5% in Seattle from September 2008. Neighboring counties all saw increases year over year in that figure as well of at least 10%.

According to data from Zillow made available on Yahoo! Real Estate, there were nearly 3,000 homes for sale in Seattle in mid-October 2009, with a median price of just under $420,000, a fall of 2.1% from September’s figures. Additionally, there were only two new homes for sale but nearly 1,400 foreclosed homes up for sale, with a median price of just over $300,000, a steady figure that remains unchanged from September.

Though the Houston real estate market was doubly beaten — by both the withering national housing market and by a hit in 2008 from a hurricane — the market has shown marketed resilience and recent figures show positive indications it is on its way back.

According data from to the Houston Association of Realtors, sales volume of single-family homes in September was up by 32% compared with September of 2008 real estate in Houston area. However, those figures must be taken in context, as September 2008 was the time when Hurricane Ike hit the Houston area, putting real estate in the back of many minds’ focused on hurricane recovery efforts. Listings volume was down as well by 9.2% from 2008, with 45,520 houses on the market this September, compared with more than 50,000 last year.

September’s median price for single-family homes was up slightly by 0.2% from 2008’s figures, the fifth straight month in which the figure has seen a rise, but the average price for a single-family home was actually down 1.6% from 2008, to just under $206,000. Foreclosure inventory has been high in Houston but figures suggest the supply may be thinning, as foreclosed properties accounted for just 18.6% of sales in September of this year, compared with 19.3% in September 2008 and 34% in January of this year.
According to data from Zillow available on the Yahoo! Real Estate website, in mid-October, there were just under 5,200 homes for sale in Houston proper (excluding suburbs), with a median price of $157,000, down slightly by 1.9% from September’s figure. There were 158 new homes for sale, a sign that builders are continuing in the construction of new homes with the confidence they will sell. There were almost 5,500 foreclosed homes on the market, with a median price of just under $98,000, down slightly by 0.8% from September’s prices.

A market situated in a hard-hit area of the country, Memphis real estate has taken a slight beating in terms of volume since the beginning of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent financial crisis and recession. Monthly sales volume in Memphis is down 19.4%, more than the U.S. and Tennessee averages of 14.8 and 15.5, respectively, according to USA Today. Realtors predict that the market will be able to recover eventually though since the city is not plagued by an overabundance of homes or a specific flailing industry.

“Memphis is not a roller-coaster city,” Jules Wade, the Memphis Area Association of Realtors‘ executive vice president, told USA Today. “Our market just kind of moves along at a fairly steady pace — nothing too fast and nothing too slow.”

Real estate in Memphis in recent months has seen more negative signs, however: 36% of residential listings there saw a reduction in their sales price in September, the highest percentage on a list of the largest 50 cities in America, with an average reduction of 9%, according to the Memphis Business Journal.

According to data available on Yahoo! real estate, based on information provided by real estate firm Zillow, there were nearly 4,700 homes for sale in Memphis in mid-October 2009, with a median price of $117,000, down 2.4% over September’s figures. There were nearly 2,700 additional foreclosed homes for sale, with a median price of just under $55,000, an increase of 1.9% over September’s numbers.

The Cupertino real estate market, like many markets in the country, particularly in the hard-hit state of California, has suffered greatly since the U.S. financial crisis began and the real estate market began experiencing difficulties around the country. Cupertino, in the high-tech Silicon Valley area, seemed to suffered a bit less than others, though now figures are suggesting the area’s market still has a slide before it can totally rebound.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, in August, the number of homes sold and the median price of homes sold in Santa Clara County fell from July, the first time there was a month-over-month decline since January, when the market seemed to begin its slow descent. Home sales were down 21% in August over July, the highest monthly decrease in the entire region. “The impact on August sales volume and prices shows just how fragile the housing market still is, and how affordability is a key driver of housing demand right now,” Matt Anderson, a partner at Foresight Analytics, an economics research company in Oakland, told the News.

According to data compiled by Yahoo! real estate, there were 156 homes for sale in Cupertino in mid-October 2009, with a median price of $1.17 million, down 1.6% from September prices. There were no new homes for sales and 61 foreclosed homes up for grabs, with a median price of just over $655,000, a fall of just 0.1% over September prices.

Summer was a down time for real estate in Cupertino and the greater Silicon Valley area, according to data in the San Jose Mercury News. In August, sales of existing homes fell 2.7% from July’s rate, according to the National Association of Realtors. Still, the figure represented a rise of 3.4% from August 2008.  New home sales in the area were up just 0.7% and the number of new homes sold was down 4.3% from August 2008.

Virginia is a state that encompasses many markets and many different spectra of residents, from the high-priced urban and suburban areas around the Washington, D.C., area to the more rural and mountainous regions in the state’s west. Virginia real estate as of late has seen mixed results of positive and negative signs.

In Northern Virginia in the D.C. area, prices have fallen about a third from the 2006 peak in Loudoun County, about a quarter in Faifax County and about 40% in Prince William County, according to a post in the Real Estate Dispatch in October.  However, local realtors say there have been some encouraging signs regarding real estate in Virginia in recent months.

“There has been a little bit of a rush in October and I see it as a strong last quarter. We don’t see the prices going up, but we are very busy. There is a lot of activity and a lot of buyers. That $8,000 credit for first-time buyers and low interest rates have buyers out there. It’s very surprising to me, though, that buyers seem to be out there on their own, working with listing agents. That is a very difficult thing to do, and I would advise against that,” Lilian Jorgenson of Long & Foster, McLean told the Sun Gazette newspaper.  There is currently a push by many to get Congress to extend that $8,000 tax credit, which expires in the end of November.

According to data available on Yahoo! real estate, median home sale prices have continued falling in 2009, from around $249,000 to $239,000 by October. Figures in October showed there were just under 68,000 homes for sale in Virginia, with a median price of $239,000, unchanged from September. The state harbored almost 20,000 foreclosed homes up for sales, with a median price of just over $216,000, down 1.4% since September, and there were more than 260 new homes for sale, with a median price of $370,000, down 1.3% since September.

An oceanside city near the larger area of Santa Cruz, Capitola, California, was known to have high home values because of high demand for its properties on the water. But like many markets in the U.S., the Capitola real estate market has suffered some serious setbacks brought on by the grueling collapse of the greater American housing market.

Though recent statistics have shown the market may be improving — the median sale price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County was $533,000 in September, the highest in more than a year, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel — many realtors urge caution in this market, noting that the full inventory has yet to come up for sale. Over the past several months, 30-40 default notices have been posted weekly, but only 10-15 new bank-owned listings come on the market each week. “There are double the amount of foreclosures as bank-owned listings,” Ruth Bates of Thunderbird Real Estate in Capitola told the Sentinel. “The banks are managing their inventory.”

Comparing September 2009 with September 2008, listings in the Santa Cruz area as a whole are down by 24%, sales are up 3% and 11% of September 2009’s sales were of homes of $1 million or more, Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty told the Sentinel. However, sale price categories must be examined to extra further trends. Higher-priced homes are tending to have more inventory building up — at a current pace, a five-year inventory is available of homes of $2 million-plus — whereas lower-priced homes are selling much better, spurred on by those looking to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers. Of homes under $300,000, Bates said there was just a five-month inventory buildup, a normal demand. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_13565734

According to Yahoo! Real Estate, which compiles data provided by Zillow, there were 88 homes for sale in Capitola in October 2009 with a median price of $649,000, a decrease in price of 7.2% from September. Additionally, there were 40 foreclosed homes on the market with a median price of just under $379,000, a slight increase in price since September of 0.3%.

As some market indicators show the recession may be easing up, the Boulder real estate market is generally bucking this trend, as its market continues to stagnate. Though, like most all residential real estate market in the U.S. the city took a hit due to the economic crisis, some numbers are slowly making their way back up, but the crisis is far from over. Home values declined by 3.2 percent in the first half of 2009 as compared with the first half of 2008.

All 11 of the major housing markets in the northern Colorado area have seen declines in home values, according to a semi-annual in-depth study on home prices released by the Colorado State University Everitt Real Estate Center in September, as reported in the Cherry Creek News.  Homes for sale in Boulder now include a large number of foreclosures. The county saw an increase year-over-year of more than 260% of foreclosure filings, much higher than the state’s average of a 72% increase.

The real estate in Boulder includes an increased inventory across the board as well, and a decrease in the number of sales. The number of single-family attached home closings fell 21% compared with the first half of 2008, while detached homes saw a fall of 19% compared with 2008, according to the Everitt Real Estate Center. The center reported that the inventory of homes below $300,000 has remained steady. However, the $300,000-plus market has seen a marked increase in the number of homes for sale, as more and more homeowners find themselves unable to meet their mortgage payments.

According to the Daily Camera newspaper, through June, housing activity is down by 26% compared with 2008. One sign of slightly more optimism is that Boulder’s median sales price during the second quarter of 2009 was $528,808, up 0.7 percent from last year’s second quarter.

The Fort Worth real estate market is continuing to suffer from the ill effects of the burst bubble of the U.S. housing market, with slumping prices and overstock of supply. In the third quarter of 2009, new home sales were down 34% year over year, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Sales of all homes still fell over the summer, but the declines are becoming smaller. Prices were down just 1.6% in July over the 2008’s figures, the smallest decrease in almost two years. These indicators lead several experts to believe that real estate in Fort Worth is at or nearing its bottom, at which point it can then begin to climb out and back up. In 2009, home prices in the Fort Worth area were only off about 4% from their peaks in 2007. Many markets across the U.S. are off by as much as 30% of their peaks, showing the Fort Worth market has been more resilient than many others.

Foreclosures may continue to plague the area, however. According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, in August, the number of mortgage holders 90 days or more behind on their payments in the Dallas-Fort Worth area rose to 4.8%, higher than the state’s average of 4.4%. This figure was up from 3.4% in August of 2008.

According to data compiled by Zillow and available on Yahoo! Real Estate, there were nearly 5,000 homes for sale in Fort Worth in October 2009, with a median price of almost $147,000, an increase of 2.5% from September’s figures. There were additionally nearly 60 new homes for sale with a median price of just over $200,000, an important figure because many markets have zero new homes for sale. Foreclosed homes accounted for more than 2,225 homes on the market and rang in with a median price of almost $95,000, an increase of 1.8% from September’s sales figures.

Charlotte, similar to many cities in the US, has felt the economic impact due to the meltdown of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Although Charlotte real estate was one of the last markets to be affected by the mortgage crisis, we will certainly be one of the first to recover due to the fact that there is a high demand for what Charlotte homes for sale and the surrounding areas have to offer. Credit must be given for the recovery to Charlotte as a whole, which provides an outstanding financial climate.

Having relocated to Charlotte in 1981 with my family from New York, I’ve marveled at the beautiful weather, clean streets, wonderful lifestyle and educational opportunities that this great city and it’s surrounding areas has to offer. In 1981, I would have considered Charlotte a “Southern City” and now I consider it “a cosmopolitan city in the South”.

Charlotte continues to grow and prepare for the next decade, thanks in part to our outstanding public and private leadership. With such major companies as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, US Air and Carolina Health Care present in Charlotte, our market will recover, as noted by the Case Shiller report from September 2009. While the report is only statistical in nature, it is an indicator of the secure frame of mind that business leaders and the general public possess.

The report also noted that, in this “growing North Carolina city, prices were flat on a year over year basis. Charlotte is one of those healthier areas of our country and the buying interest is recovering.”

Expectation for a full recovery, although some time from now, continues to be full of hope and optimism. Charlotte and the surrounding area offers so much to so many looking for a quality lifestyle, a positive work climate and an opportunity for financial independence. My family and I chose Charlotte in 1981 and have made it our home. We will continue that concept for many years to come as we look to retire in this wonderful region.

Lynn Welles, for Schwebel & Assoc. / Prudential Carolinas Realty /

One of the most expensive markets in the country, the New York real estate market has taken a beating amid the U.S. financial crisis and housing market slump. One thing that must be considered when examining the New York market, like many others, is that it is actually a collection of many small markets, each with its own distinct trends and fluctuations. What may be true of real estate in always-pricey Manhattan might differ with the trends of the markets in the other boroughs, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island.

As of data available mid-October 2009, real estate in New York seemed poised for a rebound, even if it may take years for values to reach their pre-recession levels. The number of sales over the summer in Brooklyn were up 29.3% over the previous quarter, according to New York magazine, though that figure still represents a decline of 19.3% of the same quarter of 2008. But sales were up across the board, with apartments, co-ops, condos and townhouses all seeing more buyers. In Queens, activity was up 31% from the quarter prior, though also down 13.9% from 2008 levels at the same time.

Average home prices varied in 2009’s third quarter for all of New York, with possibly positive signs in some boroughs mixed with negative signs in others. Average sale prices  in September were from the previous month up by 6% in Brooklyn to $534,000, 3% in the Bronx to $367,000, 1% in Queens to $406,000. Staten Island saw a decrease in prices of 1% to $382,000, while Manhattan saw a drop f 5% to $1.23 million.

Appraiser Jonathan Miller, whose firm, Miller Samuel, prepared surveys for Prudential Douglas Elliman that New York magazine reviewed, wrote: “The surge in activity provides evidence of increased confidence and improved affordability, but not a housing bottom due to future challenges of rising unemployment, tight credit and shadow inventory.”

Though San Diego real estate has been on the decline for three years in a row, signs are pointing to stabilization and eventually a rebound. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, which reviewed in October 2009 newly released quarterly data from MDA DataQuick, eight of 56 neighborhoods saw higher prices than a year ago, compared with only one or none in the recent quarters. The overall resale median price was $360,000, down just 5% from the same quarter in 2008, compared with 2008’s fall of more than 24% from 2007 figures, which were around $500,000.

The paper reported a decrease in longstanding inventory as well, another positive sign for the market: The San Diego Association of Realtors said the number of active listings for detached homes during the week of Oct. 17 stood at 5,670, down from 8,562 in mid-July. For real estate in San Diego to really pick back up, foreclosures will have to stay at bay. In September, the city’s foreclosure rate was 35.3%, up from 34.5 in August and the first monthly increase since January 2009. The Union Tribune also reported that “more than half of all resale homes that changed hands last winter had gone through foreclosure, (in September) it was down to 36 percent.”

In mid-October 2009, according to Yahoo! real estate data, there were more than 3,500 homes for sale in San Diego with a median price of half a million dollars, up 4.2% since September. There were 21 new homes for sale, with a median price of just under $678,000, a fall of 23.1% since September, and there were nearly 8,600 foreclosed homes up for sale with a lower median price of just over $329,000, a price decrease from September of just 0.1%.

But analysts and real estate professionals caution onlookers not to get too optimistic too soon about the market, as it could easily revert back to negative figures in the coming months. “I have the worry that with rising unemployment, we’re not out of the woods yet,” Kelly Cunningham, an economist with the National University Institute for Policy Research, told the Union Tribune. “There are more people that are struggling to make their mortgage payments.”

Though physically located thousands of miles away from the U.S. mainland, the distance has not been enough to keep the greater housing market problems affecting the U.S. from plaguing Hawaii as well. Maui real estate has been giving off mixed signals recently as to whether it is improving or still waiting to hit bottom. The island county’s foreclosure rate surpassed the national level in September and accounted for some of the highest foreclosure rates in the state.

According to the Honolulu Star Bulletin, which cited data released by RealtyTrac, the number of foreclosures in the state of Hawaii was up in September by 12% from August levels, an increase of 63.1% over September 2008. Maui’s foreclosure rate, at one per every 111 households, was starkly higher than the nation’s average of one of every 372. “Since Maui’s median price led at the peak, it only makes sense that it would be highest among foreclosure rates as loans come due and people continue to lose jobs,”  Keone Ball, principal broker at Carol Ball & Associates in Kahului, told the Star Bulletin.

Though signs for improvement aren’t exactly abundant for real estate in Maui, but some indicators do seem to point to at least a gradual stabilization . In September, according to the Maui News, there were 53 closings on single-family homes, down only slightly from 66 in September 2008 or 74 in September 2007, but off quite a bit from the more than 100 in September of both 2004 and 2005. Condominium sales actually showed a slight improvement, with 62 sales in September of this year besting last year’s figure of 50.

According to the Maui News, average prices remain about 20% lower than in 2008 and off around 30% from 2006 figures, when the average sale fetched more than $1 million. The average in 2008 was at $877,000; 2009’s average stands at $715,000. Volume has also drastically decreased: In the first three quarters of 2008, 344 homes for sale in Maui were sold. So far this year, only 163 have closed. Median prices are down on both single-family homes and condos, with the former down 16% year over year and the later down 14%.

Maui real estate update provided by Jeff in Hawaii from American Dream Realty. He can be reached at 808-792-7040 or you use his website to search all available real estate in hawaii. It allows you to get daily email alerts of properties that meet your desired search area. His team can help you on all the Islands of Hawaii the Big Island, Maui, Kauai and Oahu where he lives and is based.

But some local realtors maintain the market slump is simply that — a slump that will soon pass. “After 50 years, I’ve been through several slowdowns, and in my opinion this has not affected us in Chattanooga as much as the one did in the late 1970s and early ’80s when Jimmy Carter was president,” Elgin Smith of Prudential RealtyCenter told the Chattanooga Times Free Press, noting that in those times, interest rates were up to 17 percent, versus less than 5 percent now.

Though the area’s employment sector has suffered like so many around the country, it has been lifted with the impending opening of a new Volkswagen plant in the town, which will bring with it economic benefits and more jobs. According to the Times Free Press, a University of Tennessee study estimated the plant and its spin-offs would create nearly 12,000 jobs in the region, effects that will undoubtedly be a boon to the local real estate market.

According to Trulia.com, a real estate search provider, the average listing price for real estate in Chattanooga was just over $236,000, with the median sales price at over $112,000. Though there were 254 sales in September, that figure represented a more than 76% decline in sales from the year prior.

Though it was hit hard by the slumping housing market crisis that has affected nearly all of America, the East Bay real estate market shows signs that it may be improving as of late, even if the numbers aren’t near where they were before the financial crisis. An October article in the San Francisco Chronicle said the most recent reports show that September actually accounted for a “modest increase” of sales in the Bay area in September 2009.

The Chronicle said median prices of home sales were up slightly in September, with fewer lower-priced foreclosures and more high-value homes added into the mix. In the nine-county Easy Bay area, nearly 8,000 resale homes and condos changes hands in September, enough for an increase of 8.4% since September 2008. Existing home sales accounted for more than 5,700 transactions, up 4.7% from 2008.

Though sales were up, prices were actually down, with September sales showing $380,000 as the median price for an existing single-family home, down from $400,000 from a year earlier, though slightly up from August 2009’s median price of $375,000. Though real estate experts say home sales typically fall after the summer, real estate in East Bay remained steady this year after the summer, spurred on by the fast-closing chance for first-time buyers to cash in on the $8,000 government tax credit for buying a home, as the credit is only good up to Nov. 30. The amount of foreclosed homes on the market has fallen as well. Though it was still high in September at 32.8% of all sales, that figure shows much improvement on the record 52% level in February of this year. www.sfgate.com

Real estate data provided by Yahoo!, which compiles the information from data-provider Zillow, showed 1,442 homes for sale in East Bay in October, with a median price of $848,000, up 1.6% from September. There were also 1,673 foreclosures, with a median price of just over $547,000, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous month. The data included information of the San Francisco real estate market.

Like many markets across the nation, the Colorado Springs real estate market has been suffering in recent years along with the housing market slump and the U.S. recession. However, unlike most markets, which only began to see their major slides in 2008, after the fall of Lehman Brothers and the greater spiraling of financial markets, Colorado Springs real estate has been in decline since 2006, though the adverse effects have been more pronounced since the start of the recession.

Despite this spate of bad news over recent years, the market seems as though it may finally be on its road back to recovery, as statistics from September 2009 show home sales up more than 12% from September 2008, the area’s second consecutive year-over-yera double-digit increase, according to local realtor Rick Van Wieren. But selling prices are mostly being met, with more than 97% meeting asking prices.

Data available on Yahoo! showed, in October 2009, Colorado Springs had a stock of just under 5,000 homes for sale, with a median price of $225,000. That price remains stable from September 2009. Additionally, there were 33 new homes for sale in Colorado Springs at a median price of just over $300,000 and more than 2,700 foreclosed homes for sale at a median — and quite affordable — price of just over $156,000. The price for sales on foreclosed homes was up 0.9% since September. Adding to a comeback in the market has been the return of a number of troops from overseas to the local Fort Carson, creating a bump in demand.

According to data from the Colorado Springs Gazette in September 2009, single-family home building permits had risen year over year this summer, although the figures follow upon three and a half years of decreases in construction. Home sales were up over the summer but had previously declined in all but one month since May 2006. Prices for homes sold in the month of August fell slightly, as they have each month for two years in a row. The area also has not been immune to the foreclosure crisis plaguing the country. Filings for foreclosures were up in August compared with 2008, having seen increases each month in 2009. Real estate in Colorado Springs is not out of the woods yet, Fred Crowley, a University of Colorado at Colorado Springs economist, told the paper.

The California real estate market is one of the wildest markets in the country, with record numbers of foreclosures and plummeting sales prices. However, California is a very large state and its real estate markets must be examined closely on a localized level, as fluctuations can vary widely. Before the economic crisis in the U.S. housing market, Palm Springs, California, was a high-value real estate market. And though home prices and values have fallen substantially since before the recession, they are still much higher than those in much of the rest of America.

Home sales in the state are expected to fall next year, unlike in most of the rest of the country. According to an article in the Desert Sun newspaper in October, a forecast by the California Association of Realtors projected home sales would slow by 2.3 percent in 2010, from a projected 540,000 homes this year to 527,000 next year. But real estate in Palm Springs has seen less damage than many in the Golden state. August figures showed the median home price up 5.4% since July, but down by 17% when compared with August 2008. Showing positive signs, however, the figure was the smallest year-over-year fall in price since March 2008, according to data compiled by brokers Greg Bauer and John Gillette.

The Desert Sun reported that David Carter, branch manager for Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Palm Springs, said inventory was improving as well, with fewer homes for sale in Palm Springs. “What we have seen here in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, we’ve seen an increase in sales, slight though it may be. We have gone from an inventory at the bottom of the market of 26 months down to 5 months of inventory,” he told the Sun.

Higher-end homes have tended to fare better in Palm Springs real estate. In August, half-million-dollar to $1 million homes made up only 12.8% of sales in the city, but their median price was up 2.6% compared with prices in August 2008. Likewise, the million-dollar-plus housing market in Palm Springs, though only making up 3% of the market, saw median prices up 16.2% from August 2008. The heavy price decreases are mostly concentrated in bank-owned properties, most of which fall in the under $500,000 range.

The deterioration of the La Jolla real estate market has shown that no regional market is immune from the effects of the housing market crash in the U.S. The San Diego, California, area was recently named the most expensive market in North America by the Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index of more than 300 markets across the country.

Despite this designation, La Jolla, like many other communities, both affluent and less so, has seen a decline in its residential real estate values across the board over the past couple of years — even if those decreased values still remain higher than in any other U.S. market. The market seems to have stabilized at least for the moment, however. In October, according to real estate data available on Yahoo, there were 530 homes for sale in La Jolla, down nearly 2% from the previous month, with a median price of nearly $1.56 million. Additionally, there were 195 foreclosed homes for sale, an increase from the previous month of 3.2%, with a median price of over $835,000.

This high-priced area is not safe from the troubles of foreclosures, either. Just because real estate in La Jolla is expensive does not exempt homeowners here from experiencing job losses and financial difficulties. A San Diego Union Tribune investigation, assisted by Zillow, found that more than 130 homes in the San Diego area priced at more than $1 million had been foreclosed upon from January 2007 through June 2009. Of the 23 most expensive San Diego foreclosures, five were located in La Jolla.
Overall sales in San Diego were down about 4% year over year in August, though it can be difficult to extrapolate information about the La Jolla market from the greater San Diego market data, since it varies so greatly from that of the greater region, particularly since the largest increase in home sales in San Diego has been in those less than $300,000, of which there are very few in La Jolla. http://www.fidelitypacificrealestate.com/San_Diego_Market_Conditions_Aug_09/page_2276914.html In the six-county Southern California region, sales in September were up by 11% year over year, showing signs that the popular region’s market may be on its way back up, according to data in a San Diego Union Tribune article.

The Santa Cruz real estate market, like so many others, particularly in its state of California, has suffered setbacks and price declines since 2008, when the U.S. financial crisis really began to hit the American housing market. The Santa Cruz market has seen its share of falling prices, increased inventory, a rise in foreclosures and houses unable to sell. But by the end of summer 2009, signs seemed to point that real estate in Santa Cruz may be slowly on its way back up.

According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper, in the county, the median price of a single-family home fell just slightly to $500,000 in August  2009, after recovering around $100,000 over the previous five months. Sales have been steadily rising since the winter. Just 92 homes were sold in February 2009, compared with 175 in July and 155 in August. The median price of homes for sale in Santa Cruz has taken a hit and is unlikely to return to its high level of $770,000 in 2007, but the level of $520,000 in July is an improvement upon the $399,000 levels of February.   According to statistics compiled by Santa Cruz broker Connie Landes, the median September price showed the first time since December 2007 that the median price was higher than it was in the year prior. landes.rereport.com/market_reports

In August, sales were at the highest point in three years, and listings had dropped for eight months in a row, both encouraging signs that the market is steadily improving and investors’ confidence may be coming back. Currently, the Santa Cruz real estate market has about six months’ stock of inventory. Landes’s statistics showed that the average number of days homes are spending on the market has decreased as well, to 62 in September, from 82 in August, and from 74 in September 2008.

The one hit on the market that is still taking its toll is foreclosures. In August, a record was set when more than 50 foreclosed properties were set for auction in one day. It was then estimated that nearly one-third of mortgage-holders in the county owed more on their homes than its worth, and about 1,300 homeowners were behind on their mortgage payments. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_13148702 According to Yahoo! real estate data, in October 2009 there were 282 foreclosed homes available on the market at a median price of over $563,000.

Home sales have risen quite substantially since the economic crisis began and prices hit their lows, but the prices are still at some of the lowest figures in 11 years. In June, 4,562 homes were sold, the lowest number since at least 1998. Resales of Denver condos, however, had risen 6.5 percent from 2008, the only category where gains were achieved.

The median home price for homes and condos in June was $210,000, off more than 15 percent of the peak prices of more than $247,500 in June 2006 but the highest figure since August 2008, showing that perhaps real estate in Denver is making its comeback and will soon be on its way to gradually rising again. Government-insured FHA loans were the most popular type of financing buyers used in June sales, accounting for 47.5 percent of purchases. (http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Quarterly-Charts/Denver-Charts/ZIPCO.aspx

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Additional signs of improvement include a decrease in sales time: TeamCox Realtors reported that houses are currently on the market for 2.64 fewer days than they were in 2008, and 2.25 days fewer than they were last month, a welcome improvement. (http://realtytimes.com/rtmcrcond5/Colorado~Denver~teamcox) They also report that foreclosures in Denver had fallen 46 percent in the first quarter of 2009 year-over-year, a crucial indicator for the stabilization of the Denver housing market.

In addition, homes for sale in Dallas fell to record lows and foreclosures were at an all-time high. Despite all the bad news affecting real estate in Dallas, though, the decline has begun to slow a bit in the regional market. In the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller report in September, Dallas area homes were only down by 1.6 percent, an improvement from the fall in the city’s prices by about 5 percent earlier in 2009. This and other reports have suggested that perhaps the Dallas real estate market has hit the price floor and will now soon to slowly pick back up. (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/classifieds/news/homecenter/realestate/stories/093009dnbuscaseshiller.c8b019.html) In the Case-Shiller report, many other major metropolitan cities were still experiencing decreases year over year of 10 to 30 percent or more, so Dallas’s paltry 1.6 percent was seen as a sign for optimism.

“The rate of annual decline in home price values continues to decelerate and we now seem to be witnessing some sustained monthly increases across many markets,” Standard & Poor’s David M. Blitzer said in the report. In July 2009, there were 107 homes sold, one more than July 2008’s 106, and the percentage of homes sold price to asking price remained at 96 percent, where it also was in 2008. However, prices had fallen. Sold price per home was over $237,000 in July 2008 and had fallen to $209,000 in July 2009.

The Newport Beach real estate market has not suffered as badly as many areas of the nation, mostly due to the fact that the only residents who can afford to buy homes here are high-net-worth individuals, but this exclusive area has not been immune to the foreclosure wave sweeping the nation. Figures from September 2009 show that there were more than 830 homes for sale in Newport Beach, with a median price of nearly $1.5 million, a figure that has remained steady since August. There were also more than 300 foreclosures with a median selling price of just over $929,000.

Though prices here are still high compared with national averages, the prices are lower than they have been in recent years, which has been attracting new buyers who might not have been able to afford such homes a few years ago to real estate in Newport Beach. One estimate says home values have fallen around 20 percent from their peak values, which came in 2006.  Many buyers are also spurred on by the $8,000 government tax rebate for first-time buyers, and some are looking to take advantage of finding investments in the Newport Beach area, expecting the prices will eventually rebound.

August 2009 figures showed median prices in Newport Beach ranging from $832,000 to $4.3 million, depending on Zip code. Regardless of the area though, all average prices are down from the previous year. The area in Newport Beach with a median home sales price of $1.15 million is down from 2008 by just 7.8 percent, but the region of the city with median sales prices at $4.3 million has found its prices slashed, falling by more than 100 percent since the same time last year. (http://www.dqnews.com/Charts/Monthly-Charts/OC-Register-Charts/ZIPOCR.aspx)

September 2009 figures showed the median price of homes for sale in Colorado was $274,000, down 0.3 percent from August 2009, with a stock of more than 65,000 homes. The price for new homes was up 0.2 percent, and the median price for foreclosures, of which there were nearly 25,000, was more than $166,000.

Average selling prices in Colorado Springs are around $225,000; prices in the Denver area range from around $300,000 to $400,000. Sales in the Denver region, though rising slightly, are still at some of their lowest levels of the decade. Nonetheless, promising signs included the statistics from May to June from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which showed the Denver housing area market showed a 1.5 percent gain, the highest of all 20 major metropolitan areas monitored through the index and one of only two cities to show an increase. Sales in the Colorado Springs real estate market increased in August 2009 by 14.5 percent from the previous month, the third consecutive month with an increase and the market’s biggest monthly gain, giving market analysts in the region signs of optimism despite the fact that sales are down by 3.9 percent thus far from the previous year (http://www.gazette.com/articles/year-61422-sales-percent.html).

Still, other areas, like Aspen, Vail and the other high-priced ski resort regions, are seeing improvements in their markets. The Vail Board of Realtors said it saw a jump in sales from August to September of 2009, with 77 properties going under contract, up from just 22 between January and July. Many accredit this spike in sales to the falling prices of properties in the highly sought-after resort region. (http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20090914/NEWS/909139984/1058)

However, since the financial crisis, the figure of median sale prices of homes in Las Vegas has fallen and now sits at $125,000 as of April 2009, a 57 percent drop from the 2006 peak that puts prices now on par with levels of 1998, according to Las Vegas realtor Jacqulyn Richey of Realty One Group. Richey wrote that the average price per square foot has also dropped from more than $135 to just over $78, a drop of 42 percent.

But lower real estate prices in Las Vegas is not necessarily all bad news. The lower figures, combined with the government’s tax rebates for first-time home buyers, have enticed several players in to the market who otherwise would not have been able to buy these homes.

Las Vegas’s real estate market has also been hard hit by a wave of foreclosures: In the fourth quarter of 2008, the city had a foreclosure rate of 18 percent, second in the country only to Florida, according to figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association. But with the falling prices and opportunities to buy up foreclosed properties, real estate sales in Las Vegas have actually picked up, even if prices have not. According to Las Vegas realtor Glenn Plantone, June and July of 2009 accounted for more real estate sales than any other month on record — even the months of 2004 when the market was at its hottest.

According to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service, 511 homes sold during the month of August in Ada County which includes the Boise area. That number is just above the 510 homes sold during the month of July and is up 7.6% over the number of homes sold in August 2008. Many attribute the increasing number of home sales to the tax credit being offered by the Federal Government. Plus first time home buyers are cashing in on the steadily declining home prices. Median home prices in the Boise area are down about 15% from $200,000. in August 2008 to $169,900. in August 2009.

Another reason given for increasing home sales is a program offered by Idaho Housing and Finance Association. This program finances the down payment for those first time home buyers allowing them to finance their down payment and repay the loan when they receive their tax credit refund. Many first time buyers are finding that they can pay off their down payment loan and still have money left over to pay down their other debt. However, this program runs out the end of November when the tax credit expires.

Although home prices have seen a dramatic decrease, home prices seem to be settling in to their 2004 levels. Boise real estate prices increased dramatically during the 2004-2006 real estate boom making home prices out of reach for most first time home buyers living in the Boise area. Now as prices have come down, the buyers have returned – the question is whether they will keep returning when the tax credit expires.

This market information was provided by Boise Realtor Karen Geselle.  She has been cosistantly in the Circle of Excellence and when she is not helping her clients locate real estate she enjoys traveling, golf, church avtivities and gardening.

According to a July 17, 2009 article in the Saint Petersburg Times, the rate of foreclosures in Tampa real estate has started to slow, although there are still an inordinate amount of foreclosures and defaults in the Tampa area. The piece, written by Times Staff Writer James Thorner, said that “That’s 7200 houses – the residential stock of a typical small town – plunged into mortgage default in a single month in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando Counties. But after digging through charts put out by RealtyTrac, the California company that publishes market by market foreclosure data, June could be the month when foreclosures began beating a retreat.” At the same time, the Florida Association of Realtors noted that the number of homes sold in June of 2009 as opposed to June of 2008 increased by over twenty percent – 2,346 to 2,848.

A July 16, 2009 article in the Tampa Bay Business Journal found that the Tampa real estate market has started to stabilize. The piece, authored by Michael Hinman, reported that “Foreclosure rates have stabilized in much of the Tampa Bay area through the first half of 2009 despite breaking a new record nationwide. Rates in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, and Sarasota counties dropped through the first six months of the year compared to 2008, according to new numbers released by RealtyTrac, despite double-digit gains in the second quarter and in June.”

The foreclosure situation in Indiana is among the worst in the nation, although it was affected much later during the recession than most of the rest of the country. It jumped by double digits in the month of June, as mentioned by an online article by WCSI Local News. The piece went on to say that “Indiana foreclosures jumped 12 percent last month to their highest level in nine months. Legislators are hoping some new laws on foreclosures reverse that trend. As of July 1, state law bans prepayment penalties on adjustable rate mortgages, to make sure people who want to get out of a bad loan can do so.”

A July 22, 2009 article in the Courier-Journal described a second law enacted by the Idiana state legislature to prevent foreclosures and boost the Indiana real estate market. It said that “Lenders are now required to send Indiana homeowners at least 30 days notice before filing a foreclosure and must discuss options to avoid the action, if the borrower requests it, under a state law that took effect this month.” WSBT 2, a local news station, ran a story with the title “Indiana Hopes New Prevention Program Will Help Stem The Tide of Home Foreclosures.” The Indy Star reported on July 24 that a number of new buyers entered the real estate market in June, pointing towards a possible recovery.

According to a July 23, 2009 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, there is a distinctly mixed picture in the foreclosure section of the Berkeley real estate market. It stated “A key indicator of mortgage trouble hit an all-time high for the Bay Area in the second quarter, according to a real estate report released Wednesday. Notices of default, sent to people who are delinquent on their home loans, totaled nearly 20,000 for the nine-county region in April, May, and June, said MDA DataQuick, a SanDiego real estate data company.” On the other hand, the same article noted that foreclosures themselves dipped slightly during the same time period. “The 6,929 Bay Area foreclosures reflected a 25.4 percent drop from the second quarter last year. Likewise, the state’s 45,667 foreclosures were a 27.9 percent drop from the year-ago period.”

On the other hand, home sales in the Berkeley real estate market as well as the Bay Area in general increased somewhat during the month of June 2009. According to a July 17, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times, “San Francisco Bay Area home sales were up 20% in June over the same month last year, while the median sales price was down 27%, MDA DataQuick reported Thursday.” Additionally, an article in the July 16, 2009 edition of Bloomberg found that “A total of 8,644 new and existing homes were sold in the nine-county region.”

Baltimore real estate

According to a July blog post in the Baltimore Sun, “Economists seem to be hanging their hat on the trend, which is positive for the past three months. Not considering the margin of error, of course. I was hoping for something a bit more hopeful, and also more local, so I turned to new-home permits issued in June. Builders got permits for 442 units in the Baltimore metro area, down 16 percent from a year ago.” The article, written by Baltimore Sun reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins, continued to say that “Now, I realize that doesn’t sound like a woohoo-worthy statistic – unless you’re in favor of less building – but it’s a much smaller drop than the one nationwide.”

The Baltimore Business Journal reported on July 10 of 2009 that “Home sales in the Baltimore area increased in June, the first year-over-year increase in more than two years and a potential sign that buyers are renewing their confidence in the crumbled housing market.” Towson University Professor Daraius Irani said that “It’s too early to say that the housing market is rebounding, but it does show that there is some renewed optimism in the housing market.” Realty Trac, Inc. also found that the number of foreclosures in the Baltimore real estate market decreased nearly 22.5 percent in June of 2009 from June of 2008.

According to a July 13, 2009 piece reported by News Channel 5, which serves Nashville, “Foreclosure experts met in Middle Tennessee to try and put a stop to the housing crisis. A year ago bad adjustable rate mortgages were the reason and now the economy was the root of the problem. More people are out of work and being forced out of their homes.” Laura Sinclair of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency further stated that “The economy is really driving foreclosures now. The bulk of foreclosures are now a result of job loss, reduction in income, increase in expenses.” A July 29, 2009 article found some hope that the record-high levels of foreclosures in Nashville may have finally plateaued, at least according to the most recent statistics released.

A July 10, 2009 article in the Tennessean found that home prices continued to decline in June of 2009, although the drop softened somewhat in the most recent period of analysis for Nashville real estate. The piece found that “The housing market continues to fall, but maybe the pain is finally easing here. The median price of a single family home in the Nashville area fell 3.2 percent in June to $177,700 from a year ago, which wasn’t as dramatic a decline as previous months had experienced.” A July article in the Nashville Business Journal also took an upbeat approach, mentioning that more than 2,000 homes were sold in the area during June 2009.

A July 19, 2009 article in the Sea Coast, home sales in the state of New Hampshire increased slightly in the month of June, offering possible good news for the Sea Coast real estate market. According to figures released by the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, residential property sales increased by one half of one percent in June of 2009 as compared to June of 2008 – from 1,145 to 1,151. The piece stated “New Hampshire home sales saw a small rise in June transactions, marking the second such increase in the last four months…Though not a dramatic increase, NHAR President Paul Sargeant said it’s one piece of recent good news, including a trend of declining statewide residential housing inventory, a 22 percent decrease in statewide foreclosures from June 2008 to June 2009, and a positive trend nationally in pending home sales.”

However, there are a considerable number of foreclosures still on the Sea Coast real estate market and the rest of New Hampshire. According to the Portland Press Herald, the local market for foreclosures has been heating up both in Maine and New Hampshire, sparking an increased interest in “flipping” houses. According to a July 13, 2009 article in the Sea Coast, a local realtor has decided that the economy has become so bad that she will dedicate a full quarter of her commissions to giving back to the community, in hopes that she can help the local economy recover somewhat.

Market update courtesey of Portsmouth real estate perfessionals.

It appears that the residential sector of the Northern Virginia real estate market may have battled through the worst of the crisis. According to a July 10, 2009 article in the Washington Business Journal, “Northern Virginia Realtors say the homebuyers’ market may be starting to stabilize. The Northern Virginia Association of Realtors noted that average second-quarter sales prices have climbed steadily from $405,514 in April, to $433,257 in May and $451,345 in June.” This means, in general, that homes are spending less time on the Northern Virginia real estate market, and the Northern Virginia real estate is selling for higher prices than they did in the heyday of the crisis. A July 29, 2009 article in the Washington Examiner echoed the same sentiment for the larger D.C. Area, saying that “Washington area home prices rose in April and May, but experts caution that values still have a long way to go.”

A July 23, 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal makes the point, however, that signs of life in Northern Virginia real estate cannot necessarily be linked to any larger, nationwide trend. “Memo to those wondering when the housing slump will end: It depends on where you live. The Wall Street Journal’s latest quarterly survey of housing-related data shows that the market for residential real estate is healing at varying speeds in different parts of the country.”

The condos in the Oahu real estate market was even worse when you compare the 2009 number of sales (1,707) compared to 2008 number of sales (2,523). The Oahu condos average price decease was not as large as the single family homes. It was a 75 decrease compared to the 2008 during the same time period.

Some markets are seeing some signs of hope like Waikiki. If you compare July of 2009 & 2008, the prices were actually higher in 2009 for the same month.  If you compare the number of sales in Hawaii Kai for singe family homes for the month of July 2009 had more sales. Oahu has been slowing improving and hopefully will start to stabilize like other parts of the country are seeing.

Reported by Hawaii real estate broker Jeff Manson of American Realty. Jeff and his team serve all the Hawaiian islands including Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big island of Hawaii.

An article in the Housing Predictor attempted to analyze the situation that Saint Louis homes and Missouri homes have found themselves in recently. The piece, which was published on August 13, 2009, stated that “The hunt for the elusive bottom of the housing market is in full gear in Missouri as home sales rise, signaling an improvement in market conditions may be in sight in an otherwise bleak economy. Home sales have been helped by government efforts to get first time buyers off the fence. The first time buyers’ tax credit has gotten many new home buyers to enter the market in St. Louis, where prices are, however, still deflating. But housing deflation has slowed as high unemployment and a reshuffling of the economy hurts Missouri’s gateway city on the mighty Mississippi River. Saint Louis has been battered by the nation’s epidemic of foreclosures.”

An August 20, 2009 article published in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch suggested that there might be progress in Saint Louis real estate. The article, written by Tim Bryant, stated that “Sales of existing houses were up or flat last month in key parts of the region, perhaps providing more evidence that the housing slump is bottoming out. But the increases were spotty and the head of the Saint Louis Association of Realtors cautioned Wednesday that sales may sink again after the $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers expires Nov. 30.”

According to a July 23, 2009 article in Business First of Columbia, home sales in the Columbus metropolitan area declined once again in the month of June, compared to both the month of May and June of 2009. The piece stated that “Central Ohio home sales declined again in June, but new statistics from the Columbus Board of Realtors show sales took their smallest dip yet this year. The board said 2,092 existing single-family homes and condominiums were sold last month, down 7 percent from 2,242 a year ago. Declines this year have ranged from 12 percent to 22 percent.” The President of the Columbus Board of Realtors said that “It means Central Ohio is not seeing the volatility in supply and pricing that much of the rest of the country is experiencing.”

A July 24, 2009 article in the Columbus Dispatch found that home sales showed hope for stability in June 2009, saying that “Home sales improved locally and nationally from May to June, fueling optimism about early signs of an economic recovery. Although central Ohio sales last month were down nearly 7 percent from a year earlier, they jumped 15.6 percent from May. June’s 2,092 sales were the most in 10 months.” Also, the Columbus Housing Partnership found that the foreclosure crisis is not improving, citing a thirty five percent increase in calls compared to last year.

According to an article entitled “Hot Market: Central US Market Turns In Springfield, Illinois” published in the Realty Times by M. Anthony Carr, the Springfield real estate market has started to recover from the ravages of the recession. The piece stated that “Springfield, Illinois, one of the central markets in the country, is starting to show signs of a turn-around. Sales are still down compared to year over year, however, the number of listings have dropped month after month, coupled with pending sales on the rise, as well.” Additionally, according to the Illinois Association of Realtors, good conditions in the month of June led to the fourth consecutive month of rising home prices and the fifth consecutive month of rising home sales.

A July 30, 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune highlighted the differences between Springfield real estate and the rest of the state of Illinois. The piece found that Chicago, Naperville, and Joliet all had extremely high rates of foreclosures, while “On the bright side, foreclosure activity fell 22 percent in the Peoria area, 29 percent around Springfield and 11 percent in the Champaign-Urbana area from last year.” On the other hand, the State Journal-Register noted that the city of Springfield is one of the cities in Illinois looking for housing aid.

A July 29, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times indicated that, for the first time since three years ago in 2006, home prices have started to rise. The piece, authored by Peter Y. Hong, stated that “Cleveland, Dallas, and San Francisco showed the largest gains in May figures released Tuesday, but Los Angeles prices continued to fall. The index was the latest surprise following monthly gains in new-home sales and housing starts nationwide, and higher median home sales prices in California.” The California Association of Realtors reported for the month of June that home sales increased by just over twenty percent, while the median home price fell by about twenty six and a half percent. On the other hand, the same statistics indicated that home sales increased by a little more than four percent from May 2009.

According to a July 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times, “New data from First American CoreLogic shows mortgage delinquencies climbing in June, with both California and Los Angeles posting default rates of about 10%. Yes, a staggering one out of 10 mortgage holders in Los Angeles County and California missed enough mortgage payments to receive a notice of default.” A July 9, 2009 article, also in the Los Angeles Times, found that commercial real estate in Los Angeles is also in serious trouble, and that a wave of foreclosures there may also be imminent.

According to an August 18, 2009 article in the Houston Chronicle noted another decline in home sales, although it did also note that the rate of fall has started to level off. The piece, composed by Nancy Sarnoff, found that “Houston-area home sales fell again in July, but the decline was the smallest it had been since the fall of 2007, according to data released today from the local realty association.” It continued to quote Vicki Fullerton of the Houston Association of Realtors, who said that “Strong pricing performance, an easing decline in sales volume and the slowdown of foreclosure sales make up for very positive indicators about the state of Houston real estate.” Not surprisingly, the real estate association has taken a more upbeat approach to the local real estate crisis.

An August 8, 2009 piece in the Houston Chronicle noted that “Despite some recent glimmers of hope, rising defaults, slowing sales, and falling prices have dominated the local headlines. Depending on where you live and what your goals are, your experience in the property market can vary drastically.” On August 28, 2009, the Houston Association of Realtors published a market update with the following observations and interpretations: “Seasonal home buying and continued activity among first time homebuyers translated to a significant improvement in single-family home sales across greater Houston in July, with the highest volume since July 2008 and the second highest median price in history.”

The Denver real estate market has been improving throughout this year but these are the best numbers so far.  The question is, of course, why are these numbers increasing so dramatically.

The answer is that most of the activity is occurring in homes priced under $300,000.  First-time homebuyers and investors are competing over a diminishing number of homes on the market.  This is putting upward pressure on prices and improving sales in this market segment.

The first-time home buyer tax credit offered by the federal government is $8,000.  This incentive has drawn in many first-time homebuyers to the marketplace.  Nationally, first-time homebuyers account for almost 30% of all home sales.  We’ve noticed that most of our sales this year have been to first-time homebuyers.

The number of distressed homes sales has dramatically decreased from a year ago.  Foreclosures and short sales no longer comprise the majority of homes priced under $300,000.  In some of our better neighborhoods there are no foreclosures or short sales.

Investors have also been grabbing up low-price homes.  Most investors are buying homes to fix up for rentals in Denver metro area and surrounding neighborhoods.  The Denver rental market has been fairly strong.  Now, more rental homes are coming onto the market.  So the supply is increasing and rental prices are softer.  Investors now have to look harder to find low-priced homes that will cash flow with 25% down payment.

The slowest segment of the Denver real estate is luxury homes.  Only 8% of all sales in June were homes priced over $500,000.  In many of these areas there is a 12 to 18 month supply of homes on the market.  Luxury home buyers certainly have a great selection.  Prices are soft and buyers are able to negotiate even lower prices.

Denver Post reports, July sales increased, the number of homes under contract actually fell slightly as did average prices. Some local brokers have attributed this to seasonal conditions.

This market update was provided by Larry Hotz a Denver Real Estate professional that serves Denver and all surrounding areas.

The Market Time Inventory is a measure of the number of houses that remain on the market, as related to the rate of sales at the time. According to statistics released on July 9th, the Market Time Inventory for Mission Viejo is 1.92 months, meaning that if no further homes entered the market, and sales continued at the current rate, there would be no properties left on the market in slightly less than two months. Mission Viejo real estate has also been suffering slightly from the typical summer slump, whereby sales usually slow down somewhat around the 4th of July. Sales have not decreased more than usual, though, which is a positive sign indicating possible resurgence for the Mission Viejo real estate market.

Mission Viejo has a population of about one hundred thousand residents, although there were less than fifty new home listings and just twenty seven new condominiums on sale during June of 2009. Mission Viejo is a relatively upscale master-planned community, with average sale prices at just below $560,000 for homes, and about $300,000 for condos. Mission Viejo real estate seems to be driven heavily by short sales and foreclosures, which are taken on and off the market quite quickly due to their low prices and usually high desirability. All in all, Mission Viejo remains a buyers market, with prices well below their previous values and expected to rebound shortly.

The Wall Street Journal’s “Developments” blog section deals regularly with real estate market across the country. This particular online issue of the Wall Street Journal Blog, written by Nick Tirimaos, listed the New Haven real estate market as one of the few places in the United States where buyers are paying more than the asking price for houses and condominiums. The article, which was published on July 24, 2009, seems to indicate that New Haven is something of a port in the nationwide storm of sub prime mortgages, defaulted loans, unemployment, and poor housing sales. The compiled statistics, reported by the California company RealtyTrac, found that in New Haven, Connecticut, houses were selling for 7.3 percent above asking price, a stark contrast to the rest of the country.

The New Haven Register published an article on July 3, 2009 regarding the so-called “ROOF” project, which is aiming to reduce rates of foreclosure in New Haven real estate. According to the piece, written by Elizabeth Benton, the program manager, Eva Heintzelman, said that “Single family homes seem to have been particularly hard hit and aren’t moving. The investors in the market aren’t as interested in single-family homes because they don’t have an income stream.” Meanwhile, the Connecticut Post found that rental properties are being  increasingly affected by the falling fortunes of real estate, while the New Haven Register also reported that foreclosures are driving a wave of homelessness.