A Daily Shot of News

Located in Orange County in Southern California, the city of San Clemente is starting to reveal signs of a real estate market that may be ready for a full recovery soon.  Many experts believe that many of the real estate markets in Southern California have already hit bottom and are poised for a rebound, but many also believe that there will still be a few more months of slight declines and rising foreclosure rates.  Job security and the financial security of the state of California are two major concerns that pose as obstacles to a successful recovery of the San Clemente real estate market.  As those to problems become less threatening as the country begins to pull out of the recession that began in 2008, many have hope that the real estate market in Southern California will begin to consistently improve.

According to DQNews.com many communities, including San Clemente, are beginning to show year over year gains.  Although the improvements are fairly small, real estate markets such as the San Clemente real estate market have posted more homes sold in September of 2009 than in September of 2008.  Some experts believe that the increase in home sales is due primarily to those home-buyers in search of bargain prices due to the large inventory of foreclosed homes.  In Southern California, DQNews.com reported that the number of new and resale houses and condos sold in September 2009 was about 0.2 percent higher than the previous month and about 5.1 percent higher than September 2008.  However, the real estate in San Clemente, as well as that of the rest of the region, have posted median home prices lower than that of the previous year, with, median prices failing to show any significant increase over the past months.  The median home price for a home in Southern California was $275,000, down 10.9 percent from $308,500 the year before.

The Guide to Local Real Estate in Orange County also reported a slight rise in the home sales in the San Clemente real estate market.  Of the 107 new San Clemente homes for sale in September of 2008, only 48 were sold, but in September 2009, 65 of the 119 San Clemente homes for sale were sold.  The average sales price in the San Clemente real estate market has declined slightly between September of 2008 and September of 2009 from $754,718 to $690,907.  Although median home prices have declined, many experts believe that the home sales made in the San Clemente real estate market will begin to gain momentum and be the main driving factor for the recovery of the real estate market.

Raleigh, along with most other real estate markets in North Carolina continue to struggle as a result of economic recession that began in 2008.  The state continues to face high foreclosure rates, a frozen credit market, and a suffering commercial real estate market.  Although North Carolina’s number of foreclosed homes has slightly decreased over the past few months, the state still ranks 29th in the US for the highest number of foreclosed homes.  Many North Carolina real estate markets are still posting declines in the number of homes sold and median home prices, suggesting that most markets have not yet hit bottom and that full recovery is not likely till well into 2010 or 2011.

According to the Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh real estate markets suffered from slight declines in home prices by the end of the first quarter of 2009.  Between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, Raleigh suffered from a 2.5 percent decline in home prices, falling to a median home value of $199,365.  When the market peaked in the first quarter of 2008, the median home price was $209,204.  Since then, the median price has declined by about 5 percent.  Approximately 61.6 percent of homes in Raleigh have declined in value over the past 12 months, and about 15 percent of all homes sold were sold at a loss.  However, only 10 percent of homes sold were homes that had previously been foreclosed on, less than the 20 percent average throughout the nation.

According to the Charlotte Business Journal, the commercial real estate is also facing major problems as businesses continue to file for bankruptcy and the credit market remains at a stall.  Real estate experts are worried that if the commercial real estate market is not able to begin its recovery soon, it won’t bee able to grow enough to accommodate the expansion of businesses expected by 2030, posing major threats to the economic future of North Carolina.  As Raleigh real estate continues to struggle, many experts continue to wait for signs that the market has hit bottom and is ready to rebound.

As a result of the major economic recession that began in the fall of 2008, most of the Tennessee real estate markets continue to suffer, with no signs of recovery in the near future.  Many real estate experts believe that a majority of the Tennessee real estate markets have not yet hit bottom and expect the real estate to continue to decline well into 2010 before any signs of recovery could be evident.  Although a majority of the smaller real estate markets are the ones suffering the most, some of the larger and more established commercial and residential real estate markets have been able to weather the recession successfully, showing less significant declines.  The southeastern Tennessee real estate markets, including the Chattanooga real estate market, also seem to be faring quite well due to the greater affordability of the real estate in the region.  Although signs of improvement in the real estate in the region have not been significant, the real estate in the area has posted much smaller rates of decline than the rest of Tennessee.

The Memphis Business Journal reports that a majority of Tennessee’s real estate markets are struggling due to lack of affordability of the real estate.  Markets such as the Chattanooga real estate market are faring much better because housing is not as expensive in the region, and most home-buyers are only looking for the affordable or “bargain” priced homes on the market.  The Memphis Business Journal reports that a majority of all real estate markets dominated by properties exceeding $400,000 are basically at a standstill.  In Germantown, the supply of properties priced at $500,000 and above is determined to be a 41 month supply based on the current rate of sales.  In the Memphis area, properties over $400,000 have declined by 58 percent in sales through May of 2009, with only 189 sales reported.  Compared to the first quarter of 2008, the home sales over $400,000 have declined 32 percent.  Multiple sources also indicated that the originations of jumbo mortgages have also declined by more than 70 percent.  This does offer hope for the real estate in Chattanooga though due to the greater affordability of the properties there.

The Channel 9 News in Chattanooga has also reported that even though Chattanooga’s real estate market has been unable to post any significant gains over the past months, it has not posted any declines either, which contrasts a majority of the other Tennessee real estate markets that are still experiencing significant declines.  However, many real estate experts do expect the real estate in Chattanooga to decline during the winter season, following annual trends of the region observed over the past years.  Spring and summer months are much more successful times for the market in the region, but during the winter months the market is expected to decline by around 20 percent in terms of home sales.  Nevertheless, experts believe it is the affordability of the Chattanooga real estate that will keep it from declining as much as other Tennessee real estate markets.

Although experts believe that the Hawaii real estate will continue to fall in the next few months, many are optimistic that the real estate in Hawaii will begin to make its full recovery soon after.  The economic issues the state faces, as well as the financial strains many Hawaii residents are experiencing are posing as major obstacles for the successful recovery of the Hawaii real estate market.  Unemployment rates continue to rise and tourism, the foundation of Hawaii’s economy, continues to suffer greatly as many people cannot afford to vacation in the isles.  Nevertheless, many believe that the Hawaii real estate will recover soon enough.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports that the real estate in Hawaii is still sliding downwards, with signs that it will continue to fall over the course of the next few months.  Although many real estate markets on the mainland are starting to show consistent signs of recovery, the number of Hawaii home sales are still dropping quite significantly.  In the second quarter of 2009, the number of single-family home and condo sales fell 37.8 percent from the previous quarter, even though the median sales price has increased 10.15 percent, evening out the drop seen during the first quarter.  Many Hawaii homes for sale are dropping in price, with luxury properties in Ko Olina selling for $825,000 today, a drop from the $1.5 million a year ago.  Nevertheless, the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization stated that the rates of decline are slowing and that recovery is near.

The Pacific Business News offers a slightly different outlook on the real estate in Hawaii.  They expect the Hawaii real estate market to slow to somewhat of a stand still in the next few months, with the state seeing very few changes in the real estate market well into 2010.  They have also reported that the number of tourists from Japan fell only 4.1 percent this year, significantly less than the 13.8 percent drop in the previous year.  This means that Hawaii’s tourism industry might begin to recover soon, setting the wheels in motion for the full economic recovery of the state of Hawaii.

With sky high unemployment and foreclosure rates, the state of Georgia continues to struggle.  Georgia real estate continues to decline, with most experts forecasting continuing declines in the coming months.  The economic recession that began in 2008 hit Georgia hard and the state has struggled to recover from it.  Year over year averages are still in the negatives as home sales and prices continue to decline.  However, it isn’t the lack of affordability that is causing most of the continuing declines in the region, it is the lack of financing.  Savannah real estate has a large inventory of foreclosed or distressed homes priced at “bargain” rates compared to prices in the previous year, but many of these homes are not selling because the national credit crisis has made it difficult for prospective home buyers to get the mortgages that they need.

According to NuWire Investor, real estate markets all throughout Georgia are continuing to decline.  While home prices have made slight increases in some parts of Georgia, a majority of the real estate markets are still below the previous year’s levels in terms of number of sales and median price.  The real estate markets continue to suffer especially because Georgia suffers from still rising unemployment rates, leaving many people without the money to afford a new home.  Home prices in Savannah are forecasted to continue to decline by about 10.6 percent in the coming months.  However, there is a large number of Savannah homes for sale, most of which are distressed or foreclosed properties being sold at prices significantly lower that what they were during the previous year.  Despite the “bargain” prices being offered, Georgia’s credit market continues to stall, leaving many people without the financing they need to buy a new home.

The Savannah WSAV local news station has also reported the large inventory of foreclosed and distressed properties on the market tempting home buyers with those “bargain” rates.  Most sellers in Savannah are being relatively realistic about what people are willing to pay for a house given the current economic situation, but many still find it difficult to sell since most home buyers are not willing to risk a new investment, especially with job security being a major concern.  Nevertheless, as the credit market begins to move again, many real estate experts are optimistic that the Savannah real estate market will be ready for a rebound.

Although most real estate markets throughout the nation did not begin to face the problems they face today until the beginning of the economic recession of 2008, the San Francisco Bay Area real estate markets were already struggling as they had not been able to fully recovery from the slight recession back in 2002.  The real estate in San Bruno and the surrounding Bay Area is known for being home to some of the most expensive markets in the nation due to extremely high demand.  Although recent months have suggested that the San Bruno real estate market has finally hit bottom and is on its way to a full recovery, the region is still plagued by issues such as job security and the financial stability of the state of California, both of which pose as major obstacles to the recovery of the San Bruno Real estate market.

According to DQNews.com, the Bay Area has shown some improvement over the past few months as many people scrambled to take advantage of low mortgage interest rates, tax credits that are due to expire at the end of November, and the relatively large inventory of foreclosed homes offering many prospective home buyers the attractive “bargain” prices that many are looking for.  The month of September 2009 ended with a slight increase in both the number of home sales and median price in the Bay Area.  During September, the region posted a total of 7,879 new and resale houses and condos sold, which was a 4.8 percent increase from August and a 8.4 percent increase from September 2008.  Although the increase may seem somewhat small, the reason why these numbers are so promising for the future of the Bay Area real estate market is that as observed during the previous years, the Bay Area normally posts around a 11 percent decline between the months of August and September.  The improvement of the real estate does suggest that the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen, but many real estate experts believe that the Bay Area isn’t out of the woods yet since the main fuel for the rise is sales is the still increasing inventory of foreclosed and distressed properties for sale.  Nevertheless, many people do have optimistic views of the Bay Area and San Bruno real estate in the coming months.

On the other hand, the San Francisco Business Times reported a slightly less optimistic view of the Bay Area real estate market.  According to a poll taken by LoopNet, most Bay Area real estate experts believe that the market won’t recover until 2011.  Only 50 percent anticipated a rebound in 2010, which was down 66 percent from the same survey taken during the previous quarter.  Although there are signs that the San Bruno real estate has hit bottom, most experts believe there will be a few more months of slight declines before consistent recovery can be made.

Marked by a real estate market that is considered by many to be unaffordable, Nashville continues to suffer as a result of the 2008 recession.  Like most markets in Tennessee, the Nashville real estate market has experienced significant declines, and many experts believe that these markets have not yet hit bottom, meaning that declines are expected to continue into 2010 before there can be any signs of hope for the end of these economic struggles.  Many experts attribute the lack of affordability to Nashville’s continuing decline in the housing market.  The only markets in Tennessee that are fairing well are those in the southeast, where the real estate market is much more affordable.

The Tennessean.com reports that the lack of affordability of condos in the region continues to be the main factor preventing the improvement of the Nashville real estate.  Although tax breaks have been offered to developers who promise affordable housing developments, the city has been fairly ineffective regulating the prices of the newly built condos in order to ensure their affordability.  This has gained the criticism of many real estate experts who believe that these newly constructing “affordable” housing options are still unaffordable to most people in search of a home in Nashville.  Prices for these units are around $150,000, but prices seem to be rising above what is already considered an affordable price for someone with a moderated income.

The Nashville Business Journal has also reported that according to a recent study, home prices in the Nashville real estate market are expected to continue to fall most likely through 2010 and into 2011.  With many properties still considered unaffordable, most sellers are being forced to lower their prices in order to attract buyers.  Although home prices have fallen 3.5 percent from the previous year, Nashville home prices are somewhat stable currently, rising 2.9 percent between the first and second quarter of 2009.  Nevertheless, experts believe that home prices will start to decline, resulting in a average of 14 percent during the next 12 months.

California has its fair share of economic problems such as state debt and job security, both of which pose as major obstacles to the recovery of the California economy and smaller markets such as the South Orange County real estate market.  Although home sales and median home prices have generally fallen throughout California over the past two years, many real estate experts are hopeful that the declines will slow, showing signs that the South Orange County real estate market has hit bottom and is ready to rebound.  Some communities in the area are already beginning to post year-over-year gains in median home prices and/or home sales, giving hope that the economy as a whole is ready to recover in the near future.

According to DQNews.com, the Southern California region actually seems to be showing early signs of recovery, with home sales slightly up for the 15th month in a row after 21,539 new and resale houses and condos were sold in the month of September.  That number was up 0.2 percent from the previous month and up 5.1 percent from a year before.  However, the median sales price continues to decline slightly, with the median price for South Orange County homes for sale at around $275,000, down 10.9 percent from $308,500 in September 2008.  Foreclosure rates are still relatively high, with 40.4 percent of all home sales in September of 2009 beings sales of previously foreclosed homes or condos.  Job security tends to be a major concern and obstacle in preventing the full recovery of the real estate in South Orange County because many people are not willing to risk investing their money in a new home while unemployment rates in the region are still high and continuing upward.

The Los Angeles Times also reported on the trouble the commercial real estate faces in Southern California, with the number of office vacancies rising and expected to grow well into next year.  Many companies in the South Orange County region are still inclined to shrink rather than grow during these unsure economic times, resulting in about 17 percent of the total available office space in the region being vacant.  However, many companies are also taking advantage of early lease extensions and lower rents in exchange for agreeing to stay put longer.  Nevertheless, many feel that the commercial real estate in Orange County has already hit bottom and are preparing for the recovery of the market.

Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the city of Walnut Creek, like all other cities in the Bay Area have had a troubled real estate market prior to the current recession.  Much of the Bay Area real estate had not fully recovered from the recession of 2001, and the 2008 recession has definitely not made anything better.  Although the real estate in the Bay Area seems to be improved over 2008, real estate prices are still considered to have hit rock bottom, with many expecting the Bay Area real estate to continue to creep downwards in the coming months before any full recovery can begin.

According to DQNews.com, Walnut Creek homes for sale dropped about 14.3 percent, 7,518 in August from 8,771 in July.  However, the main reason for this significant decline is that a majority of the foreclosed homes for sale dropped 15.2 percent between the months of July and August due to the high demand.  Many home-buyers in the Bay Area are in search of cheap, “bargain” homes, so when they found that there were relatively few foreclosed houses on the market compared to previous months, they became frustrated and decided to hold off on investing in Bay Area real estate.  Nevertheless, many experts forecast the rate of home foreclosures to increase again in the coming months.  On another note, DQNews.com also reported a 18.9 percent drop in the median sales price of new and resale homes and condos.  However, the main reason for this drop in price is due primarily to many home-buyers opting to invest in homes in more low-end, inland regions in the Bay Area.

The San Francisco Business Times reports that Bay Area real estate is expected to continue to suffer for at least a few more months before any real attempt for a full recovery can be made.  With job security a major concern, many people are not willing to risk making any major investments such as buying a house, no matter what kind of loan they can get.  Although it seems that the real estate market in the Bay Area has hit bottom, many hope that the real estate will improve in the coming months.

Although many real estate markets throughout the nation are beginning to show improvement and recovery from the economic struggles that began in 2008 from the economic recession of 2008, Indianapolis appears to have not had the fortune of such success.  Indianapolis still suffers from declining home sales as Indianapolis banks are still slow to lower prices on foreclosed homes and offer mortgages at affordable rates.  Real estate in Indianapolis continues to struggle while surrounding markets begin to show improvement due primarily to greater affordability of homes and the number of financial incentives offered by banks and the government.

According to FunCityFinder.com, Indianapolis has reported a decline in home sales during the past few months, unlike the rest of the nation, which is averaging about a 12 percent increase as of July 2009.  The main reason for the national increase in home sales is due primarily to the greater affordability of homes, especially since there is a larger inventory of foreclosed homes on the market offering prospective home buyers with the “bargain” prices that many are looking for.  However, this greater affordability has also come at a price to sellers who have been forced to reduce the selling price of their home, sometimes at a loss.  The First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit has also been a major incentive to those in search of a new home.  Although Indianapolis isn’t the only real estate market still struggling out there, the real estate in cities such as Phoenix, which have faced even steeper declines since the beginning of the recession, are already posting better returns than Indianapolis.

The Indiana Business Journal has reported that Indianapolis real estate continues to suffer as local banks are not willing to lower prices on foreclosed homes to the prices that most people are willing to pay for during these times.  Most banks have resisted calls to sell foreclosed properties at reduced values, opting to wait for a more favorable market or assistance from the government.  In most real estate markets, foreclosures are the main attraction for home buyers given the current economic situation, but in Indianapolis, home buyers are still on the sideline, waiting for more affordable options to come their way.  Between August and September 2009, home sales in the region dipped 6.1 percent.  Compared to the previous year, home sales have dropped by 14.2 percent.  Until the Indianapolis real estate becomes more affordable, it is likely that the market will continue to show little to no signs of improvement.