Happy Anniversary to...?

Linda and Dave Roark are celebrating their 31st anniversary in Colorado. 

Readers: Send me some good news, my blog doesn't always have to be about real estate.

Commercial Market Is Looking Up

Despite the rising number of defaults, the commercial real estate market is improving.

Prices are up. Commercial real estate values have risen 6 percent in recent months, according to Real Capital Analytics.

Nearly $14 billion in loans were modified in the last six months.

Investors also have been aggressively buying commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). Research firm Trepp predicts that $25 billion in CMBS will be issued in 2010.
Source: USA Today, Paul Davidson (04/20/2010)

Number of Delinquent Mortgages Declines

The number of delinquent mortgages declined 8.6 percent in March, says LPS Applied Analytics, which tracks the performance of loans for investors. Totals also declined in February.

The biggest decline was in loans more than 30 days past due, which are now at about the same level as they were in spring 2008.

"We're not out of the woods, but this appears to be a turning point," says LPS Applied Analytics President Ted Jadlos. "This is the first time we've seen improvement across all stages of mortgage delinquency."

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Ruth Simon (04/19/2010)

Home Prices, Sales Rise in Laguna Beach and Orange County

Home prices and home sales rise in Laguna Beach and Orange County 

Home prices in Laguna Beach increased by 5.0% in March to a median sale price of $1.125M,  and sales volume increased 62.5%.

Orange County home prices jumped 12 per cent last month and sales climbed about one-third over February levels. The median price of homes rose to $432,000 in March and higher prices were were seen thoughout the county, according to MDA Data Quick's report and the OC Register. Beach cities zip codes had both the biggest price and sales gains. Investors appetite for rental properties appeared to be strong and fewer homes entered the foreclosure pipeline.

Source: MDA Data Quick and OC Register, April 14, 2010

Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain

April 5, 2010
Share


Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain

 Pending home sales rose in February, potentially signaling a second surge of home sales in response to the home buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.



The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in February, rose 8.2 percent to 97.6 from a downwardly revised 90.2 in January, and remains 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months.



Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the improvement is another hopeful sign. “The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten,” he says. “We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values.”



Pending home sales by region:



Northeast: the index rose 9.0 percent to 77.7 in February and is 18.9 percent higher than February 2009.


Midwest: jumped 21.8 percent to 97.9 and is 18.7 percent above a year ago.


South: increased 9.2 percent to an index of 107.0, and the index is 17.5 percent higher than February 2009.


West: the index fell 4.8 percent to 98.0 but is 14.6 percent above a year ago.



Source: NAR, April, 2010