Housing Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Fall a Record 18.5% (Update2)
By Timothy R. Homan and Courtney Schlisserman
Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Home prices in 20 U.S. cities
declined 18.5 percent in December from a year earlier, the
fastest drop on record, as foreclosures climbed and sales sank.
’s decrease exceeded forecasts
and compares with an 18.2 percent rate of decline in November.
The gauge has slid since January 2007, and year-over-year
records Read more...
will go commercial this year. Nearly all asset classes took a hit for the day, with only the dollar showing appreciable gains.
Dennis Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said he was concerned that U.S. banks remain "pretty heavily exposed" to commercial real estate. "It is the one domestic factor that keeps me up at night," he said.
So far, the U.S. mortgage morass has been largely confined to the residential part of the Read more...
Last updated Monday, February 23, 2009 5:57 PM CST in Business
Though Taldo wasn't surprised by the news, he said it's "awfully nice" when outsiders recognize the region's strengths as well.
Anytime the region is singled out from an independent group outside the area, it's a nice boost to consumer confidence, said Jeff Collins, economist with StreetSmart Data Services of Fayetteville.
Collins said the new, unsold homes are being absorbed, real Read more...
NewBroad Street Realty's spacious office, on the main drag through Baldwin Park Village Center, has the latest touch-screen video monitors to show off the neo-traditional homes for sale in Baldwin Park, the mixed-use development in northeast Orlando.
Judy VanZant and Jeff Smith entered a two-story brick home Thursday, passing through the living room and into the kitchen.
And while VanZant, a Realtor with Cornerstone Properties, pointed out the home's wooden cabinets and white refrigerator, it was the flooring that caught Smith's eye.
"I really like this," he said, tapping the brick floor with his foot. "I'm not a carpet kind of guy."
Smith, who works in marketing and financing, was on the Read more...
Prices have now dipped below the level at which they'd be in line with the historical ratio of prices to incomes in California, said Christopher Thornberg, a Los Angeles economist who is principal of the consulting firm Beacon Economics.
Thornberg estimates the current median home value in California is $250,000. But wages are high enough -- and interest rates low enough -- that a median value of $290,000 would match historical norms, he said. Read more...
Existing- and new-home sales could rebound in the fourth quarter of this year if the economy cooperates, according to the 2009 Wichita housing market forecast update released Friday by WSU's Center for Real Estate.
The new figures, largely contingent on loosening credit and moderating aviation layoffs, were released during a real estate luncheon at Wichita State.
Fourth-quarter 2009 existing-home sales were forecast to be up 2.4 percent and new-home Read more...
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announced today that it is offering Keller Williams' sales professionals a
one-time opportunity to try its products at the Keller Williams Family
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Market Leader is making available to Keller Williams' agents and agent
teams a free trial of the company's Vision contact management system. In
addition, Read more...
Commercial Property Prices in U.S. Fell 15% in 2008 (Update2)
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Commercial real estate prices in the
U.S. dropped by almost 15 percent in 2008, more than home prices,
with fourth-quarter depreciation the greatest in the national
market,
said in a report.
The price decline eliminated the gains seen in 2006 and 2007
and returned values to 2005 levels, according to the Moody’s/REAL
Commercial Property Price Indices. Prices Read more...
Meanwhile, more banks said they would temporarily halt mortgage foreclosures to wait for the federal efforts to get underway. Yesterday three big banks in Massachusetts said they have suspended foreclosures, at least for a few weeks, including Citizens Bank parent Citizens Financial Group of Providence;
; and Eastern Bank of Boston.
The Obama administration will issue more details about its plan on March 4, including who is eligible, when the Read more...