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By , June 21, 2010 8:22 pm

The Costa Mesa real estate market, a subsidiary of the much larger Orange County housing market, continued to have issues with high rates of foreclosure despite relatively stable median home prices. According to a June 7, 2010 article from the Orange County Register, “According to CoreLogic’s latest late-mortgage report, 8.40% of Orange County home-loan borrowers as of April are 90 days-plus late with their house payments. That’s +2.60 percentage points vs. a year ago.” The piece, composed by Jon Lansner, went on to state that “2.37% of Orange County homes were in the foreclosure process; +0.15 percentage points vs. a year earlier. 0.35% of Orange County homes were repossessed by banks as REO (real estate owned); -0.10 percentage points vs. a year earlier. Orange County 90-day delinquency rate is -3.20 percentage points vs. the state’s slow-pay rate -0.50 percentage points vs. national pace.”

The average sales price of a Costa Mesa home for sale rose along with the rest of the O.C. in the most recent tracking period, according to a June 4, 2010 piece from the Orange County Register. The piece noted that “For the 22 business days ending May 18 – DataQuick’s latest real estate buying report – Orange county saw…$440,000 median selling price that is up 12.8% vs. a year ago yet -32% below June 2007’s peak of $645,000. A median of $440,000 was last seen in Orange County in August 2008.” The article by Jon Lansner went on to state that “The most recent median is 19% above the cyclical low hit in January 2009 at $370,000 – a current bottom that was 43% below the peak. The median selling price of an Orange County single-family home is 30% less than their peak pricing (June ’07) while condos sell 37% below their peak in March 2006.”

About half a month earlier, the average home price for Costa Mesa real estate declined slightly, according to a May 18, 2010 article from the Orange County Business Journal. This piece, written by Mark Mueller, found that “Orange County’s median home price edged down $2,000 in April from March, but still stands $50,000 higher than the prices seen here a year ago.”

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By , June 19, 2010 8:16 pm

The Brea real estate market, a portion of the larger Orange County real estate market, continued to have serious problems with mortgage delinquency and foreclosure despite relatively stable housing prices. According to a June 7, 2010 article from the Orange County Register, “According to CoreLogic’s latest late-mortgage report, 8.40% of Orange County home-loan borrowers as of April are 90 days-plus late with their house payments. That’s +2.60 percentage points vs. a year ago.” The piece, written by Jon Lansner, continued to state that “2.37% of Orange County homes were in the foreclosure process, +0.15 percentage points vs. a year earlier. 0.35% of Orange County homes were repossessed by banks as REO (real estate owned); -0.10 percentage points vs. a year earlier. Orange County’s 90-day delinquency rate is -3.20 percentage points vs. the state’s slow-pay rate and -0.50 percentage points vs. national pace.”

The average sales price of a Brea home for sale rallied along with the rest of Orange County in the month of April. According to a May 18, 2010 piece from the OC Metro, “Orange County saw gains in its median home price and sales activity in April, compared to the same time last year, according to a new report from MDA DataQuick.” The article, written by Kristen Schott, went on to state that “The county’s median home price hit $430,000 last month, up 13 percent from $380,000 in April 2009. But, the price dipped slightly from March, when the median reached $432,000. For the six-county Southern California region, which includes Orange, L.A., San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura, the median rose 15 percent to $285,000 in the period, compared to April 2009. The number was unchanged from March.”

Compared to last month, however, the median home price in the Brea and Orange County real estate markets, declined slightly. According to a May 18, 2010 article in the Orange County Business Journal, “Orange County’s median home price edged down $2,000 in April from March, but still stands $50,000 higher than the prices seen here a year ago. The median price of a home sold here in April was $430,000, a less than 1% drop from a month earlier, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Detwiller and Associates.”

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By , June 18, 2010 8:12 pm

The Rancho Santa Fe real estate market, a part of the larger San Diego and Southern California housing markets, showed some signs of recovery and a few specific strengths in the first half of 2010. According to a May 17, 2010 article from the San Diego Union Tribune, “Southern California home prices remained flat from March to April, as sales shifted into May for tax-credit reasons, MDA DataQuick reported Tuesday. The median price for the six-county region was $285,000, an increase of 15.4 percent from April 2009.” The piece by Roger Showley went on to say that “As reported Monday, San Diego County’s median price slipped to $325,250, from $330,000 in March, but was up 12.2 percent from April 2009’s $290,000. Prices followed the same pattern in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties – down from March but up from April 2009.”

A May 27, 2010 article in SDNN focused on the continued year-over-year rise in Rancho Santa Fe and other San Diego homes for sale. The piece noted that “In this volatile – and frequently gloomy – housing market, San Diego stands out as a metropolitan city with continued home prices, says a Standard and Poor’s/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday.” The article, composed by Anne Subramanian, went on to state that “The study highlighted that despite many metropolitan cities reporting new index lows, San Diego boasts an eleven-month streak of increasing home prices. Of the 20 national metropolitan cities studied, San Diego’s 10.8 percent increase in home prices since March 2009 is only surpassed by San Francisco’s 16.2 percent increase. Housing prices climbed by 1.5 percent in San Diego between February and March of this year while the national trend reflects a .5 percent decrease.”

This same positive news for the previously ailing Rancho Santa Fe housing market was reported in a May 25, 2010 article from The Voice of San Diego. This article by Kelly Bennett went on to note that “There’s no doubt housing prices have come roaring back this year. New numbers released this morning showed San Diego County home prices rose again in March – marking the 11^th straight month they’ve been headed up.”

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By , June 17, 2010 7:37 pm

The Morgan Hill real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz housing markets, saw a slight decline in some sectors in April, despite the nationwide trend towards recovery. According to a May 20, 2010 article from the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, “Bay Area home sales fell slightly below the year-ago level and remained well below average in April, according to a report Thursday by MDA DataQuick. In April a total of 7,003 homes closed escrows in the nine-county Bay Area, up 0.2 percent from 6,992 in March but down 1.9 percent from 7,139 in April 2009.” The piece went on to state that “The median price in Santa Clara County in April was $489,000, up 20.70 percent from April 2009’s median of $405,000. There were 1,656 sales, up from the year-ago period’s 1,606 sales.”

The relative strength of home prices in Morgan Hills and other portions of Santa Clara County can be at least partially attributed to lower interest rates. According to a June 3, 2010 press released from the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, “Record-low interest rates continue to fuel the Santa Clara County housing market, boosting home prices and spurring brisk sales. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.78 percent with 0.7 point for the week ending May 27, down from the previous week when it averaged 4.84 percent, according to Freddie Mac.” The piece, composed by SCCAOR President Karl Lee, went on to say that “Rock-bottom interest rates and lower housing prices make homes more affordable than they have been in years. In Santa Clara County, multiple offers are common and many properties are snapped up within a few days.”

The Morgan Hills real estate market, along with the larger Bay Area, saw a shift towards foreclosures on more expensive properties in the most recent tracking period. According to a June 1, 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Foreclosures are going upscale across the Bay Area. Nearly 1,000 homes valued above $730,000 were repossessed by banks in the nine-county region in each of the past two years, according to a Chronicle review of public records compiled by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego research firm.”

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By , June 15, 2010 7:19 pm

The Rocklin housing market, a subsidiary of the Sacramento-area real estate market, showed strong signs of recovery despite a slight decline in home sales. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the Sacramento Business Journal, “Foreclosure filings in the Sacramento region, including notice of default, trustee sales notices and repossessions by banks, were down 12.53 percent in May compared with the same period one year ago, real estate information firm RealtyTrac reported Thursday.” The piece, composed by Michael Shaw, went on to note that “According to the report, 1,488 homes in the four-county region became bank owned through foreclosure sales during the month, the company said. The trend in Sacramento mirrors that in California, where foreclosure filings were down 22 percent on a year-over-year basis. The state still accounted for 22 percent of the nation’s foreclosure filings.”

The average sales price of a Rocklin real estate climbed from near-record lows along with the rest of the Sacramento area. According to a May 24, 2010 article from the Sacramento Business Journal, “Sacramento-area home prices are climbing off the mat, increasing 12.4 percent from the bottom reached in April 2009, according to a report released Monday.” The piece, written by Ron Trujillo, went on to state that “The four-county region – arguably one of the hardest hit, with an abundance of foreclosures and 35 percent-plus home prices declines – had a median-home price of $188,100 in April, compared to the so-called ‘trough’ price of $167,340 a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors…Sacramento County was the only county in the region that enjoyed a price increase compared to a year ago.”

The Rocklin housing market did suffer from a slight decline in home sales, possibly as a result of the higher prices. According to a May 20, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal, “Home sales in the four-county Sacramento region were slightly lower in April than the same month last year, according to figures released Thursday from real estate information company MDA DataQuick.” The piece, written by Michael Shaw, noted that “There were 2,873 home sales of all types, including new homes, and existing homes, and existing homes and condos, in April compared with 3,036 sales a year ago, the company reported.”

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By , June 14, 2010 7:14 pm

The Mesa real estate market, found in the midst of one of the hardest-hit parts of the country, showed some promising trends in the month of May. According to a June 9, 2010 article from the Phoenix Business Journal, “New research from Arizona State University shows foreclosures as a share of overall Valley homes sales are declining. The latest ASU Realty Studies report from the W.P. Carey School of Business says the number of foreclosures dropped from 40 percent of the market’s recorded activity in March to 33 percent in May.” The piece went on to caution that “Despite the decline, there is no guarantee the trend will continue. ‘Defaults and late payments are still at record levels and could be a precursor of additional foreclosures.’ said Jay Butler, associate professor of real estate and author of the report. ‘The main issues center on whether income will increase enough for people to hold on to their current homes, and whether they can maintain payments on their homes.’”

The prevalence of foreclosures amongst Mesa homes for sale declined, as more home sales in the Phoenix area were of the traditional variety. According to a June 10, 2010 article from KGUN 9 News, “A new report shows foreclosed homes made up a smaller share of existing home sales in the Phoenix area last month. The Arizona State University Realty studies report shows foreclosed homes dropped from 40% of all sales in March to 33% in May.” The piece, also released by the Associated Press, continued to state that “Butler says some homeowners may choose to walk away because their home’s value has sunk and because they owe too much on their mortgages. Foreclosures and sales of previously foreclosed-on properties still made up 60% of sales in May.”

Despite a low level of sales overall, some recent tracking indicators had positive news for Mesa real estate, according to a May 22, 2010 article from the Arizona Republic. The piece, composed by Catherine Reagor, noted that “April figures for existing-home sales in metro Phoenix reveal several promising shifts for those searching for signs of a housing-market recovery.”

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By , June 13, 2010 7:12 pm

Despite a decrease in sales volume, the Millbrae real estate market is showing mostly signs of strength, such as a fall in foreclosures and a higher median sales price. According to a May 20, 2010 article from Reuters, “Home sales in the nine-county San Francisco region continued to shift toward its more expensive markets in April, reducing overall sales and lifting the area’s median sales price from year-earlier levels, a report by MDA DataQuick said on Thursday.” The piece went on to state that “The region posted 7,003 sales of houses and condominiums in April, up 0.2 percent from March and down 1.9 percent from a year earlier, while the area’s median home price last month of $370,000 marked a decline of 2.6 percent from March and an increase of 21.7 percent from a year earlier, the report by the real estate information service said.”

The average purchase price of a Millbrae home for sale jumped in the month of April, along with the median price in the rest of the Bay Area. According to a May 21, 2010 article from the San Francisco Chronicle, “Median resale home prices in the Bay Area rose 30 percent in April compared with the prior year, in a market that featured fewer foreclosures and more activity in higher end neighborhoods, according to a real estate report released Thursday.” The piece, written by Robert Selna, went on to say that “Meanwhile, the total number of homes resold in the Bay area – that is, not newly constructed – fell slightly year-over-year as the higher-priced sales activity could not offset declines in the more affordable areas, according to data analyzed by MDA DataQuick, a San Diego real estate research firm that produces monthly market updates.”

The number of distressed mortgages in nearby markets such as East Bay declined in the month of May, a development that should decrease negative pressure on Millbrae real estate. According to a June 10, 2010 article from the Contra Costa Times, “Default notices – the first step in the foreclosure process – fell by about half in the East Bay during May from a year ago as more homeowners opted for short sales…In the Bay Area – which RealtyTrac.com defines as Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties – a total of 2,230 homeowners received a notice of default, down 38.9 percent from a year ago.”