Often considered one of the most exclusive and priciest neighborhoods in the country, Newport Beach, California, despite suffering setbacks caused by the global recession and the national subprime mortgage housing crisis, still claims that title. Coldwell Banker's annual price comparison index still finds Newport Beach home prices as some of the top 10 highest in the country, even if prices have dropped both here and nationwide (http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2009/09/homes_pricey_and_che.php).

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)

Like many states in the union, real estate in Colorado took a hit over 2008-09, as the recession hit, credit was frozen and the housing market essentially collapsed due to the subprime mortgage crisis. The Colorado real estate market now is experiencing mixed signals, depending on the region of the state, with some markets showing signs of resilience, while others with high rates of unemployment remain stagnant with homes listed for months without bidders.

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)

Like so many other real estate markets across the U.S., the Las Vegas real estate market has taken a hit over the past two years, stemming from the results of the subprime mortgage market collapse and the broader national financial crisis. Prior to the crisis, Las Vegas real estate had been growing in value as its comparatively lower prices brought in droves of buyers from higher-priced markets, like California. At the market's peak, in 2006, the median price of homes for sale in Las Vegas was $280,000.

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 National Association of Realtor® website, “Existing-home sales in August gave back some of their strong gain in July but remain above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors®”. However, the Boise real estate market bucked the national trend and posted higher sales during the month of August.

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.

The Tampa real estate market is stuck in an unfortunate state of indecision, where it is distinctly difficult to determine exactly where the Tampa real estate market is headed. Tampa, as well as a number of other Florida cities, was hit especially hard by the onset of the nationwide economic recession. The collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis, as well as rising unemployment and the bursting of the local real estate bubble sent most of the vital indicators of the health of the real estate market into a tailspin. The Tampa real estate market seems to be stuck in the doldrums, since most market statistics indicate a stale, largely unmoving real estate market lacking definitive direction.

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 Indiana real estate market is in the midst of something of an odd situation, thanks to a number of contradictory signals in different indicators. Indiana was heavily affected by the nationwide recession, especially in terms of foreclosure rates and dropping home sales, illustrating the weakness of the Midwestern United States economy. The overall Indiana market is quite heavily reliant upon the strength of Indianapolis real estate market, the largest city and state capital, although there are certainly a number of other communities and regions that are essential to calculating the health of the market. The difficulty in assessing the well being of the Indiana real estate market comes in the artificial inflation of home sale figures by short sales and foreclosures, which decrease sale prices but increase number of sales.

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.

The Berkeley real estate market is, most simply, a microcosm of the larger Bay Area real estate market, specifically of the more residential cities that skirt the suburbs of the main regional city, San Francisco. It is difficult to make predictions or generalized statements about the Berkeley real estate market because of the complexity of the local real estate situation. After the beginning of the nationwide economic recession, Berkeley and the rest of the Bay Area began to suffer severe economic repercussions, as evidenced by lower rates of home sales, higher rates of foreclosures, and other related problems. Current economic and real estate news in the Bay Area and Berkeley remains mixed to the present day, confusing any accurate prognosis.

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 was one of the hardest hit in the state of Maryland when  the nationwide economic recession began in the second half of 2008. The crisis in Baltimore began in largely the same manner as it did in the rest of the country - local sub-prime mortgages went into default, foreclosure rates skyrocketed, and home sales as well as property prices plunged. Unemployment rose rapidly as a result of the weakness in the Baltimore real estate market, and the entire economy started reeling by the end of the year. In the present day, it seems possible that Baltimore real estate is starting to make a tentative recovery, as some of the vital statistics regarding properties and sale rates are beginning to trend upwards.

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.

The Nashville real estate market is in an odd place - it has been crashing for months, and it is somewhat unclear whether a recovery is impending. Nashville has been rapidly losing ground since the beginning of the nationwide recession late in 2008, and has only lately been showing some signs of possibly reaching a soft bottom. In other words, there is a chance that the Nashville real estate market has reached a point where the only place it can go is up. Vital statistics such as rate of foreclosures and home sales all went sour towards the end of last year and continue to be poor this year, although some experts believe that local and federal efforts have a chance to reverse that unpleasant trend.

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.

The Sea Coast of New Hampshire's real estate market has been facing many of the same challenges as the coastal region of Maine and inland New Hampshire. The nationwide crisis as well as the localized bursting of the real estate bubble has sparked something of a local reaction in terms of charity and revitalization efforts. However, the effects of these efforts and the national stimulus designed to jump-start the economy remains to be seen, thanks to a number of contradictory signs and the unprecedented nature of the recession. There are some indications that the Sea Coast real estate market may have naturally bottomed out, meaning that basically the only way to go is up.

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.