The city of Anaheim and the adjacent community of Anaheim Hills were among the hardest hit by the decline of the United States economy in general and the sub prime mortgage crisis in particular. The Anaheim real estate market wasn't totally devastated by the bursting of the real estate bubble, although there were a number of problems spawned by the crisis that hit Anaheim a lot harder than the rest of Orange County. On the other hand, this means that there were more foreclosed and short sale properties on the Anaheim real estate market, making deals more readily available to interested buyers and investors, who have been out in force as of the last few months.

In fact, almost the entirety of the Anaheim section of the Orange County real estate blog is dedicated to so-called “short sales”, which are essentially rushed home sales that are designed to recoup sufficient funds to preempt a foreclosure. Some realtors, such as Marlene Prescott, even go so far as to say that the real estate market has equalized to the point where it is neither a buyers' or a sellers' market, and where home prices are expected to neither rise rapidly or plunge suddenly. Jonathan Lansner and Jeff Collins wrote in the Orange County Register on July 20th, 2009 that “To me, the best one can say about recent signals of modest housing improvement is that things don't look as bleak as they did in and around the dark days about when 2009 started.”

A table compiled by Dataquick found that, as of late June, all seven zip codes associated with Anaheim Hills and Anaheim decreased substantially in median price, although about half of the zip codes increased in sales rate as well. Anaheim real estate has some interesting case studies as well, with one in particular emphasizing the power of foreclosure to boost the market. According to a June 18, 2009 article in the Orange County Register, a rather plain and humble home that was put up for foreclosure received a whopping 63 offers from 53 different interested parties. It continued to say that “Agents have been talking for months about how low-cost foreclosures have been drawing multiple bids.”

The Cincinnati real estate market is similar to a number of other Midwestern cities in terms of vital statistics, prognosis, and recent history. The nationwide economic downturn that began in late 2008 continues to plague the city of Cincinnati, although there are potentially some bright spots in an otherwise dreary economic outlook. Like numerous other large cities in the middle of the United States, such as Detroit and Chicago, Cincinnati has struggled with foreclosure rates over the last several months, although statistics seem to indicate some relief there. Trouble in the residential and commercial sectors of the Cincinnati real estate market continue to be large concerns, in some areas more than others. It appears that the residential section of Cincinnati real estate may have bottomed out, but the commercial and industrial sectors have more trouble ahead of them.

According to July 16th, 2009 article in the Business Courier of Cincinnati, the rate of foreclosures in Ohio at large and Cincinnati in particular slowed substantially during the first half of 2009. The pieced reported that “Foreclosures in Ohio headed opposite the nationwide direction in the first half of the year, dropping 15 percent from a year earlier, Realty Trac Inc. reported Thursday. The Irvine, Calif.-based company, which compiles and sells foreclosure data, said Ohio logged 589337 default, auction, and bank repossession notices in the first six months of 2009.” A July 24, 2009 article also published in the Business Courier of Cincinnati helped to put these figures in perspective - “That is an improvement, both over the second half of 2008 and against the country. The Greater Cincinnati region and the state are both seeing declines in foreclosure numbers, while nationally the figures are rising.”

WCPO 9, a Cincinnati area news station reported some positive news for the Cincinnati real estate market, revealing that in June 2009 the rate of new home sales increased by 12 percent compared to the previous month. On the other hand, the commercial sector of Cincinnati real estate is in serious trouble. According to a July 26, 2009 article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, “Office, retail space much too plentiful. Commercial real estate experts offer bleak outlook.”

The Bradenton real estate market is usually grouped together with the neighboring Sarasota real estate market to form the Bradenton-Sarasota real estate market for the purposes of statistical analysis. Sarasota and Bradenton were both hit rather hard by the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis and the bursting of the Florida real estate bubble, and saw a number of vital statistics fall rapidly following the onset of the crisis. The important question at the present time is whether or not the Bradenton real estate market has bottomed out - there are a number of conflicting opinions and perspectives on this issue, and it will take time to determine which is correct.

An article found in the Herald-Tribune's July 28, 2009 edition found that the progress of the Florida and Sarasota real estate market is somewhat similar to the entirety of the nation. The piece, authored by Michael Braga and Aaron Kessler, found that “Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller Index, which excludes many high-end properties and homes bought with riskier mortgages or cash, showed that home prices in May rose from April in 13 of the 20 cities tracked...The collective good news had even some of the more cautious Florida market watchers saying that the elusive bottom may have coalesced.” This national good news is echoed on the local level by a July 23, 2009 article in the Bradenton Herald, which stated that “Local sales and prices of existing single-family homes fell in June compared to the previous year, but rose slightly from May, according to figures released today.”

The piece, authored by Duane Marsteller, continued to say “Sarasota-Bradenton Realtors sold 789 previously occupied homes, down 8 percent from the 858 sold in June 2009, the Florida Association of Realtors said. But it was a net gain of six homes from May.” An article in the Herald Tribune had some mixed news, finding that “A snapshot of the Sarasota real estate produced by a national housing research firm paints a portrait of a market struggling with the high unemployment brought on by the real estate downturn, but also showing glimmers of stabilization in that all-importaant economic driver.”

The Maryland real estate market, along with a number of other comparable markets along the east coast of the United States, took a considerable amount of damage during the last two quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. Almost all vital statistics used to measure the relative health of a market plummeted following the arrival of the nationwide economic downturn and the bursting of the local real estate market bubble, heralding the advent of a recession. At the current time, the Maryland real estate market is still heavily damaged and awaiting definitive signs of a recovery in the works. The federal and local governments have invested substantial amounts of effort into engineering a rebound, although the success of their efforts remains to be seen.

The failure of numerous families and individuals to pay their mortgages as a result of unemployment or all-around economic hardship has resulted in a lot of people losing their homes and landing up on the streets. The multi billion dollar stimulus passed by the federal government aims to alleviate problems like this both in the Maryland real estate market and the nation at large. According to a July 10, 2009 article in the Baltimore Sun, “Maryland will get more than $44 million in federal funds to spur development of affordable housing projects throughout the state that have been stalled because of the economic downturn, the US Treasury Department announced Friday.”

The state of Maryland has also been attempting to revive the local real estate market by trying to prevent foreclosures. According to a July 24, 2009 article in the Baltimore Business Journal, “Despite a 2.8 percent rise of Maryland home foreclosures, state leaders are optimistic its foreclosure prevention program will soon show promising results. Through the first six months of 2009, approximately 18,112 foreclosure filings occurred in Maryland. That compares with 17,625 filings for the same period last year.” On a more positive note, a July 12 article in the Baltimore Sun noted that condominium sales have picked up in pace, heralding the possibility of a near-term economic revival.

The status of the Miami Beach real estate market is somewhat convoluted and confusing thanks to a number of complicating factors making it difficult to determine the actual direction of the Miami Beach real estate market. The majority of experts seem to believe that the entirety of South Florida as well as Miami Beach in particular is ready to stage some sort of recovery or stabilization because the market seems to have bottomed out. The difficulty, however, begins when one examines the figures used to mark a so-called recovery more closely. There are a number of ways that these statistics, such as time spent on market and rate of foreclosure, can be manipulated, thereby skewing any contingent conclusions.

A July 23, 2009 article in the Miami Herald found that properties in South Florida have been selling at a much higher rate than usual, theoretically heralding a recovery of some sort. Unfortunately, this also seems to indicate a problem with Miami Beach real estate, namely that the home sale price for an average house has been dropping considerably. The article, written by Monica Hatcher, found that “Sales of existing single-family homes rose again in Miami-Dade and Broward counties in June, while values continued to sink into pre-boom price territory. Single-family home sales were up by 54 percent in Miami-Dade and 35 percent in Broward, compared to June of last year.” It continued to point out that the Florida Association of Realtors reported a 28 percent drop from last year.

According to a July 17, 2009 article in the Miami Herald, “New foreclosure filings in South Florida plunged 50 percent from May to June, but with unemployment still on the rise, the numbers could be more fluke than the hoped for green shoots of recovery.” Another article in the Miami Herald, published six days later on July 23rd, cast additional doubt on the prospect of a recovery, pointing out that banks could be artificially inflating home prices by controlling the rate of foreclosure sales. “South Florida home and condo prices appear to be bottoming out. Some say that banks are controlling the release of foreclosures - the lowest priced homes - to the market as a way to shore up prices.”

The Catskill Mountains of New York State are among the most beautiful and scenic areas in the northeastern United States. They are also home to a remarkable selection of homes and resort properties, many of which offer large lots and thrilling views. The Catskills are found in the larger Hudson Valley portion of New York state, meaning that the Catskill real estate market is a part of this larger collection of homes and properties. The Catskill real estate market was of course negatively affected by the nationwide economic recession and the bursting of the real estate bubble, although some signs seem to indicate promise for a near-term recovery. Of course, almost all perspectives on a potential recovery must be taken with a grain of salt given the inability of anyone to predict the onset of the recession in the first place.

A nonprofit group known as Pattern for Progress, which operates in the Hudson Valley area including the Catskills, holds an annual conference about how to better the housing situation in the region. This year's meeting, as reported by LoHud, was particularly important given the rates of foreclosures and other crisis signs in the region. The piece by Jonathin Drapkin said “The frustration is easy to understand. After all, since last year's conference the housing market has become barely recognizable. We quickly slid from a discussion of sub-prime mortgages and other high-risk loans into a world in which only good credit scores and 15 percent to 20 percent down will get you a house.”

Broker David Knudsen, a realtor in the Hudson Valley, Sullivan County, and Catskills area, conducted and reported an extensive analysis of Catskill real estate and the surrounding region. The results, posted under “current market conditions” on his website, found that “Sales are picking up from their mid-winter lows, with 97 closed single family sales reported in the Sullivan MLS for the 3 month period ending June 30th, up from 86 during the 3 month period ending May 32st. The sales tally is down 15% from a year earlier, and 48% below the 2nd quarter peak of 187 closed sales in 2006. Overall, looking at single month data as well as houses pending or in contract, the trend is moving up rather than down.”

The Breckenridge real estate market is among the strongest in the entire United States, and even in the remarkably stable state of Colorado. Breckenridge is a resort community, meaning that there are almost no commercial or industrial properties to be considered in the overall Breckenridge real estate market. The residential portion of Breckenridge has proven to be remarkably resilient, although it has unfortunately endured some negative effects from the bursting of the real estate bubble. Colorado at large and Breckenridge in particular have been having issues with foreclosures and bankruptcies resulting in higher numbers of defaults. Overall, though, most signs indicate that Colorado and Breckenridge are together trending towards a large recovery after an only moderate period of recession.

A June 16, 2009 article in the Aspen Times noted that foreclosure activity in the state of Colorado, including the Breckenridge real estate  market, has declined considerably in the last month, heralding the fact that a bottom in the market may have been reached. The article, which was re-printed  in the Summit Daily News, stated that “Foreclosure activity in Colorado decreased 15 percent last month, when compared with the same period a year earlier, suggesting the state's housing market is stabilizing, industry data shows. A total of 4,876 properties in the Centennial state were in some form of foreclosure in May, according to RealtyTrac Inc.” The rate of foreclosures in the Breckenridge real estate market seems to indicate not only the stability of the local market, but also the hope for a recovery in the near future.

In fact, according to a July 25, 2009 article in the Summit Daily News, “Housing Stats Up; Colorado #1 in Recovery. Cindy Perman writes for CNBC.com. She reports that according to an Industry survey published Thursday, sales of previously owned homes in the United States increased at a faster-than-expected annual pace in June, in the third straight month of gains.” On the negative side, an article published in the Denver Post found that bankruptcy filings for Colorado, including Breckenridge real estate, spiked sharply in the most recent month.

The Des Moines real estate market is somewhat internally inconsistent, with a wide variety of different signs and statistics pointing in opposite directions for different portions of the market. The entirety of the Des Moines real estate market suffered rather severe damage following the arrival of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, and was hurt even further after the beginning of the nationwide recession. It seems that the majority of the residential real estate market in Des Moines has begun to recover in recent months, at least based off of foreclosure rates and home sales. In contrast, the commercial sector of the Des Moines real estate market is in crisis, and all signs indicate that things will not get better any time soon.

A July 14, 2009 article in the Des Moines Register found that home sales in Des Moines real estate were almost at the same levels that they were at last year, although the same report indicated that sale prices declined substantially. The article, written by Donnelle Eller, said that “Homes sold in the Des Moines metro area in June nearly matched last year's sales, a new report shows, but foreclosures contributed to the average sale price falling nearly 5 percent...June home sales totaled 779, three shy of the 782 homes sold in June 2008, a report from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors Monday showed.” The association also found that sales in the month of June were 12.2 percent higher than just a month earlier.

According to a July 16, 2009 article published on the news station KCCI 8 Des Moines,  “Relentlessly rising unemployment is triggering more home foreclosures, threatening the Obama administration's efforts to end the housing crisis and diminishing hopes the economy will rebound with vigor.” Another article, published on July 22, 2009 found that “The residential housing market went into a tailspin over a burst housing bubble and a whole lot of bad mortgages. The commercial real estate market has suffered a different sort of one-two punch.” It continued to state that experts believe that a near term turnaround is highly unlikely.

Tacoma real estate has been reeling ever since the beginning of the large scale economic recession. Although the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis devastated the entire nation, some parts of the country were hid harder than others. One of the cities that was rather hard hit by the  recession was Tacoma, where almost all vital signs of health in the real estate market dropped dramatically in the second half of 2008. There is, however, the possibility that the Tacoma real estate market has bottomed out, leaving nowhere for the market to go but up in the next several months. It is difficult, however, to determine what signs are indicative of an impending recovery and which are simply the product of artificial inflation on the part of the banks.

According to an article published in the News-Tribune on July 19, 2009, property values in Pierce County, which includes the Tacoma real estate market, dropped substantially in June of 2009 as opposed to June of 2008. The piece, written by Joseph Turner, noted that nine out of ten homeowners in the county experienced a decrease in property values, revealing weakness of the real estate market. In fact, the Tacoma Daily Index reported on July 20, 2009 that the city of Tacoma is so concerned about the rising rates of foreclosures that there is now a special workshop designed to preclude foreclosures in the Tacoma real estate market.

On the bright side, it appears that Tacoma real estate may have bottomed out, opening the way for a potential recovery in the Pacific Northwest. A July 7, 2009 article in the The News-Tribune reported that “The residential real estate market in Pierce County is perking up for the summer as more people move from simply looking at homes to actually making offers on them. Pending sales of homes and condominiums in the county were up 27 percent in June to 1,341 from the same month last year, according to figures released Monday by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.” The President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Association of Realtors stated that “It's the people that have been tire-kicking  for a while - maybe they've been waiting for their homes to sell and their homes are finally selling.”