The Durham real estate market is closely linked to the real estate market of Raleigh, so much that they are commonly considered to share the same market conditions and economic outlook. Durham real estate is primarily residential, although there are also a considerable amount of office parks and retail destinations  within the Durham-Raleigh area. An article written by Blanche Evans in the Realty Times found that the community attributes of Raleigh and by association Durham are among the primary  components responsible for making the region such a great market for buyers especially. In the words of Realtor Sudie Wagner, “Raleigh is an absolutely beautiful place to live. Much of the workforce is centralized in the Research Triangle Park, focusing on technology, biomedical, and environmental occupations.”

The gradual recovery of Durham real estate is linked to a greater trend in the American South towards an increase in overall sales. According to a July 23, 2009 article in the New York Times by the Associated Press, “Affordable prices, low interest rates and eager first-time home buyers led to a slight uptick in existing home sales in the South in June, the first sign of year-over-year sales growth in more than three years, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.” However, the report also pointed out that “Sales also fell by 20 percent in Jackson, Miss., and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.”, providing somewhat contradictory evidence to the overall trend in most Southern states and cities.

A July 2009 article in Metro Magazine, which focuses on North Carolina, reported that “With interest rates at near-record lows and incentives such as a federal $8,000 tax credit available for first-time home buyers, the Tri-angle area real estate market is showing signs of a rebound.” In the words of Josie Reeves, residential sales and marketing manager at Kane Realty Corporation, “Rates are still incredibly low, first-time home buyers have the advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, asking prices have stabilized, and builders and sellers are more willing to negotiate than in recent years. This is a temporary alignment of the stars, and the smart buyers are taking advantage.”

The Memphis real estate market is recovering much more strongly than the rest of the state of Tennessee. Initially, Tennessee was not hit hard at all by the sub prime mortgage crisis in particular or the economic recession in general. The exact reason for this is not known, but the phenomenon did not last much longer for the majority of the state. Memphis, however, has remained something of a model for the rest of the nation, maintaining a relatively strong position in the national market. According to Realtor Danny Freeman's blog in the Realty Times, “There are currently almost 5,000 homes for sale in the Memphis market in all price ranges. Our midtown and downtown resurgence is amazing.”

According to Chris Peck's July 19, 2009 article in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, “The good old days, whenever they were, are not likely to return. The good new days ahead are worth more attention. Things that once seemed impossible to change, or totally rooted, suddenly can be put on the table.. The question now is how each of us can help make Memphis thrive.” Simply put, the Memphis real estate market depends greatly on individual efforts as much as it does on national conditions such as interest rates and home sales. There is a potential problem in the so-called jumbo real estate market, as reported in the Orange County Register - “In the Memphis area, sales of properties over $400,000 have fallen 58% through May with just 189 sales, compared to the high of 408 for the same period in 2007.”

According to another article  in the Memphis Business Journal, “Pending home sales in the Memphis area showed month-to-month improvement in May, but still the market is showing significant declines from a year ago in the areas of sales and prices. Total pending sales increased 5.5% from April, but dropped 8.8% from a year ago, according to the Memphis Area Association of Realtors.” Two things can be gleaned from these figures - first that Memphis was never hit especially hard by the crisis, and second that the Memphis real estate market is rebounding healthily.

The Cape Cod real estate market has been flipped almost entirely upside down as a result of the localized effects of the nationwide economic recession. The sub prime mortgage crisis as well as the bursting of the real estate bubble has had a number of severe, adverse repercussions for the entirety of Cape Cod as well as numerous other sections of eastern Massachusetts. The Cape Cod real estate market was not damaged as heavily as the rest of the Bay State, however there were a series of negative ramifications experienced in the region. Home sales in Cape Cod have dropped in price substantially, although in a bit of hopeful news, sales of lower-priced houses continue to fuel the market and maintain moderate levels of sales.

An article in the Cape Codder published on July 21, 2009 chronicled the interesting development of Cape Cod real estate throughout the different stages of the recession. It noted that “Bottoms up and tops down-that's the news all around the Cape when it comes to housing sales. Houses priced at the lower end of the market are selling well while sales of high-priced properties have dramatically slipped.” Lynette Helms of Real Estate Associates stated further that “Now, we have a tremendous amount of properties that are selling for $300,000 and under. That didn't occur before. And with the over $ 1 million sales, the exact opposite has occurred.” This also brings the possibility that foreclosures and short sales are artificially inflating the real estate market statistics for Cape Cod.

Chief executive officer of the Cape Cod and Islands Association of Realtors and Cape Cod and Islands Multiple Listing Service Henry DiGiacomo said that”I think there are a lot of people who have been sitting on the fence waiting the last two or three years, but they are now buying.”  A July 22nd article in the Cape Cod Times also noted that the number of foreclosure petitions on Cape Cod increased five fold in June of 2008 when compared to June of 2009. Thankfully, however, the rate of foreclosure deeds, which represent actual foreclosures, decreased substantially over the same period of time.

The Atlanta real estate market was by far one of the hardest hit upon the advent of the nationwide economic recession precipitated by the collapse of the sub prime mortgage crisis. Atlanta ranks up there along with other fast growing communities such as Las Vegas and Miami that relied heavily on new construction and houses prior to the bursting of the real estate bubble. Once the bubble popped, the Atlanta real estate market took a nosedive. New houses and condos were literally abandoned mid-construction as demand dropped precipitously, indicating the lack of  disposable income and difficulty making ends meet on the part of numerous Atlanta residents. The good news is that some signs seem to indicate that the Atlanta real estate market has bottomed out, leaving no where to go but back up to pre-recession levels and maybe even beyond.

Realtors Becky Veal and Wade Mor wrote on July 26, 2009 in the Realty Times that “We feel we have hit the bottom of the Atlanta Real Estate market. We still have foreclosures and short sales in the market place. Now is the time to be buying as there is $8000 from the Federal Government for anyone who has not owned a home in the last three years and  the State of Georgia has another $1800.” Simply put, Atlanta remains a strong buyers market, although it is difficult to see a scenario in which home prices drop to more opportune levels than they currently are.

Way back in January of 2009, Michael Kanell wrote in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “Metro Atlanta's economic fate tied to real estate.” He continued to say that “as new home sales go, so goes hiring in metro Atlanta. It's a link that's all too clear to Cameron Smith. Smith sold houses on Atlanta's south side, earning a pretty good living until she was laid off last month.” Although Atlanta real estate is starting to show some potential for recovery, it will be a great while longer until all of the foreclosed and short-sold properties make way for more 'normal' properties in Atlanta.

The city of Anchorage is unique in a number of ways, not the least of which is being the capital of the “Last Frontier”, Alaska. The Anchorage real estate market is particularly notable for remaining quite stable and not volatile when compared to the lower 48 states. Anchorage has never been in a large amount of trouble by any measure of the term - the foreclosure rate for Anchorage is almost a model for the rest of the country because of its resilience in the face of the nationwide economic recession. The Anchorage real estate market was brought down somewhat by the bursting of the local real estate bubble and some local sub-prime mortgages, but most signs indicate that a recovery is impending.

According to Realtor Paulie Hofseth, writing in the Realty Times on July 2, 2009, “the Anchorage market remains active especially in the under $350,000 purchase price range. Inventory is starting to pick up as it normally does this time of year. It's good news for sellers that there are fewer homes on the market this May than in 2008. In fact, inventory for May 2009 was down about 4.8 percent from may 2008.” Matt Dimick, also an Anchorage realtor, made the further observation that “home sales are still very steady”, although he did add that due to a light rash of short sales and foreclosures, that Anchorage should still be considered a buyers' market.

The overall economy of Alaska, however, seems to be faring slightly worse than the Anchorage real estate market.  According to an article in the Alaska Journal of Commerce dated July 23, 2009, “It's official, Alaska is now listed as being immersed in the nation's recessionary woes. Still, in relative terms, it's better her than in most places in the US, according to a state economist.” A June 13, 2009 article in the Anchorage Daily News found that the foreclosure rate in Anchorage is actually lower than when the crisis began a year ago, while a second article from the same date characterized local real estate sales as “right-sized.”

The Austin real estate market, along with a number of other cities in the state of Texas, was hit quite hard by the economic recession. Austin, along with every other large city in the United States, is composed of residential and commercial sectors of real estate, which are  affected in different ways by adverse economic situations. It appears that the Austin real estate market has experienced a divergence between the status of the commercial real estate market and residential real estate market, with the former trending upwards and the latter moving downwards. It also appears somewhat confusing because of the interactive effects of the different parts of the market, such as the artificial inflation of sales statistics by foreclosures.

According to a July 21, 2009 article in the American-Statesman, home sales in the Austin real estate market reached their highest levels in an entire year. The piece, written by Claudia Grisales, “Austin-area sales of existing homes hit the highest level in a year last month, according to figures Monday from the Austin Board of Realtors. Last month, 2,135 single-family homes were sold in the area, down 4 percent from a year earlier. That was the smallest decline since a 2 percent drop in July 2007, when the market began to soften amid an emerging national mortgage crisis.” A July 20, 2009 article in the Austin Business Journal added that “The year over year sales volume gap is shrinking each month, according to a report from the Austin Board of Realtors.”

Another article in the Austin Business Journal found that “Austin area residential foreclosure postings for the upcoming August auction are at their lowest level in five months.” Simply put, the residential portion of Austin real estate is in slowly improving shape, thanks to a number of local efforts, federal bills, and the natural ebb and flow of the market. On the other hand, a July 14th article stated that “Foreclosure postings filed on commercial real estate for January through July foreclosure auctions in the Austin metro area jumped 139 percent over the same time period last year, according to data from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.”

Santa Barbara real estate has proven to be surprisingly resilient when compared to the rest of the Golden State. While a number of cities have nearly collapsed economically in the face of the impending economic crisis, especially the bursting of the real estate bubble, Santa Barbara was never devastated by the recession, and has begun a slow recovery, at least according to the best measures and estimates available. The Santa Barbara  real estate market is posting modest gains in some sectors, such as home sales and rate of foreclosure, although it is still rather depressed when compared to year-ago levels. Realtor Carla B. Reeves had the following to say: “The stats for the first six months of 2009 are in and are surprising! Following statistics are for Single Family Homes and Homes in Planned Unit Developments from Carpinteria to Goleta through the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Association: 2009 Sales - 350; 2008 Sales 388. That's almost 2 sales a day, however down 10% over 2008. Average days on the market 75.”

Angela B. Mooney wrote in the Realty Times regarding Santa Barbara that “We are experiencing a buyers market with prices stabilizing especially in the entry level and first time buyer market. The median sold price for May 2009 was $875,000”. An article in the Santa Barbara News Press noted that home prices on the South Coast, which includes the Santa Barbara real estate market, rose slightly, although they are still substantially below the levels held last year. Figures compiled by Trulia confirmed these trends, although there are still a number of trouble spots in the Santa Barbara real estate market.

Back in late May of 2009, Allan La Fleur wrote in the Santa Barbara News-Press that “Commercial real estate is the next bubble.” Fast-forwarding a few months, it seems that his predictions were quite accurate. Although Santa Barbara does not have as much commercial or industrial property as larger cities such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, the Santa Barbara real estate market has been suffering in these sectors as of late.

The Knoxville real estate market differs substantially from the remainder of the state of Tennessee, especially Memphis. The entirety of Knox County has been making at least a superficial recovery in the last few months, although a considerable amount of debate remains upon whether or not the temporary boost will become more permanent in nature. During the second week of July, a record total of 234 home deeds changed hands, although the total dropped to a more normal 156 in the most recent figure. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee whether or not this temporary blip will boost the other components of the Knoxville real estate market, especially in the retail and commercial sectors.

One possible reason behind the short-lived recovery is the eight thousand dollar tax credit offered by the federal government to first time home buyers. According to Realtor Jim Lee, “And as in previous weeks the mid to lower end ranges still dominate the market. The $50,000 to $200,000 price point has been where the action is for most all of 2009 and shows no signs of changing. I believe this market is primarily being driven by first time buyers attracted by the huge selection of homes, stories of great prices, the lowest interest rates in history, and the $8,000 federal tax credit most of them will qualify for.” Overall, though, the Knoxville real estate market has been reeling from the continued effects of the collapsed real estate bubble, both in terms of time on market and overall sales.

According to figures compiled by the Knoxville Area Association of Realtors, the number of units sold plummeted in the two years prior to the present day, while over the same period the amount of time required for a unit to sell increased drastically. This means that houses and condominiums on Knoxville real estate take much longer than the rest of Tennessee. There is something of an odd relationship between short sales and foreclosures and the rest of Knoxville real estate, whereby more hurried and almost desperate sales artificially inflate the sales figures in the region.