The Raleigh real estate market has begun the long road towards an eventual recovery, at least according to the most recent statistics drawn from various sources. Raleigh is still reeling in some respects from the economic recession that began with the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage crisis towards the end of the year 2008. Overall, though, it seems that Raleigh real estate may have finally turned the corner from catastrophic collapse to slow, begrudging recovery. There are some difficulties in determining what signs mean exactly what - oftentimes some components of the real estate market confound other measures of the Raleigh real estate market. A conglomerate of experts, however, representing a majority of the relevant real estate professionals, feel that Raleigh is become increasingly desirable.

 A July 18, 2009 article in the News Observer - a Raleigh area newspaper - found that “The Triangle housing market continued to soften last month. But important signs of stability are lurking...And the June total represented a big jump from the previous month. While there are typically more homes sold in June than in May, the month-to-month increase was 22 percent this year, compared with the average 13 percent jump over the previous decade. This could indicate a boost in confidence from buyers, if not relenting from sellers.” Realtor Ross Phudy of Ammons Pittman GMAC Real Estate cautions, however, that while activity is increasing, it has not yet reached optimal levels. He also went on to say that while he believes that the worst has passed, the impending recovery will not be rapid.

A July 23, 2009 article in the New York Times cited the Raleigh real estate market as one of the parts of the American south that is showing significant recovery. Website builderonline.com indicated that Raleigh real estate is the sixth best market for new building in the United States, partially as a result of a considerable number of new jobs and population growth. Hanley Wood Market Intelligence ranked Raleigh as the sixth strongest residential real estate market in the United States, and the strongest residential real estate market outside of Texas.

The Medford real estate market is not affected in the same way that many of the large cities in the Pacific Northwest have been by the national recession. Medford is a lot smaller than Portland or Seattle, for example, meaning that there have not been nearly as many foreclosures or even short sales as in these urban centers. Medford real estate has, however, been running into some problems of its own despite its primarily residential and suburban nature. Medford has been in a bit of trouble because the lingering effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis finally reached the regions of Central and Southern Oregon after several months of not affecting the area.

Certified Residential Specialist and Accredited Buyers Representative Estelle Redd wrote in the Realty Times on July 15, 2009 described the challenges and opportunities of the Medford real estate market. “Medford is a great place to live and a friendly small town atmosphere. Overall home sales have increased by 3 so far this year! The median house price has dropped to approximately $220,000, which is down 10% from last year. Bank owned properties make up about 50% of the sales here in Medford.” It can be determined from the statistics reported here that the foreclosures and short sales in Medford artificially deflated the average sales price and increased home sales. Interestingly, there are not many official reports on Medford real estate, mostly due to the relatively small nature and low population of Medford, which is often overshadowed by other nearby cities.

According to the Central Oregon Real Estate News Quarterly Report, “How is the Central Oregon real estate market doing? Well, that is a good question and the answer is...it depends. It depends on whether you are looking to buy or sell and what part of Central Oregon you are referring to. If you are looking to buy property in Central Oregon you are in luck, 2008/2009 is one of the best buyers markets we have seen in a very long time.” On the other hand, foreclosures have affected Medford to the point that the Associated Press featured a Medford resident and property in a special about a national program aiding foreclosure purchasers.

San Clemente, a part of Orange County, is one of the communities that was hit, but not devastated by the sub prime mortgage crisis and subsequent nationwide recession. San Clemente did suffer some adverse effects from the collapse of the real estate bubble, but seems to be in  something of a state of recovery. There are a number of contradictory signs, but the majority of the statistics seem to indicate two things - one that the market could have potentially bottomed out, and two that something of a recovery is on the way. There are a number of confounding factors when it comes to analyzing markets such as the San Clemente real estate market.

For example, according to Realtor Liana Norman, a drop during the summer months is typical for California and Orange County in particular. According to her blog posted on Realty Times, “While celebrating the 4th of July and enjoying the warm weather and California surf, demand for Orange County homes dropped by 7%, a typical drop for this time of year. The average drop in demand over the past five years has been 8%. This year is no exception.” On the other hand, homes are tending to stay on the market for shorter periods of time, meaning that there is some interest in purchasing properties on the San Clemente real estate market.

The rate of foreclosures in San Clemente as well as Orange County at large has been fluctuating between high rates and purchasing rates. According to a July 16th article in the Orange County Register found that “there were 374 foreclosures for sale in Orange County, which seems like an incredibly small number. It indicates demand is strong for cheaper foreclosures...” San Clemente real estate has been driven all the way back down to the levels found in 2004, meaning that buyers have great opportunities but sellers aren't getting quite their money's worth. San Clemente is also seeing a larger number of so-called “short sales” - house sales that aren't quite foreclosures and generally do not involve the bank stepping in, but which are nonetheless made out of financial necessity on a curtailed time schedule.

The Big Island of Hawaii, known locally simply as the island of Hawaii, is the second most populous island in the archipelago. More importantly for the Hawaii real estate market, the Big Island real estate market is literally bigger in terms of size than all of the other islands combined. Big Island properties are often sold by the tens or even hundreds of acres, whereas properties on other islands are sold on fractions of a single acre for much higher prices. This difference complicates the island's reaction to the nationwide recession and the bursting of the state real estate bubble, unfortunately mostly in a negative direction. The Big Island has been in serious trouble for months, and the Big Island real estate market will continue to have issues until the market bottoms out.

The stunningly high rate of foreclosures on the Big Island are possibly the biggest red flag for potential buyers and investors looking for property in Hawaii. The California based company RealtyTrac recently released monthly figures for July that highlighted the plight of the Big Island real estate market. The numbers, which were published on July 16, 2009 in Pacific Business News, found that “The Big Island had one filing per 441 housing units, up 5 percent over May and up 935 percent over June 2008.” The Big Island was the only of the major Hawaiian islands to experience yet another increase in foreclosures in June. A July 16th article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin was even less optimistic, with a headline asking whether the “Worst in foreclosures yet to come?”

Property prices on Big Island real estate have also been falling precipitously, which has sparked what is arguably an unhealthy interest from mainland investors. One possible bright spot was brought up in a recent meeting of the Hawaii Developers' Council, which theorized that Hawaii real estate may be reaching a bottom, after which some form of recovery is expected. There is, however, no guarantee that the expected recovery in downtown and suburban Honolulu will quickly spread to the wide open spaces of the Big Island.

Palos Verdes is an umbrella term for a number of predominately residential communities found in the southern portion of the city of Los Angeles. Palos Verdes' numerous cities and suburbs are all found on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, and is of distinctly low density. The Palos Verdes real estate market continues to follow the general pattern of the Los Angeles real estate market, having endured a relatively rough first quarter of 2009 but starting to show gradual signs of recovery. Palos Verdes is not especially unique compared to other suburban regions in Southern California, and has been experiencing trouble in the same standard areas - defaults, foreclosures, low home sales, etc. - as many other communities.

The Southern California real estate market in general and the Palos Verdes real estate market in particular has been experiencing a moderate rebound in terms of number of sales and sale price, at least according to the most recent figures available for the month of June. According to a blog posted to the Los Angeles Times website, “MDA DataQuick's statewide housing-sales figures track the trend we saw earlier this week in Southern California: the median price is rising as the mix of houses sold shifts away from the cheapest properties...As we've noted before, the rising median actually means prices are falling at the higher end of the housing market. That brings sales up, and raises the median because a greater share of homes sold are more expensive properties.”

Realtor George Fotion pointed out in an article posted to the Realty Times that “we find that the amount of unsold inventory decreased from 216 days to 110 days for the Greater South Bay, it decreased for the Palos Verdes Peninsula from 189 days to 144 days, but increased from 185 to 200 days for Palos Verdes Estates. The decreased in unsold inventory from last year's similar time period is positive news for the market.” Additionally, an article in the July 23 edition of the Los Angeles Times found that foreclosures had dropped considerably since the last quarter, although it did caution that more were likely to come in the third quarter of the fiscal year.

Bainbridge, an island off the coast of Seattle, Washington, is traditionally one of the more prestigious resort communities in the Northwest. The Bainbridge real estate market was affected by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent nationwide economic recession, although the ramifications of the situation were not nearly as dire in Bainbridge compared to the rest of the state. The problem areas in the Bainbridge Island market were centered primarily on foreclosures and slowing rates of home sales, because there are not particularly large quantities of commercial or industrial properties on the island. Even though Bainbridge was never really in crisis, Bainbridge real estate has begun to stage something of a recovery, with most signs pointing towards increased sales and dropping  rates of foreclosures.

According to a July 7, 2009 article in the Bainbridge Island Reporter, “after a difficult year, potential home buyers on Bainbridge Island and much of Western Washington are beginning to re-enter the real estate market, according to island realtors and the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.” The Multiple Listing Service further found that sales in the county, Kitsap County, increased by more than 55% compared to the same time last year. The article continues to say “On the island, fewer homes are still on the market, and those that remain are being sold for a lower price than last year.” Owner of Coldwell Banker McKenzie Associates, Barb McKenzie said that “People are wanting to move on with their lives and are realizing that things aren't so bad, that they can get financing and continue to plan for their future.”

The Windmere Brokerage Company, which serves Bainbridge Island as well as a number of coastal communities in Washington State, maintains a nearly comprehensive set of statistics regarding the state of Bainbridge Island real estate. These figures indicate that almost all of the signs of stability and overall well being are gradually returning to Bainbridge Island. For example, properties that are a part of the Bainbridge Island real estate market are spending less time on the market, and are being sold for closer to their original asking price.

Savannah real estate market seems to be trending towards a recovery - a welcome development considering the wealth of bad news that has flooded the local economy in the last several months. It is not absolutely certain what direction Savannah real estate is going to take in the future, mostly because of the distinct haziness that clouds almost any prediction about the local economy. One component that must always be considered when deciding how to interpret reported data is the source of the information provided. Almost any party has a bias when it comes to the Savannah real estate market - realtors are obviously going to emphasize news that will benefit them and their sales financially, while the news media is likely to over-inflate sensational stories for the sake of higher ratings.

According to a blog written by Realtor Claudia Armbrister  for the Realty Times, “With more than 7,619 active listings, not including more than 2500 new homes under construction and spec homes as of June 9, 2009, the trend has been towards a buyer's market, with a definite increase in sales overall!.” The article continues to characterize the current conditions of Savannah real estate as representing a strong buyers' market, which emphasizes supply heavily over demand. “Higher end homes are languishing in this “soft” market, with a high volume of bank-owned properties. Homes priced to sell and in great condition are usually under contract in 2-4 weeks, while others linger or incur increasingly lower offers, due to time on the market and the rising costs for sellers to 'hang on' for thata offer they want, and ultimately negatively affecting the bottom line.”

A July 9, 2009 article in the Savannah Morning News noted that the local  inventory of foreclosures dropped sharply in the month of May. “A total of 620 Savannah-area homeowners filed for foreclosure in May, up from 423 in April, according to the real estate research firm First American CoreLogic. Yet agents who specialize in selling foreclosures have not seen a corresponding rise in listings.” This may be a result of banks being more proactive in trying to prevent foreclosures, or a response to government stimulus efforts.

The North Carolina real estate market is among the most volatile and unpredictable in the Southern United States. One thing is clear, however - North Carolina is still in deep financial trouble in addition to being home to thousands of foreclosed properties. Throughout the Palmetto State, North Carolina real estate is in extremely bad shape, and has been showing only limited signs of recovery in recent months. It is difficult to determine which parts of the real estate market are faring well, since the differences between commercial and residential, industrial and other land are considerable and tend to confound any attempts to draw comparison between the different components. Some parts of North Carolina real estate are also artificially depressed or inflated by other parts of the market, making it even more challenging to properly analyze the situation.

According to News Station WXII 12, which serves Winston-Salem in North Carolina, “There are now 3,175 foreclosed homes in North Carolina, and the number is up just as things seemed to be getting better. Local realtors said, until the job market stabilizes, the housing market will remain in flux.” The article continued to describe some of the reasons behind the spike in foreclosures, including the higher numbers of unemployed individuals without benefits, an apparent failure by the government to prevent further foreclosures, and a lack of good jobs. News 14, another North Carolina television station, provided another perspective on the foreclosure issues facing North Carolina real estate.

“More than 12,000 North Carolina homes fell to foreclosure over the first six months of this year. That's a 26 percent improvement from the last six months of 2008, according to RealtyyTrac. However, from May to June, the number of families losing their homes spiked 23 percent.” The foreclosure problem has reached such large proportions that the North Carolina state legislature has been taking aggressive action specifically to attempt to reduce the number of foreclosures in the future. The higher number of foreclosures is one possible explanation for the apparently contradictory rise in home sales reported by the New York Times for much of the South, including North Carolina.

Chattanooga is almost the polar opposite of the rest of the state of Tennessee, and especially of the other large city in the state, Memphis. Although at first Chattanooga was quite similar to the rest of the Tennessee real estate market - nearly immune to the devastating effects that ripped through much of the nation's real estate - the two major cities have taken almost totally divergent paths subsequently. While Memphis remains quite stable in most sectors, even showing marked improvements in the commercial and residential sections, Chattanooga has taken some serious hits in recent months. Simply put, the negative effects of the economic recession have finally caught up with Chattanooga after an almost year long delay.

Possibly the largest problem with the Chattanooga real estate market is the number of foreclosures that are currently floating around the market. News Channel 9, a Chattanooga television station, reported on July 16, 2009 that “In recent weeks the Hamilton County real estate market is taking a sharp downward turn with an ever-increasing number of home foreclosures. Banks are just saying no to people struggling to make ends meet and that means a lot of homes are flooding the market in foreclosures.” Cindy Walker, a broker with Crye-Leike Realtors, said that “Foreclosures are just increasing astronomically all of a sudden.” Although Chattanooga has long been almost immune to the real estate crisis currently gripping America, that is clearly changing as of late. Statistics taken from RealtyTrac, an Irvine California real estate analysis company, illustrated that homes in foreclosure outnumber “regular” sales by nearly two to one, a severely troubling figure.

There are no signs that the rate of foreclosures in the Chattanooga real estate market is going to slow any time soon. In the words of Nickie Schwartzkopf, president of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors, “Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see even more foreclosures. There are still a lot of mortgages whose interest rates are going to be reset in the next couple of years at higher rates and, with unemployment still very high, there could be a lot of people who won’t be able to make their payments.” In fact, the Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise has gone so far as to found the Chattanooga Foreclosure Prevention Hotline in response to the crisis.

Both sections of Orange County - North Orange County and South Orange County - were not absolutely devastated by the bursting of the real estate bubble and the subsequent nationwide economic recession. Nonetheless, the region was definitely impacted by the crisis, some sectors more than others. There also seem to be many more potential buyers in the greater Orange County area than in the rest of the state of California at large, indicating a presence of investment capital. There is also a considerable amount of contradictory information about the real estate market in Orange County, with some signs suggesting that a turnaround may be impending, while others point towards a continued and deepening problem.

For example, the “Mortgage Insider”, an article in the Orange County Register written by Matthew Padilla, reported on July 15, 2009 that the number of foreclosures continued to increase for the fifth straight month (June 2008). This seems to contradict an article published in the July 16 edition of the Register, which found that “Steve Thomas at Altera Real Estate in Aliso Viejo reports that last week there were 374 foreclosures for sale in Orange County, which seems like an incredibly small number. It indicated demand is strong for cheaper foreclosures and inventory is slow to hit the market.” In other words, a lot of people are having trouble paying for their mortgages, but there are also a lot of people willing to scoop up bargains.

The commercial real estate portion of South Orange County real estate is in a bit of trouble. In fact, the commercial real estate in South Orange County and the rest of greater LA has been hardest hit compared to its surroundings. According to a July 19, 2009 article in the Los Angeles Times, “The lousy economy continues to quash the commercial real estate market, driving down rents and pushing out tenants...Offices and warehouses empty out, even as rents decrease, in LA, Riverside, Orange, and San Bernardino Counties. A turnaround might be years away.” Ultimately though, the fate of South Orange real estate depends on when the recovery of the overall economy begins.