The Salt Lake City real estate market is currently experiencing acute and continued effects of the economic downturn that began last year. Some real estate agents and analysts have speculated that the real estate market has bottomed out, and will inevitably trend in an upwards direction in the future. Realtor Mark Watterson disputes the absolute nature of these assertions, stating that “The market data is not showing enough signs at this time to call a bottom. There are initial signs of a bottom and prices are showing signs of stabilizing. There are more buyers looking and more buyers making offers.” In other words, there is no way to know for sure until buyers start investing and examining the impacts of those purchases on the market.

On the other hand, an article published on July 14, 2009 in Deseret News stated that the first and second quarters of 2009 were a possible indicator for what Salt Lake City real estate has in store. A report created by the brokerage firm Commerce CRG - the “Mid-Year 2009 Market Review”, found that “Norlund said that the faltering economy and increasing unemployment have had significant impacts on the office sector as companies downsized and therefore have required less space to operate. 'When the financial bubble burst nationwide...the people that were looking around basically put everything on hold. The  whole market is in flux now because of loss of jobs.”

The Salt Lake Tribune further found that the commercial real estate portion of the Salt Lake City real estate market has slowed considerably in the wake of the economic downturn. “After several boom years, Utah's commercial real estate sector is slowing as companies of all sizes, stung by recession, put off expansion plans and close locations.” Even so-called “short sales” are growing in volume and are becoming increasingly difficult to process. KSL, a local news radio station, published a piece on July 16, 2009, that stated that “frustration is mounting among buyers, sellers, and real estate agents as short sales take longer and become increasingly difficult.”

The Honolulu real estate market surprisingly fared much better both initially and currently than the nation at large and the rest of the islands. That does not mean, however, that there has been any shortage of hardship in the capital of the Aloha State. Honolulu real estate is experiencing a very difficult period of recession, and has possibly never had more serious problems in history. Foreclosures are near all-time record highs, many real estate agents are having difficulty selling homes at market value, and sales and sale prices are both near the bottom. Honolulu real estate is closely tied to Hawaii real estate in general and the Oahu real estate market in particular, but is more urban and suburban in nature than many parts of the two latter areas.

For example, the Pacific Business Journal reported on July 16, 2009 that “Honolulu had one filing per 1,131 housing units, down 26 percent from May but up 295 percent over June 2008.” This was substantially less than the other islands that make up the Hawaii real estate market and also lower than the island of Oahu at large. The problem with foreclosures is that they tend to sell more quickly than “regular” homes on the market, diluting the sales statistics so that it is difficult to differentiate between sales motivated by investment opportunities and those mandated by bank orders and legal action. Overall, however, it appears that Honolulu real estate is slowly starting to move in a positive direction after months of decline.

According to a July 2, 2009 article in Pacific Business News, “Single-family home prices on Oahu  fell 9 percent last month compared to last year, while condominium prices dropped 5 percent. But sales of existing homes were up and the head of the Honolulu Board of Realtors said there are signs the slump may be easing.” Harvey Shapiro of the Honolulu Board of Realtors said that “This is different than all the other cities on the mainland where they've had a huge explosion of properties available on the market and their prices subsequently drop because there were so many choices for buyers.”

Before the recession began in 2008, Atlanta was one of the fastest growing communities in the entire United States. However, like a number of other cities such as Las Vegas and Orlando, a high percentage of the Atlanta real estate market was based on new construction; whether on the vacant land required for projects, the raw materials for the builders, or labor costs. While this was a rapidly growing segment of the economy prior to the advent of the recession, once the real estate bubble burst, it was among the most devastated sectors nationwide. In the words of economist Roger Tutterow of the Stetson School of Business at Mercer University, “This is not a surprise - Georgia has been rising a little higher than the national average, that reflects the heavy exposure that our economy has had to real estate, especially construction, and the professional services that are linked to real estate.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that this was a contributing factor to the deepening financial crisis unique to Georgia. “The state has lost 209,500 jobs since June of last year - more than one in every 20. The over-the-year losses came in professional and business services, including temporary employment agencies, manufacturing, trade, transportation and warehousing, and in the construction industry.” There is something of a silver lining to all of this dismal economic news - it results in low housing prices and consequently a buyer's market. According to Realtors Becky Veal and Wade Mor, “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.”

One of the largest real estate funding banks in the Atlanta region, Fidelity Southern Corporation, has been  seeing signs of improvement in Atlanta Real Estate. Based on an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “the company, which operates Fidelity Bank, one of the largest community banks in the state, said the Atlanta real estate market is 'very near' stabilization.” The President of Fidelity Southern, however, cautioned that “We are starting to see some encouraging signs out there in the marketplace, it's too early to call it a trend, though.”

New York is an extremely large state in terms of population, although it is not especially large in terms of land area. This mean that New York real estate can be essentially dichotomized into two sections - the country regions of upstate and western New York State, and the metropolitan area and city core of New York City. The country and rural portions of New York state are generally immune to the nationwide economic recession, for one simple reason. The farms, ranches, and older homes in the New York State rural region are rarely on the market, simply because the properties in upstate New York are family owned, and less conducive to investment and “flipping”.

Manhattan, and New York City in general, however, have been hit extremely hard by the economic crisis precipitated by the collapse of the sub prime mortgage market in early 2008. The best explanation for this disconnect between the two different spheres of the New York Real Estate Market are the extremely high prices found in the city portion of the Empire State. Urban Digs, a real estate analysis site maintained by a number of New York professionals, reported the figures for the first two quarters of the year 2009, down nearly fifty percent from the same time in 2008. Noah Rosenblatt, a real estate agent in the Manhattan area had the following commentary to offer on the situation: “When you hear, 'sales volume plunges 50% from year earlier', you may immediately assume today's market is completely dead - not so.”

The Manhattan Real Estate Blog, maintained by Realtor Mitchell Hall, took a somewhat more negative approach to the figures reported. The Cocoran Report for the Second Quarter of 2009 found that in the last three quarters of activity, “Manhattan's housing market has experienced one of its most challenging periods in 20 years. In the wake of the financial crisis, home sales have slowed by half.” During the most recent months, however, there has been a glimmer of hope. Driven by a federal tax credit for first time home buyers, sales increased somewhat between the last two months, but there are no strong indications as to whether or not this trend will continue.

Oahu real estate market is very closely tied to the Hawaii real estate market at large, simply because Oahu is about eighty percent of the state of Hawaii in terms of population. At the same time, in terms of land, Oahu's real estate market is minuscule when compared to Maui and especially the Big Island of Hawaii. Due to the generally upscale nature of Oahu real estate, combined with the consistently upwards trend recently affecting Oahu real estate, the economic downturn hit Oahu especially hard when it struck mid-2008. Foreclosures skyrocketed, sales and sale prices tumbled drastically, and short sales increased in quantity while decreasing in quality. There are, however, some signs that the Oahu real estate market has started to turn around and even possibly rally.

According to a July 3, 2009 article in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, “There was a glimmer of hope for the residential real estate market on Oahu as June home sales showed a slight jump compared with a year ago, according to the latest statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.” Those figures found that the number of home sales in June of 2009 as compared to June of 2008 increased by 9.5%, or twenty two homes. Unfortunately, home prices were down compared to a year ago, although they did increase somewhat compared to May of 2009. In the words of Honolulu Board of Realtors President Sandra Bangerter, “We don't want to seem overly optimistic, but it looks like we could be nearing the bottom of the current market slump.”

Additionally,  a July 16, 2009 article in Pacific Business News found that “the number of foreclosure filings in Hawaii fell overall in June, but the numbers are still more than five times what they were a year ago, according to new statistics.” In other words, the situation is bad, but it is gradually improving month by month. According to economist Paul Brewbaker, as reported in a KHON news story, “It's looking like the bottom is starting to form.”He continued to say in a speech in front of the Hawaii Developers' Council that “I do see a pattern of stabilization showing up, which is the basis for the recovery that will occur.”

La Jolla, a neighborhood of San Diego, is characterized by being slightly more upscale and pricey than the rest of California's second largest city. La Jolla has had a somewhat more difficult time than the city at large in terms of recovering from the nationwide economic recession. The more widespread recovery that has, according to most experts, been gradually reviving the San Diego area, has not had as much of an effect on the upscale houses of the La Jolla region. According to Sandicor, a San Diego Real Estate Statistics and Services company, while the greater San Diego area experienced a sales increase of about 50%, the La Jolla neighborhood of the city saw a decrease of between 14% and 20%, depending on what portion of the market is being considered.

Realtor Bob Casagrand theorized that the problem with the La Jolla real estate market is an excessive amount of supply. In his own words, “This imbalance between supply and demand will create negative price pressures in the La Jolla market.” According to a July 15, 2009 article published by The Street, overall home sales in Southern California have reached their highest levels since the year 2006. The article continued to describe the fact that there are an increased number of homes priced above a half million dollars on the market, a succinct juxtaposition of the overall state of the California market and the particular situation of La Jolla real estate - general improvement as opposed to high-end problem areas.

The commercial segment of the La Jolla real estate market is also suffering the effects of the nationwide crunch - an article published in SanDiego.com reported that La Jolla has the second highest prices for commercial leases in the entirety of the region - a problem in a cost-conscious economy. La Jolla real estate has a much higher average price than the rest of San Diego - a whopping $1,912,564, which in itself is a decrease of almost half a million dollars from last year, according to MLS Statistics. One probable reason why La Jolla has not recovered is because the eight thousand dollar a year tax credit is not enough to help first time home buyers purchase an expensive La Jolla property.

The real estate market of Virginia is characterized by an overwhelming skew towards the buyer. This is a classic economic phenomenon driven by a massive overabundance of available properties and an unwillingness of potential investors to provide the necessary capital. There are some indications that the market in Richmond has started to recover somewhat, and the National Association of Realtors indicated that existing home sales rose almost 2.5% over the last month. However, this is not nearly enough to eliminate the available supply of homes and condominiums in the Virginia Real Estate Market, which continues to be excessively high. The same general trend holds true for the other large communities of Virginia, especially Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton, and Norfolk, which are also experiencing gluts of available properties.

The US Weekly Averages place the interest rates of Virginia around the 5% mark, meaning that there are more substantial opportunities for potential buyers to acquire credit than, for example, there were last year. In Richmond specifically, there were about 3.5% less unsold homes on the Virginia Real Estate Market as opposed to the last month's figures, although the cumulative total is still far, far below the figures that would be expected in a normal market. According to Realtor Skye Bruce, “The Richmond market is still challenging but showing some positive signs in activity the last few months. Home sales in Virginia including the Richmond area - continue to fall along with housing prices, but there are some signs that the worst could be over. A good sign is that first time home buyers were getting into the market.”

One of the most plausible explanations for the nascent uptick in the Virginia Real Estate Market is the federal tax credit, which provides eight thousand dollars for first time home buyers. This, along with the low mortgage rates and glut of available homes, has led many real estate professionals and analysts to recommend home buyers to purchase properties. The fundamental question for Virginia Real Estate is whether the federal stimulus efforts intended to boost the lower portion of the market will eventually translate to stronger sales on the part of higher-end markets.

San Diego real estate has posted increasing prices for the fourth consecutive month, which many have taken as an indication of an impending turnaround in the local real estate market. San Diego was affected along with the rest of the nation during the economic downturn that began in the year 2008, and in particular by the bursting of the local real estate bubble during the same time frame. According to Homedex, which compiles statistics on the San Diego real  estate market, the median price of a house in San Diego County increased by nearly $15,000 in the last month, marking an impressive increase for a fourth consecutive time. Overall, both detached and non-detached homes  increased for the last month, although houses remained on the market for the same amount of time as in June and May.

There is still something of a debate as to whether the increased volume of sales can be necessarily correlated to a permanent or sustained growth in the San Diego Real Estate. For example, Realtor Paul Miller wrote that “We now appear to be in a strong up leg of a turnaround in the real estate market. Sales have dramatically picked up along with the competition...Again, we are starting to see strong signs of a turnaround in the real estate market.”The most likely explanation for the positive figures in the San Diego Real Estate Market is the infusion of a substantial amount of capital, encouraged by an eight thousand dollar federal tax credit for first time home buyers.

There is an alternative school of thought as well, which believes that the only reason for the four month increase in sales is the federal incentive, and that no permanent recovery is impending. One of the strongest proponents of this theory is Realtor Schahrzad Berkland, who wrote in the Realty Times that “Caution - this housing rebound is temporary. There is much more pain  ahead. There are no green shoots. We have a temporary boom, so sellers are in control. As soon as the government stops printing Treasuries and buying mortgage backed securities, interest rates will go up and first time buyers will disappear.”

Overall, Hawaii Real Estate has been in crisis for the last several months, although there are some bright spots in the Island market. For example, single family home sales increased on the island of Oahu by about nine percent since the same time last year. On the other hand, the sales of Oahu condos decreased by almost eighteen percent from the statistics reported in the year two thousand eight. There is some relief to be found in a comparison with other tropical and resort real estate markets, especially those found in California and Florida, which were hit even more strongly by the sub prime mortgage crisis and the subsequent nationwide economic downturn. Some of these markets saw their average sales and market values decline by nearly half, a situation much, much worse than that found in Hawaii.

Realtor Mike Gallagher compiled a comprehensive chart chronicling the progression of real estate prices between the end of June 2008 and June 2009. It revealed that the only large residential area that increased in average sale price during that one year period was Kapolei, which showed a fourteen percent increase in condominium sales. This is possibly because a number of first time home buyers have been targeting the Kapolei area in recent months and years. This can be attributed to efforts both by the City and County of Honolulu and the Federal Government, the first for attempting to make Kapolei the “Second City” of Hawaii, and the second for an eight thousand dollar tax stimulus for first time home buyers.

Foreclosures, however, have been a particularly sore spot in the Hawaii Real Estate. According to an article written by Allison Schaefers in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, foreclosures in Hawaii skyrocketed by a whopping four hundred and twenty seven percent. A California company, RealtyTrac, presented the figures, and also concluded that “total filings last month were more than five times higher than the prior year.” Taken together, this meant that the foreclosures in the Hawaii Real Estate Market made the Aloha State the nineteenth worst in terms of number of foreclosures for the past month.

The upscale East Bay section of the greater San Francisco area is currently experiencing an upswing in real estate activity, growth, and sales. East Bay Real Estate is increasing in value, accompanying an uptick in value that many experts predicted as somewhat inevitable considering recent indicators and trends. Marketwire reported on July 13, 2009 that regional real estate prices increased by approximately 28% between the first and second quarters of the year. The communities of Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Piedmont, and Alameda had an increase of about 32%, a possible byproduct of the overall higher median prices in the area. There is something of a debate over whether the recent growth in the East Bay real estate market is a natural side effect of the time of year, or an indication of a significant period of growth just ahead for the East Bay area.

This sentiment is echoed by Aman Daro, Vice President of Integrated Marketing at McGuire Real Estate, who said that “This uptick in activity is somewhat expected...we typically see an increase between the first and second quarters of the year as buyers participate in the spring buying season, but 2009's increases are larger than in past years.” Daro's company also found that the sales of single family homes increased by about 66% between the first and second quarters. It seems too early to predict whether or not the East Bay real estate market has totally bottomed out, since some indicators, such as sale price, continue to lag far behind pre-recession levels.

James Temple, a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, took a slightly more optimistic approach to the state of East Bay real estate. He stated in a July 17th article that “Bay Area home prices rose month-over-month for the third straight time as sales reached their highest level in three years in June, fueling hopes that the limping real estate market is slowly beginning to heal.” Prices and interest rates remain low, and are two factors that caused Professor Esmael Adibi of Chapman University to say that “That is the very important, positive development and I believe it's going to continue”. There is not, however, a guarantee that these positive signs indicate a permanent or even long-term improvement in the East Bay real estate market - indeed, if there has been one consistent theme of the recession, it has been unpredictability.

This East Bay real estate market update by East Bay homes real estate team.