Santa Cruz suffered along with the rest of the United States during the recession that began in the year 2008, although thankfully for the real estate market in the region, that downturn was not especially harmful to the local economy. Santa Cruz is usually analyzed  by the National Association of Realtors and similar bodies as a part of the Central California Coast region, of which Santa Cruz and San Jose real estate are the primary metropolitan Markets. The Central Coast region in general and Santa Cruz in particular are in a midst of a moderately paced upswing - a positive sign that may indicate the arrival of the promised relief from the federal stimulus. The middle class portion of Santa Cruz real estate is being boosted especially strongly, thanks to an eight thousand dollar federal tax credit being given to first time home buyers nationwide.

The number of homes on the market because of foreclosures has increased since June of 2008, although the figure increased only by a negligible 0.4%.At the same time, the number of homes for sale without the influence of foreclosures increased by more than 7%, with the median price steadily increasing. Mortgage rates in Santa Cruz, as calculated by Informa, are hovering around the 5% range - with a 15 year mortgage at about 4.95% and a 30 year mortgage running in the vicinity of 5.41%. In May of 2009, the median price of a home in Santa Cruz was approximately $425,000, although the amount of houses being foreclosed was still dangerously high, according to Mercury News.

The same source, which specializes in providing news to the Central Coast of California, reported a month later that the median home price rose to about $483,000, a significant increase since May. Real Opinions Realty noted that “Sales have exceeded last year's for 12 straight months and listings have decreased compared to last year's for seven straight months.” Santa Cruz Real Estate hit a low point towards the end of 2008, but  has been on a steady upswing ever since. Simply put, the Santa Cruz Real Estate Market is facing a mixed bag of predictions - while some indicators suggest an increased rate of growth, others seem to point towards a flat or even decreasing market.

This Santa Cruz real estate market update was provided by Coastal Bay real estate and their team.

Colorado Springs is in a unique position in the real estate world. The Colorado Real Estate Market is anchored by the presence of a number of military personnel and the United States Air Force Academy, adding a stabilizing dynamic to an already well-positioned and popular community. Yahoo Real Estate recently ranked Colorado Springs real estate as the seventh most stable real estate market in the United States of America, a ranking largely attributable to the predominance of scenic beauty and positive attributes in the city. Colorado Springs is considered the best big city to live in by CNN Money, one of the top cities of the future by Forbes Magazine, and one of the top five fitness places to live by Fitness Magazine. Colorado Springs is also ranked as one of the most tech business-friendly cities, one of the top cities for small business, and one of the best places to live and work by America's Best Places to Live and Work.

The Pikes Peak Realtor Services Corporation has reported that the Colorado Springs Real Estate Market decreased in a number of key indicators between 2008 and 2009, although this may be largely attributable to the fact that Colorado Springs was not hit especially hard by the recession to begin with. For example, sales decreased by one percent, houses on the market decreased by more than twenty percent, and average sale price also declined. On the other hand, houses spent less time on the market and more houses were being sold. Professionals in the Colorado Springs area do not seem to be overly concerned with the fluctuations in the Colorado Springs real estate market, with Realtor Jason Daniels stating that “There has never been a better time to move up. The softening of the market has created a number of opportunities for the astute buyer.”

Realtor Rick Van Wieren goes a step further, theorizing that “With interest rates close to 5%, and the major expansion at Fort Carson, we are beginning to get positioned for recovery.” Interest rates in the Colorado Springs area remain securely below the six percent level, meaning that Colorado Springs Real Estate remains a buyers market despite something resembling a slow down.

This Colorado Springs market update was provided by Good Life Homes and their team.

The city of Boulder has remained generally unaffected by the devastating economic recession gripping the vast majority of the United States. The vast downturn was caused primarily by the collapse of the so-called sub-prime mortgage market, which in turn caused a domino effect with catastrophic consequences for the rest of the economy's components. This tragedy had a limited effect on Boulder, although Boulder real estate did not suffer a crippling blow from this collapse. The fact that Boulder was not strongly affected by the overall crisis is attributable to a number of factors, potentially including higher standards on the part of local banks and possibly more responsible buyers in the region. This means that, compared to the rest of the United States real estate market, Boulder real estate is disposed more towards sellers than towards buyers.

In fact, there is a professional consensus that Boulder is one of the most lender-friendly communities in the United States. The Private Mortgage Insurance United States Market Risk Index ranks almost every city, metropolitan area, and county in the country on a five point scale - Minimal, Low, Moderate, Elevated, and High, where minimal is the best and high is the worst. Boulder County is categorized as Minimal risk,  meaning  that loans made in the region are especially stable and unlikely to be subject to foreclosure. Boulder has not seen a large amount of foreclosures, a stark contrast to other portions of the greater Denver area and Colorado in general, where new construction has been especially susceptible to foreclosure.

The most popular section of the Boulder Real Estate is between 300,000 and 550,000, according to Realtor Alta Drumm, who operates in the region. This is the price range most commonly targeted by first time home buyers, who are being encouraged to purchase homes nationwide by means of an eight thousand dollar tax credit from the federal government. As of July 13, 2009, an article in the Colorado Daily quoted a realtor with Kearney Realty Company as saying that “We had a pretty nice second quarter...”, an indication that industry professionals are increasingly confident to the continued rebound currently being experienced in the Boulder Real Estate Market.

Denver is inextricably tied to the larger real estate market of Colorado, which was one of the hardest hit during the first portion of the nationwide recession. Both Denver and Colorado experienced an extremely high rate of foreclosures, an indicator that Denver real estate suffered a powerful  blow from the economic downturn. According to the Irving, California based Realty Trac, Incorporated, Colorado had the fifth highest rate of foreclosures of the fifty states, while Denver had the nineteenth highest rate amongst major metropolitan areas and cities. These figures were reported in the year 2008, although they did contain a glimmer of hope for Denver especially - the company indicated that the rate of foreclosure growth was slowing.

Denver, along with Colorado at large, retains very high foreclosure rates, although much less than other markets, Las Vegas real estate market for example. Thankfully, the long-term market trend seems to indicate that the number of foreclosures will continue to decrease. While the first quarter of 2008 was literally disastrous for the Denver real estate market, the first quarter of 2009 saw a decrease of 46% over the former time period. While the economics involved are somewhat complex and subtle, this basically means that more people are able to afford their monthly mortgage payments, meaning that Denver's real estate market is becoming more stable. Nonetheless, Denver definitely remains a buyer's market, so if you are in the market for undervalued homes and investment opportunities, it is without a doubt worth another look.

The overall housing market in Denver seems to be on the upswing, boosted by the positive figures posted regarding foreclosures. Since last year, sales of new and existing homes have increased nearly six percent, while houses are remaining on the market for substantially shorter periods of time. In short, the buyers are out there, and they are purchasing at a markedly improved rate. Interest rates on Denver real estate are slightly below five percent, which may discourage some home owners from selling their houses, although the future actions of the Federal Reserve in large part dictate the future of that component of the economy.

This Denver Colorado market update was provided by Good Life Homes and their team.

Colorado real estate was hit especially hard during the first wave of the economic recession, especially towards the end of 2008. Although economics remains far from an exact science, this most likely is a result of a large number of so-called “sub-prime” mortgages, essentially loans with an exceptionally high rate of risk. This situation was exacerbated by the presence of especially expensive homes in ski resort communities such as Aspen, where individuals who could not otherwise attain a loan sufficient for purchasing an expensive house were granted that opportunity by predatory lenders and sub-prime loans. Once given this chance, a number of persons took the proverbial leap and bought a property far beyond their means.

At the advent of the recession, many of these people lost their investments and/or jobs, rendering them incapable of making their mortgage payments. This resulted in Colorado having the fifth highest rate of foreclosures in the United States. According to Realty Trac, Incorporated, “The state saw 66,795  foreclosure filings on 50,396 properties in 2008, for a rate of 2.41 percent of Colorado homes. There was a glimmer of hope in this report, however, which pointed out that the rate of growth in foreclosure filings was slower than the national average.

About half a year later, in June of 2009, the Northern Colorado Business Report noted that “Colorado's foreclosure activity dipped slightly...putting it at Number 9 on the list of states with the highest foreclosure rates.” Concurrently, the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors reported that home sales in the first part of Summer 2009 rose slightly over Summer 2008 figurers, indicating that the Colorado real estate may potentially be experiencing the first effects of the federal stimulus designed to encourage first-time home buyers. Broker Associate Rick Van Wieren noted that the 8000 dollar tax credit offered by the government was the most likely cause for the fortunate upturn in home sales. On the other hand, the economic benefits of the uptick are arguable, because the homes that were sold were considered potentially undervalued, at least according to numbers reported by the Colorado Springs Gazette.

This Colorado market update was provided by Good Life Homes and their team.

The Las Vegas metropolitan area continues to be one of the hardest hit in the nationwide real estate crisis. Although some market indicators and real estate agents have suggested that Sin City has started to recover from the devastating impact of the recession and sub-prime mortgage crisis, the overall market of the Las Vegas real estate remains depressingly dismal. This is especially disconcerting considering the fact that a massive federal stimulus package has yet to have a significant impact on the belly-flopping fortunes of the Las Vegas real estate market.

Las Vegas has had an especially difficult time dealing with adjustable rate mortgages, predatory lenders, and risky loans, which peaked in popularity immediately prior to the sharp downturn in the state and national economy. Now, according to the Las Vegas Sun, “Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the country and the metro area is consistently one of the top five worse in the nation. The crisis jeopardizes further growth by creating an overflow of available homes, which in turn slows the construction of new homes and invariably effects property values.” This has led to a locally held consensus that the real estate will decline by an additional twenty seven percent in the upcoming year, unless something changes drastically before that time period arrives.

There is one potentially bright spot in the Las Vegas Real Estate - the otherwise catastrophic decline in home prices has created a glut of homes priced far below their estimated value. The same is true with the record-high foreclosure rates - in an attempt to recoup some of their initial investments, banks are looking to unload undervalued properties at extremely low prices. This creates an opportunity for anyone who was lucky enough to maintain a high amount of capital throughout the turbulent times of the recession. Anyone who has a large amount of available cash on hand should consider purchasing some of these properties, which are a great opportunity for investment rentals. These have the potential to create a consistent cash flow along with additional opportunities once the local market recovers. Hopefully the eight thousand dollar federal tax credit offered to first time home buyers will also boost this promising portion of the Las Vegas real estate market.

Market update provided by realestate-vegas.com and their Vegas team of professionals.

As the U.S. real estate market has taken a hit, roiling from the after effects of the subprime mortgage lending crisis with home prices and sales numbers down and foreclosures at record highs, one area shows a silver lining among all the mess: the residential rental market.

As lending standards have tightened as creditors have become more cautious, it has made it more difficult for people looking to buy houses to get approval for a mortgage, and many have found they must turn to homes for rent, at least temporarily, driving up the demand, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey released this month.

Adding to the effect is the fact that many homeowners who had hoped to sell their homes are now holding out and trying to wait for prices to recover, since home prices nationwide are down as much as 10%.

Despite the fact that demand for retail rental space is down, this increased demand for residential rentals can be felt throughout the market. Many who have seen their homes foreclosed upon and been evicted are now turning to rental units as well, as they find it both difficult and heart-wrenching to go through the mortgage process again.

Buyers looking to take out new financing or refinance their mortgage are still few and far between in the real estate market, as the crisis stemming from the subprime mess continues to slog on, dragging down the U.S. economy.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said in a report this week that the number of mortgage applications filed last week had decreased a seasonally adjusted 28.7% compared with the week prior. Thirty year fixed mortgage rates were averaging a 5.75%, up just a tick from the previous week's 5.74% average.

Though the real estate market has been hit particularly hard in the latest downturn of the economy, Congress is moving toward taking legislative action to help bail out the thousands of Americans in need of help. Leaders in the Senate reached a bi-partisan agreement last week on how they should proceed with the housing bill as legislators rush to get aid to Americans as quickly as they can.

The bill in current form would reduce the principal on mortgages from taking into account the decreased value of homes, which have already fallen 10% across the country. Legislators are anxious to get legislation passed to save the number of Americans who are facing foreclosure.

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Though much of the news in the mortgage market has been bleak as of late, with the mounting losses and foreclosures, and continuing fallout from the subprime-mortgage lending fiasco, the amount of application for new mortgage applications is on the rise as many try to refinance existing mortgages with lower rates or to get out of old mortgages to avoid the now-reset and much-higher adjustable rates.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said last week that the number of mortgage applications increased 48.1% when seasonally adjusted in the week that ended March 21 from the previous one. Applications for refinancing existing mortgages was up more than 82% from the week prior, while applications for new mortgages to buy homes was up more than 10%. Applications overall have increased more than 40% from last year.

The increasing volume of borrowers trying to get new mortgage or refinance old ones comes as the Federal Reserve has continued to lower its rates, and mortgage  interest rates have been falling along with them. The MBA said an average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage carried a rate of 5.74% the week ending March 21, down from the week prior's 5.98% rate.

Rates on mortgages for less than 30 years dropped as well, though not as much. The data also showed that fewer borrowers are opting for adjustable rates and instead preferring to take a fixed rate. Many blame the adjustable-rate mortgages, along with careless lending, for getting the U.S. into the housing mess, as borrowers took out mortgages that they could not afford once the rates reset higher.

The number of residents buying homes isn't the only statistic that has seen a sharp decline this year with the ongoing fallout of the credit crisis and subprime mortgage mess; the National Association of Realtors released a report last week that showed fewer people bought homes as investment in 2007. The number of houses bought solely for investment purposes last year dropped 18.1% from 2006, when the numbers were also steadily declining, off nearly 29% from the large numbers in 2005.

Many are saying that speculative buyers are the ones who have vanished from the real estate investment market, as those were the ones who some blame for the booming prices in real estate in recent years. Speculative buyers bought homes with the intent to sell them when their value increased to make a profit. But the continual increase in home prices couldn't continue at its pace forever, and now many buyers of homes who were looking to sell their properties for a profit are finding the homes valued at less than what they paid for them, leaving them upside down.

The NAR report said last year also saw the number of sales of vacation rentals fall 30.6%, compared with 2006 when vacation-home sales were at an all-time high. Though the numbers have fallen and are expected to do the same in 2008, some buyers are finding the market's current turbulence offers a great opportunity to buy when the prices are down. However, banks are pulling back on lending and some of those wishing to buy homes at these lower prices are finding themselves unable to get financing for the purchases.