Public Trustee filings for 2009 Foreclosures in Denver remain on a par with 2008.  Information released from  the Public Trustee's office showed 480 filings for the month October 2009, with a projection that total filings in Denver County will approximate 2008’s total filings of 6,145.  The 2008 total was some 2,100 les filings than the peak of 2007, when the total filings exceeded 8,200.

It is difficult to compare the foreclosure filings resulting from the current economic crises with the economic crises beginning in 1986.  The foreclosure crises that accompanied the economic troubles of the latter half of the 1980’s  decade was dictated both by creative mortgage loans and a severe job loss, much as we have seen in the latter half of the current decade.  There is one major difference that creates a statistical anomaly, in that many of the foreclosures filings since 2003 have involved 2 filings per household.  Many homes purchased since the latter half of the 1990’s were done so with a combination loan involving an 80% loan to value (LTV) first mortgage, and a second mortgage with an LTV varying from 5% to 20%.  In almost all cases where there is a default on the first, there is a similar default on the second mortgage, resulting in the 2 filings per household phenomenon.

Many observers of the housing market predict that Denver foreclosures could continue at a strong pace for the next few years.  This observer’s view is that predictions are very difficult with the overall market in such upheaval.  Increasing employment in the Denver area, the effect of so-called “short sales”, and the various loan modification programs make predicating the near term foreclosures market difficult indeed.

Notorious as being one the worst-hit markets in the country and in the state with the highest number of foreclosures, the market for real estate in Miami Beach is continuing to show signs of struggles into late 2009. With some of the highest increases of real estate prices before the crash, the Miami area has now seen an adjustment in prices.

According to the Miami Herald, in October, the median price for single-family homes in the county was down 28% from the year before, now at $178,500. The median price for condos in the area was down 30% to $138,400. However, taking prices only from 2009 into consideration, the homes have made up approximately $30,000 in values, suggesting perhaps the market has seen its worst days.

Homes for sale in Miami Beach making their way off the market actually saw an increase in activity, however, as many were spurred on by the government's plan to offer up to $8,000 in tax rebates to qualified first-time home buyers. Sales of existing single-family homes in the county were up by 26% compared with a year ago, though month-to-month, sales in October fell by 8% compared with September's sales.

The largest increase in activity in Miami Beach real estate for sale, however, has been in the lower-priced section. Homes for $300,000 and more are having a harder time moving off the market as large loans have become exceedingly difficult to obtain. Currently, the area has just a four-month supply of homes under $100,000 but an eight-month supply of homes under $300,000. Additionally, the $300,000 to $1 million range is stuck with a 21-month supply, while the $1 million-plus market has built up a four-year inventory.

Known as being home to the world-famous ski resort area, the market for real estate in Breckenridge, Colorado, was very strong for years, until the global financial crisis put a stop on the seemingly unending increases in home values. The market is a rather high-value one, and because of its coveted location near the ski slopes, it has maintained value better than many other areas around the country. However, homes aren't moving like they used to and sales volume has plummeted.

Sales volume has been markedly lower in 2009 than in the boom years. In 2009, through August, there had been 47 sales for over $1 million. In 2008, there were 103 such sales and in 2007, there were 124. There were 114 sales in August, down from August 2008's volume by 38%. Through August, sales volume in 2009 was still off of 2008 by about 50%.

In August, the average prices of homes for sale in Breckenridge stood at around $553,000, while the median sales price was $403,300. Price indices show values still down from recent highs. Monetary value of sales was down 34% in August from 2008 figures; and August 2008 figures were down by 50% from the figures of 2007's high. The number of transactions overall in August was down 38%, from 183 in '08 to 114 this year. Meanwhile, volume in 2008 was also down 49% from 2007 volume.

Though the market still seems to be stalling, those seeking Breckenridge real estate for sale have a good opportunity, with plenty of inventory on the market and some prices at lows not seen in years. It remains to be seen whether the government's program offering up to $8,000 in tax credits to first-time home buyers, which expired Nov. 1, will have given a boost to the local market in Breckenridge.

As a small island near the Seattle shoreline, the market for real estate off Seattle in Bainbridge Island is limited and pricey. The market has, of course, suffered since the recession began in the U.S. and the national housing market began its widespread decline.

Because its area is small, the number of given Bainbridge Island real estate transactions in a given month is relatively small, and therefore small increases or decreases in sales volume can account for larger percentage changes and sellers and buyers must keep this in mind when viewing statistics. So far in 2009, sales volume in Bainbridge Island has been picking up. The year began with just 12 sales in January, and it remained in the teens through the summer until July, when there were 21 sales.

September accounted for a yearly high of sales, with 26, and October saw that fall down a notch back to 23. So far this year, there have been 173 sales on the island, but there remain almost 250 homes for sale in Bainbridge Island, a large inventory that will take time to thin out. Most of the sales for the year have come in the lower price ranges of $400,000 to $600,000.

Though sales are picking up, they are still relatively below sales volume for years past. To date 173 homes have been sold on the island, which puts the year of 2009 on track to best 2008's record low of just 158 sales. In 2007, there were 298 and in 2006 there were 303.  The recent uptick in sales gives signs for hope, but it is clear that it will take several years for the Bainbridge Island market to reach the highs of the early 2000s again.

Hawaii's "Garden Isle," as it is known, the island of Kauai, like the other Hawaiian islands, has seen a steady drop in home values since 2008, when the U.S. housing and stock markets began their slide and the country entered into a recession. Kauai real estate had high median values before the crash, and thus the prices have had farther to fall than homes in lower markets. By now, however, a year and a half into the market's downfall, real estate in Kauai seems to be nearing its bottom as prices are stabilizing, albeit at much lower levels than before.

August 2009 saw 23 home sales in Kauai, a decrease of 14.8% from sales volume of homes in August 2008. Meanwhile, the median price for a home sale on Kauai was $471,000, a decrease of price by 11% from figures at the same time last year. Condo sales showed a bit more signs of normality. Their sales volume was up to 15 in August 2009 from just seven in August 2008, an increase of more than 50%. Meanwhile, median condo sales prices remained relatively stable, up to $300,000 in August of this year from $299,000 last year.

However, as the local newspaper the Garden Island notes, Kauai real estate figures must be examined closely and percentage increases or decreases not taken to mean too much, as the "real estate market is an insulated one with a relatively small sampling section, therefore a high or low dollar sale, a new condominium project or subdivision can dramatically affect the statistics."
Statewide, Hawaii has been slightly slower to recover than many of its mainland counterparts, the Star Bulletin says, with second-quarter sales volume down  37.8% from the first quarter. Two communities in Kauai, however, were among the top five regions in terms of closed sales on homes for sale in Kauai, in Kekaha and Kalaheo.

Though located far away from the coasts where most of the carnage from the U.S. financial crisis has occurred, the market for real estate in Des Moines has not been immune from the effects of decreasing value, higher foreclosures and increased inventory that have plagued nearly all markets across the country to some degree over the past couple years.

Though prices are still continuing to suffer and are grasping for a stabilization point, the number of homes for sale in Des Moines that have closed in recent months is on the rise, which has contributed to a thinning out of inventory and a better outlook overall. In October 2009, according to statistics from the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors, there were 865 closings, up from just 623 in October of 2008, though down slightly from September's higher figure of 881. The average sale price, though down from peaks and down from October 2008's figure of almost $163,000, stood at just under $157,000, up from September's average of just under $154,000, showing a possibility of gaining momentum.

Though inventory has begun to thin out a bit with the added incentive for buyers who wanted to capitalize on the government stimulus program offering up to $8,000 in tax rebates to qualified first-time homebuyers, it still remains high, at around 5,400 in October, but down from September's 5,500 and from last year's clip of over 5,900. The figures all include Dallas, Polk and Warren county statistics.

In the city proper, sales volume of Des Moines real estate has been up as well. In August, sales increased to 247 from 234 in 2008, an increase of 5.6%. However, for 2009 overall to date, sales volume in the city of Des Moines is down by 8.2%. It remains to be seen whether the increase in buyers spurred on by the government program will be enough to propel these statistics into the black. Sales prices in Des Moines have been down as well: The average price was down 5.2% in August, while the median price was down 6.7%.

As one of the country's largest cities, the San Francisco real estate market is a diverse market, with different levels of homes in the Bay area city. The market has taken a dive in the recent two years since the beginning of the global recession and the bursting of the U.S. housing market bubble.

Recently, however, signals indicate real estate in San Francisco may be slowly improving. In September, sales in the Bay region were up by 8.4% compared with sales in September 2008, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, quoting information from MDA DataQuick. During the month, there were almost 8,000 new and existing homes sold in the nine-county area. Existing homes accounted for just over 5,700 of those transactions, up by 4.7 from last year's figures.

Though volume is up, sale prices still remain lower than recent highs. The median price for an existing single-family home in the region in September was $380,000, down 5% from last year's price of $400,000 but slightly above August's figure of $375,000. Sales volume was also up 4.8% compared with August's sales.

Though the figures seem promising, staving off foreclosures will be key to the market's recovery. "What will be key is how many more foreclosures we see and the timing of when they hit the market," Andrew LePage, a DataQuick analyst, told the Chronicle. "We're still climbing our way out of a deep recession." Those figures have fallen recently -- in February foreclosures made up 52% of homes for sale in San Francisco; September showed those foreclosed home accounting for 32.8%.

Southern California has long been home to some of the United States' most exclusive -- and most expensive -- communities. This statement is particularly true in Orange County, a long sought-after destination for many, with its large, exquisite homes and tropical oceanside climate. Homes for sale in South Orange County have always fetched high prices, and not even the real estate market collapse could change that. However, prices have fallen substantially since before the recession began, allowing many new buyers into the market who could not quite meet the price threshold before.

According to the Orange County Register, Orange real estate is currently experiencing mixed signs across its many communities. For a nearly three-week period ended Oct. 6, statistics showed 495 homes for sale in all of Orange County, up 16% from the year prior. The median price was at $685,000, a fall of only 1.9% from the price during the same period in 2008, a positive sign for sellers.

Real estate in South Orange County is showing the most positive signs of the county's market, with 814 sales over the period of almost a month ending Oct. 6, up by 27% from 2008 volume at the same time, and at a median price of just over $500,000, an increase also in the price from last year, though just by 0.2%.

However, Orange County's pricey real estate has not been exempt from the foreclosures that have plagued much of the country in recent months. According to the Orange County Register quoting First American Corelogics, as of August of this year, 6.9% of mortgage holders in the county were 90 days or more past due on their loans, an increase of 77% from 2008 rates, though Orange County's rates are still lower than the U.S. average of 7.1% and California's average rate of 9.8%. The foreclosure rate in Orange County stands at 2.5%, up by 58% from 2008's rates but still lower than California's overall foreclosure rate of 3.5%.

The Los Angeles area was hit hard by the downturn in the U.S. housing market and has continued to suffer ill effects of the ongoing world recession. However, signs point that the market may be beginning to inch away from the worst of it. Beverly Hills real estate is notorious for being some of the most expensive in Los Angeles and the area, and though many mult-million-dollar homes have maintained most of their value, others have lost quite a bit, and owners have been forced to sell homes for less than their previous worth.

Through 2009, the infamous 90210 ZIP code in the Hills has fallen steadily, starting the year in January with a median home price of around $3.75 million. That price rose gradually in the spring to over $4 million in May before dipping again and slowly falling to about $3.4 million now, where it stands as of Nov. 1. The city's less famous ZIP code, 90212, started the year with a median price around $2.5 million, maintained that level until about May and then began a precipitous slide, bottoming at around $1.75 million in mid-September. Since then it has picked back up and as of the beginning of November stood at just under $2 million.

Sales volume, meanwhile, has been up. September sales volume of homes for sale in Beverly Hills was up by 55% from September of 2008, a positive sign that more are willing to jump back into the high-end real estate market. However, the number of actual sales is quite small in this high-priced market; sales jumped from 11 in 2008 to 17 in 2009, so a few unexpected sales can sway the market. Additionally, inventory has been up slightly. Inventory for September of this year is up 3% from the stock from last year, with 359 homes for sale.

The number of properties under contract has increased by 108% in September of this year versus September of last year, another encouraging sign for real estate in Beverly Hills. The months' worth supply of inventory is down too, also a positive sign as fewer homes are stagnating on the market for months on end. The September volume was a 10-month supply, down 56% from September 2008's nearly 23-month supply.

Oahu, the third largest of the Hawaiian islands and the most populous, has suffered many ill effects from the ongoing financial crisis and the deteriorated U.S. housing market. The island was home to some of the nation's highest property values before the crisis, and these inflated values have meant many homes for sale in Oahu have had a long way to fall during the downturn.

Foreclosures in Hawaii have been a major problem plaguing the state, with 969 filings during September, a 63% increase from foreclosures in September of last year. According to the Honolulul Advertiser, Oahu was the county with the highest number of filings for foreclosures of any Hawaiian county or island with 382, not an encouraging sign for those already in the Oahu real estate market. However, this wave of foreclosures also brings a whole new slew of bank-owned homes to the market for those looking to buy homes at lower prices. And though Oahu had the most foreclosure filings, this can be partially attributed to its being the most populated island, as its foreclosure filing rate was the lowest of the islands per household, at just on per every 876 households.

Home prices have been steadily rising on Oahu as well, according to the Pacific Business Journal. Home prices rose in September, though the figures were still the lowest in a decade. There were 244 homes sold in September, a 13.5% rise from the same period of 2008. The median price was $600,000, up by 3% from $590,000 in 2008's same month. Condo prices were also up 3% to $305,000 from $296,000, while their volume in sales was also up 13% from the same period last year.

Most experts agree that real estate in Oahu is outperforming the markets of other Hawaiian regions, mostly due to the belief that the market has already hit its bottom and is now beginning the slow ascent back to normalcy. "I think (Oahu) is still at a healthy point," Harvey Shapiro, research economist for the Honolulu Board of Realtors, told the Star Bulletin. "It looks like we have hit bottom in the first quarter of the year and that we are on the upswing."