The La Costa real estate market, part of the larger San Diego County housing market, has been showing signs of gradual improvement. According to a May 24, 2010 article from the San Diego Union Tribune, “Mortgage defaults dipped in San Diego County last month to their lowest level since January, as distressed-property owners found alternatives to foreclosure, MDA DataQuick reported Monday.” The piece by Roger Showley continued to note that “Other signs of distress seemed [to] be easing, as delinquencies stopped growing, banks acted on their foreclosure backlogs, more homes were listed for sale and there were more building permits. Some real estate industry analysts read the figures as another sign the housing market is stabilizing at or near the bottom. But they cautioned the market will remain troublesome for the foreseeable future.”

Overall, the La Costa housing market seemed to be improving as La Costa homes for sale were recovering from setbacks in 2008 and 2009. According to a May 18, 2010 article from the Daily Transcript, “Recently, the San Diego Association of Governments published a report on the future growth of San Diego County. The report noted that in the next 20 years the county will grow by more than 700,000 persons, a gain of more than 30,000 annually.” The piece by Alan Nevin continued to say that “Based on that analysis, more than 10,000 new households will be formed annually. Simply put, that projection indicated that we must produce more than 10,000 housing units annually in order to accommodate that growth.”

The average sales price of a house in the La Costa real estate market has increased dramatically in the past few months. According to a May 25, 2010 article from NBC 7 News, “There’s no doubt housing prices have come roaring back this year. New numbers released this morning showed San Diego County home prices rose again in March – marking the 11^th straight month they’ve been headed up.” The piece went on to note that “Local prices rose 10.8 percent between March last year and this March – when buyers scrambled into the market to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit.”

The Fountain Valley real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger Orange County real estate market, remained relatively strong but showed some indications of stagnation and possible weakness. According to a May 18, 2010 article from OCLNN, “Orange County saw stronger gains in home sales and prices compared to all other Southern California counties during April.” The piece by Mike Reicher, went on to say that “…the number of sales hiked 11.6 percent to 2,669 sales of new and resale homes during April. And while it’s another positive sign that the housing market recovering, the median price in April is slightly lower than it was in March – $432,000 – and is well below the 2007 peak of $645,000. The coastal counties have been performing well in recent months, nudging up the region’s median home price to $285,000, according to DataQuick. That’s 15.4 percent higher than in April 2009.”

There were some mixed signs for Fountain Valley homes for sale, according to a May 17, 2010 article in the OC Metro. This piece noted that “Foreclosures and housing demand in Orange County earned high marks in a recent report from Altera Real Estate President Steven Thomas, though the region’s active inventory and the short-sales picture didn’t fare so well.” The article by Kristen Schott went on to say that “Thomas, who releases biweekly studies of the region’s residential real estate market, gave the state of foreclosures an A, and demand, or the number of new pending sales in the region, received a B+. However, the region’s active inventory garnered a C- and short sales, which Thomas said dominate the market, got an F+.”

The Fountain Valley real estate market is likely to lose momentum along with the rest of Orange County, according to a May 20, 2010 article from the OC Metro. According to this piece by Jon Lansner, “Each month, CoreLogic – the soon-to-be independent research arm of First American – has its computers look into an Orange County home-price crystal ball and create a forecast for the next 12 months of pricing activity. In the year that will end in March 2011, CoreLogic sees Orange County home prices – including distressed sales – virtually flat, rising just 0.2%.”

The Felton real estate market, one of the components of the larger Silicon Valley and Santa Cruz County housing markets, showed some signs of improvement in recent months. According to a May 24, 2010 article from the Mercury News, “Santa Cruz County saw fewer single-family homes sold in April compared to a year ago, but the median price rebounded from $420,000 to $553,000, the highest in 20 months, as distress sales dipped. Two years ago, the midpoint of what sold was $661,000.” The piece by Jondi Gumz went on to say that “There were 121 sales in April, with 43 percent selling for under $500,000, compared to a year ago, when 132 homes sold with 57 percent under $500,000, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers. Last month saw 33 bank-owned sales and 17 ‘short sales,’ where the home is sold for less than the debt, compared to 56 bank-owned sales and 11 short sales a year ago.”

The average price of a Felton home for sale rallied strongly in the most recent tracking period, reaching the highest level in more than a year and a half. According to May 24, 2010 article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Santa Cruz County saw fewer single-family homes sold in April compared to a year ago, but the median price rebounded from $420,000 to $553,000, the highest in 20 months.” The piece, written by Jondi Gumz, went on to note that “There were 121 sales, with 43 percent selling for under $500,000, compared to a year ago, when 132 homes sold, with 157 percent under $500,000.”

The improving economy of the larger Silicon Valley region should help boost the Santa Cruz and Felton housing markets. According to a May 21, 2010 article from the Mercury News, “Silicon Valley’s troubled job market turned a corner in April with a sharp drop in unemployment in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, driven in part by an increase in tech hiring.” The piece by Pete Carey went on to note that “Santa Clara County’s unemployment rate dipped to 11.4 percent from a revised 12 percent in March, the state Employment Development said Friday.”

The Los Altos real estate market, a subsidiary of the much larger Bay Area housing market, saw strong gains in the most recent tracking periods available, a reversal of earlier mixed signals. According to a June 7, 2010 article from KCBS News, “San Francisco saw a 50% jump in home and condo sales in the first quarter from a year ago. The median price is going up too, almost five and half percent to $685 thousand dollars, according to analyst Terradatum. Another consultant predicts values will rise seven percent this year.” The piece, composed by Holly Quan, went on to ask “What’s fueling this resurgence? One reason could be the tech rebound. Twelve hundred jobs were created in the city from February to April. Also there is a perpetual lack of supply of homes in San Francisco. Sellers are now seeing multiple bidders and sales way above asking, but industry watcher caution homebuyer credits could run out and jumbo loans could remain hard to get, meaning San Francisco’s real estate could lose steam.”

The strong rally of housing prices across much of the Bay Area was another positive sign for Los Altos homes for sale. According to a May 26, 2010 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “The San Francisco area had the strongest quarterly performance among metropolitan regions in a closely watched home price index released Tuesday, although other areas and national numbers showed some weakening.” The piece by Carolyn Said continued to note that “The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index showed the San Francisco area – which it defines as the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa – up 16.2 percent in the first quarter, compared with the same quarter in 2009.”

A previous analysis of the Los Altos and Bay Area markets had revealed a more mixed picture, according to a May 21, 2010 article in the Contra Costa times. This report by Eve Mitchell said that “Bay Area home sales in April were down slightly from a year ago while the median sales price rose sharply. The sales slowdown was tied to some buyers delaying escrow until May 1 to get a bigger home-buying tax break.”

The Ko’olina real estate market, part of the Oahu housing market, showed strong signs of recovery in the most recent tracking period. According to a June 6, 2010 article in the Pacific Business News, “Home sales on Oahu rose considerably in May, while prices for single-family homes and condominiums posted modest gains compared to the same month last year.” The piece went on to state that “The median price of a single-family home in May was $606,000, which was a 12 percent boost over May 2009, when the median price was $542,000, according to statistics from the Honolulu Board of Realtors. That was based on 284 home sales, which was a 31.5 percent increase over 216 sales in May 2009. Condo sales on Oahu soared 35.5 percent in May to 262 units sold in 2009. The median price of a condo rose 4 percent to $312,500, up from $300,000 in May of 2009.”

The average sales price of a Ko’olina home for sale rallied substantially in the month of May along with the rest of the county. According to a June 8, 2010 article from KITV 4 News, “The median prices for resold single-family homes and condominiums in May climbed while the number of units sold dipped slightly, according to the Honolulu Board of Realtors.” The report went on to note that “The median price for single-family homes jumped about $40,000 to $606,000. The median price for condos went up $312,500 in May over $308,000. The number of single-family homes and condos slipped. The number of condos sold in May was 355 compared to 390 in April. However, the volume is still significantly up compared to the same time last year, which was 262. The number of single-family homes remained steady from April to May, but was up 31.5 percent over May 2011.”

The Honolulu Board of Realtors went as far as to describe the increase in the Ko’olina and Oahu housing markets as a surge. According to a June 8, 2010 article from Businessweek, “The Honolulu Board of Realtors reports the market for existing single-family homes and condominiums surged in May. It said Tuesday that the 284 homes sold last month on Oahu was a 31.5 percent increase over May 2009, while the 355 condos that traded hands represented a 35.5 percent boost.”

The Placerville real estate market, found in the midst of California’s Central Valley, continued to face a huge rate of foreclosure but also showed some potential signs of recovery. According to a June 3, 2010 article from the Central Valley Business Times, “The rate that families are losing their homes to foreclosure is easing in some parts of the Central Valley, especially where the mortgage meltdown came first and was the most ferocious, according to figures Thursday from real estate information company CoreLogic of Santa Ana.” The piece went on to say that “Foreclosure rates in the Sacramento metropolitan statistical area, which includes the Arden-Arcade and Roseville areas, increased in April over the same period last year, according to CoreLogic. The rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans was 3.30 percent for April, an increase of 0.08 percentage points compared to April 2009 when the rate was 3.22 percent.”

The average purchase price of Placerville homes for sale increased from all-time lows, according to a May 24, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal. The piece noted that “Sacramento-area home prices are climbing off the mat, increasing 12.4 percent from the bottom reached in April 2009, according to a report released Monday. The four-county region – arguably one of the hardest hit, with an abundance of foreclosures and 35 percent-plus home price declines – had a median-home price of $188,100 in April, compared to the so-called ‘trough’ price of $167,340 a year ago, according to the California Association of Realtors.” The article, written by Ron Trujillo, continued to note that “However, much of the price increase last month came from Sacramento County, easily the most affected by the downturn, with numerous communities, such as Elk Grove and North Natomas, reporting 50 percent price drops in some neighborhoods.”

This same positive news for the distressed Placerville real estate market was mentioned in a June 3, 2010 report on All Things Considered. The piece by KXJZ News noted that “New numbers out today show that Sacramento area home prices are up nearly 12% from last year at this time. But Alex Villacorta with the research firm Clear Capital says prices are still nowhere near where they used to be five years ago.”

One of the most notable and luxurious cities in Orange County, Laguna Beach, California, lies right on the shores of the Pacific and is the second-oldest community in Orange County. It is a mid-sized city with around 25,000 residents, most of whom are wealthier than the average American. The median annual household income in Laguna Beach is around $90,000 and as such, real estate prices are some of the highest in the area. Because the Laguna Beach real estate market is a generally higher-priced market, it has been severely affected by the downturn in the real estate sector overall in the U.S. The city saw its home values plummet after 2008, when the effects of the downturn began to set in, after previously reaching record highs.

According to statistics from the eVantage Real Estate firm in Orange County, near the end of February, there were 278 Laguna Beach homes for sale, with a median price of $2.595 million and an average square-foot price of $1,130. The homes currently for sale range widely in price, from as little as $450,000 for a two-bedroom home to as much as $35 million for a three-bedroom luxury home. At the same time, there were 53 condos on the market at a median price of $1.05 million, with an average price of $982 per square foot. The condos for sale ranged from as little as $360,000 to as much as $4.9 million.

At the time the statistics were compiled, there were 54 single-family homes in escrow with a median price of $1.27 million and five condos, with a median price of $895,000. In the three months preceding Feb. 24, there were 63 single-family homes sold for a median price of $1.57 million and 12 condos sold at a median price of $785,000.

According to the OC Register’s yearly chart, Laguna Beach homes saw a steep decline in value in the year 2009. The median price for a home for the year in Laguna Beach was $1.15 million, down a full 25.6% from a year earlier. The significantly lower prices, however, have encouraged more buyers to jump into the market to take advantage of these deals, putting annual sales volume up more than 34% for the year, with 321 homes sold in 2009. March statistics from the OC Register showed slight improvement in the Laguna Beach market in the early months of 2010. The March median price was $1.125 million, up 5% year-over-year. Meanwhile, sales continue to hold strong, with 26 sold in March, up 62.5% from March 2009’s sales.

The Fountain Hills real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger Phoenix Metro and Valley housing markets, began to show signs of improvement after several months of serious declines. According to a may 13, 2010 article from KTAR News, “Arizona continues to rank high in housing foreclosures – second only to Nevada – but there is one indication the situation may be getting better. Notices of foreclosure sales – the early stage of foreclosure – in Phoenix were down 17 percent from a year ago in the latest report from Realty Trac.” The piece by Jeremy Foster went on to note that “However, the number of properties actually foreclosed on more than doubled. ‘So it’s still high up there when you’re comparing it to other metro areas across the country – with one in every 136 housing units receiving a foreclosure notice,’ said RealtyTrac’s Daron Blomquist. ‘That compares to one in every 387 housing units nationwide.”

The number of Fountain Hills homes for sale, along with homes for sale in the rest of metropolitan Phoenix, that were actually purchased increased in the month of April. According to a May 12, 2010 article from the Arizona Republic, “The housing resale market in metropolitan Phoenix continued to improve in April but foreclosures remained a trouble spot. There were 6,765 resales of detached single-family homes in the month, up nearly 2 percent from 6,640 in April 2009, according to the monthly Realty Studies report from 6,640 in April 2009, according to the monthly Realty Studies report from Arizona State University.” The piece, written by Dawn Gilbertson, went on to note that “The gain was a fraction of the gain reported during a blockbuster March when there was a 9.3 percent jump in resales from the prior year.”

The higher-end portion of the Fountain Hills real estate market also started to recover in the month of April. According to a May 28, 2010 article also from the Arizona Republic, “A number of recent reports suggest home prices across the country could be headed for a double-dip. But ASU professor Karl Guntermann offers some good news in the meantime for owners of higher-priced homes in metro Phoenix. His most recent report also marks a positive milestone for all local homeowners.”

The Maryland real estate market, especially in the greater Baltimore area, continues to face mixed messages as the market moves into the second quarter of the fiscal year. According to an April 20, 2010 article in the Baltimore Sun, “Real estate information firm First American CoreLogic has good news and bad news for Baltimore-area residents trying to sell a home that’s not a short sale or foreclosure. The good news for sellers: Average sale prices are rising – up 8 percent in January vs. two years earlier and up 13 percent vs. January 2009.” The piece, written by Jamie Smith Hopkins, continued to state that “Seventeen percent fewer traditional resales sold in January than a year earlier in the Baltimore metro area, says First American CoreLogic. Compared with two years ago, the drop in sales is about 50 percent.”

This same mixed field of key indicators for Maryland homes for sale was highlighted in an earlier article in the Baltimore Sun, which found that “Homebuyers in the Baltimore area picked up the pace last month, with both the spring season and a looming deadline for an $8,000 tax credit as enticements. As prices continued to fall, March home sales rose 17 percent from a year earlier in the metro area, Metropolitan Regional Information Systems reported Friday.” The piece, composed by Jamie Smith Hopkins, continued to note that “New contracts signed in March – deals that will likely turn into settled sales this month or next – jumped almost 40 percent. ‘The homebuyer credit is pushing a lot of people into the market right now,’ said Keith L. Cross, a real estate agent and office manager at Cornerstone Real Estate in Baltimore.”

On a more negative note for Maryland real estate, an April 9, 2010 article in the Baltimore Sun suggested that it will take a full half-dozen years for local real estate to fully recover from the economic recession. This piece stated that “If you’re waiting for real estate prices in the Baltimore area to get back to their pre-housing-bust peak, don’t hold your breath – unless you can hold it for six years. That’s the message from Fiserv, which provides the data used for the Case-Shiller index and has put together a price forecast with Moody’s Economy.com.”

The Virginia real estate market continues to face serious economic trouble as the economy reaches the end of the first quarter of the fiscal year. According to a March 11, 2010 article in the Virginian-Pilot, “Foreclosure filings jumped to a record high in the region last month after falling in January, according to a report to be released today. Foreclosure-related notices totaled 1,305 last month, up about 22 percent from 1,074 in January, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure-monitoring service based in Irvine, Calif.” The piece, composed by Philip Walzer, continued to state that “The January figure was down about 11 percent from 1,200 in December, the previous record. That number includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.”

An almost completely different scenario for Virginia homes for sale was painted by a March 11, 2010 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which reported that “Foreclosure activity in Virginia appears to be falling, but that could be related to the harsh weather in February. Severe winter weather may have temporarily slowed the foreclosure process in the state and other areas in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, according to RealtyTrac’s February market report.” This article, composed by Carol Hazard, continued to say that “Virginia’s foreclosure filings declined 15.9 percent in February from January and fell 8.7 percent from the same month a year ago, the online researcher of foreclosure activity reported. Nationally, filings fell 2 percent in February from January but rose 6 percent from the same month a year ago.”

This same perspective for Virginia real estate for sale was reflected in a March 11, 2010 article by Drew Jackson, who stated that “Virginia’s foreclosure market was literally frozen in the month of February, according to an industry report released today. The state-wide foreclosure rated dropped by nearly 16 percent from January, as Virginia reported 4,403 foreclosures, said RealtyTrac.” The article, published in the Richmond Biz Sense, continued to say that “Virginia also reported 8.71 less foreclosures this past February than it did in the same month a year ago, perhaps due to 2009’s far milder winter.”