Since San Jose serves as the county seat of Santa Clara County, the San Jose real estate market depends heavily on the trends affecting the larger area of Santa Clara County. The Santa Clara County Association of Realtors reported especially strong home sales during the month of January, according to a press release issued on February 16, 2010. The article noted that “Sellers in Santa Clara County continue to benefit from intense buyer demand and lower volume of homes for sale. Sellers and buyers closed escrow on 825 homes in January, a 15.06 percent jump over the 717 in the same period last year, according to data from MLS Listings, Inc. Home sales have gone up in month-to-month comparisons for several consecutive months.” The piece continued to cite Karl Lee, the President of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors, who stated that “Multiple offers appear to be spreading into most price ranges and neighborhoods…We expect buying activity to continue intensifying.”

A reminder of the precarious state of San Jose homes for sale came in a February 18, 2010 article in the Mercury News, which found that “After months of double-digit growth, South Bay home sales leveled off in January, a new report released Thursday showed, in a sign the housing market remains fragile. But most experts interviewed said the recovery that started last year is likely to continue later this year, citing an increase in home prices in the same report and a shift to a more sustainable mix of homes on the market, with fewer foreclosures.” In the words of Andrew LePage of MDA DataQuick, “We could easily see a lot of things change come spring.”

Another important indicator for San Jose real estate - foreclosures - was commented on in another article by the Mercury News. According to the February 16, 2010 article by Sue McAllister and Pete Carey, “After taking a break for the holidays, foreclosures spiked in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in January. Despite efforts by the federal government and lenders to help people stay in their homes, foreclosures rose 37 percent in Santa Clara County last month from December…”

Chandler real estate is linked to the larger trend of the Phoenix metropolitan area as well as the rest of Maricopa County. Chandler is facing mixed messages, starting with a drop in real estate prices for December 2009. According to a February 5, 2010 article in DQ News, “Sales of existing homes in the Phoenix region (including Chandler) rose to the highest level for a December in four years as home price measures trended lower and investor activity rose. The percentage of sales involving a foreclosure held steady after declining for eight consecutive months, a real estate information service reported.” The article, republished in the NuWire Investor, continued to note that “In December, 52.2 percent of the houses and condos that resold had been foreclosed on in the prior 12 months, the same as in November but down from 61.9 percent in December 2008.”

Owners of Chandler homes for sale are particularly imperiled by property values, which continue to fall while property taxes rise. This was noted by a February 14, 2010 article in the Arizona Republic, which found that “Most Maricopa County homeowners will see another significant decline in their homes’ value when they open their 2011 property-assessment notices in the next few days. But property taxes for the coming year still may go up as the state, cities, and school districts struggle to close huge budget deficits…During 2009, the overall median value of homes in the county fell 15.2 percent, from $155,300 to $131,700…”

One particular example of both trouble and hope facing Chandler homes for sale was recounted in a February 19, 2010 article in the Arizona Republic, which followed the progress of a housing project. The article, composed by Luci Scott, found that “Desert Viking, the developer of a big townhome project in downtown Chandler, has resumed construction after receiving a $10.2 million loan from Wells Fargo. Work stopped last summer…Chandler is seeing an uptick in home-building activity, more than in some other areas, giving rise to the idea that Chandler may climb out of the recession sooner than other parts of metro Phoenix.”

Bradenton, Florida, located on the state’s western Gulf shores just south of Tampa, has, like most markets in the Sunshine State, seen a struggling real estate market throughout most of 2009. The city has seen houses lose thousands of dollars in value and many homes have been lost due to foreclosure.

Though many markets in the U.S. have seen figures slowly begin to trickle back up as signs of improvement spring up, the market for real estate in Bradenton still shows signs of trouble, according to statistics made available by the local realtors association. Prices have shown no significant signs of improvement either. The median sale price in November was just $174,000, down from $206,300 at the same time last year for a decline of more than 15%.

The number of homes sold from the Bradenton real estate market in November was 283, up from just 186 at the same time last year, though down slightly from October and September’s clip of more than 300. Many buyers have likely been moved to jump into the market by the government’s stimulus tax program, offering irresistible rebates of up to $8,000 to select home buyers who meet qualifications.

The number of homes on the market has fallen, though there are still many homes for sale in Bradenton sitting unmovable on the market, awaiting a buyer. In November, there were just under 3,500 homes for sale, down by more than 5,250 from the same time last year, a fall of 34% as some of that inventory clears out.

A generally high-priced market, the supply and demand of real estate in North Virginia has undergone significant changes since the U.S. began suffering economic woes and found itself in a full-blown recession. The market seems to have fared better in 2009 than 2008 though, and as the year comes to a close, onlookers are optimistic that 2010 will be better.

According to the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors, in November, there were 1,567 homes and condos sold in the area, an increase of more than 42% from last year. Most of the increased volume has been brought upon by buyers looking to take advantage of the government stimulus measure offering up to $8,000 in tax rebates to qualified first-time home buyers. The program was so successful that Congress recently extended it past its Nov. 1 deadline and opened it up to a broader range of buyers.

The average days homes for sale in North Virginia are spending on the market has fallen as well, to just 50, a decline of 45%, from 91 in 2008. Pending home sales, too, are up, to 1,534 in November this year from 1,458 of last year. Year to date, 2009 is on schedule to outpace 2008 in terms of sales volume. There have already been 17,686 homes sold in Northern Virginia in 2009, more than 2008’s total of 16,070.

Most real estate markets, though also experiencing increases in activity, are seeing declines in home prices. However, North Virginia real estate is actually seeing a stabilization and even slight increases in home values. In November, the average sales price was $428,581, up 1.3% from last year’s average. Meanwhile, the median sales price was $374,000, up 11.6% from last year’s median. http://nvar.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=lSCx34qhmsI%3d&tabid=574&mid=1454

Cape Cod real estate continues to struggle as a result of the economic turmoil brought about by the recession that began in the fall of 2008. The region in Massachusetts continues to suffer from dramatically declining home prices and home sales. However, recent weeks have shown an increase in mortgage filings, suggesting that the increase in refinancing activity may mean some improvement in the months to come. Many high-end communities offering luxury homes are especially suffering from dropping property values. However, some properties, often oceanfront homes, have maintained a steady value and sometimes even sell for more than the original selling price. Commercial real estate has also remained fairly strong in terms of median sales prices.

The Cape Cod Times has reported that Barnstable, one of the most notable communities in the Cape Cod region has suffered sharp declines in median prices totaling over $1 billion. Both residential and commercial properties in Barnstable have suffered drastic declines in value, averaging a 7.9 percent decline from the previous year. Many experts note that these large drops in property values will most likely result in a tax exemption increase for many Barnstable residents. The median property value for a home in Barnstable is not $311,150, a 6.4 percent decline from $342,600 in the previous year. However, real estate experts have also noted that the rate of foreclosures in Barnstable have also stabilized. Other neighborhoods throughout the Cape Cod region have also suffered large property value drops, sometimes as much as 12 percent.

For the region as a whole, the Cape Cod Times has reported that Cape Cod real estate prices are beginning to level off, showing smaller amounts of declines in the recent months. In August, the median sales price in Cape Cod was $295,150, a 1.6 percent decline from August 2008. The gap between this year’s and the previous year’s real estate prices is steadily decreasing. The number of home sales in Cape Cod has also decreased 7.8 percent from 490 in August of 2008 to 452 in August of 2009. However, recent months have also shown an influx in mortgage filings, marked by a 24.2 percent increase between August of this year and August of the previous year. Experts believe that the favorable low interest rates have been the main incentive for the recent increasing in refinancing activity. Many real estate experts believe that the recent increase in mortgage filings may be a sign that recovery is near.

Miami was one of the hardest hit cities in America by the recession of 2008, but recently, many real estate experts have reported optimistic signs of the bottoming out of the residential real estate in Miami Beach. However, real estate experts are still extremely worried about the struggling commercial real estate in Miami due to high vacancy rates and the threat of another wave of foreclosures coming. The luxury home market also continues to struggle as prospective homebuyers are only gobbling up the “bargain” priced properties, especially with the local government offering incentives for those who purchased distressed properties. Although median prices are still well below previous years’ levels, it seems that the Miami Beach real estate market is beginning to make a comeback as it gains more momentum with increasing numbers of sales.

According to the Miami Herald, many realtors are beginning to see signs of life returning to the Miami real estate market. As real estate markets throughout South Florida post strong gains, most realtors note that most of these gains are only in the lower priced housing range, about $300,000 or less. Houses selling for less than $100,000 are even starting bidding wars and often selling for more than their list prices. However, median home prices continue to remain below last year’s averages. In October, the median price for Miami real estate was $178,500, down 28 percent from the previous year. Sales of single-family homes increased by 26 percent from a year ago, and condo sales in Miami increased by 47 percent from a year ago. However, homes and condos in the luxury market continue to struggle to find sales.

The South Florida Business Journal reported that despite recent improvements in the residential real estate in Miami, commercial real estate continues to struggle. As of June 2009, commercial real estate sales dropped 77 percent compared to that of the previous year. What’s worse is that many experts believe that another wave of foreclosures in the commercial real estate market is near, even though lenders have postponed that from happening due to inclinations to restructure loans rather than foreclose. Although the residential real estate in Miami is improving, many experts believe that the region is still a ways away from a full recovery of the Miami real estate market.

The Colorado real estate market continues to suffer from one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the United States, although it does seem to be making at least a gradual effort towards recovery. According to a November 19, 2009 article from the Associated Press in Denver, “Colorado had a record-high number of new foreclosures in the third quarter, when new filings hit 12,468. The quarter ending Sept. 30 was the fourth consecutive quarter in which new foreclosure filings increased. For the year so far, new foreclosure filings in Colorado are up about 18 percent compared to the same period in 2008. The news isn’t all bad, though. Housing officials say Thursday that there are fewer completed foreclosures this year. The total number of completed foreclosures fell 8 percent during the first three quarters of the year when compared to the same period last year.”

In a small bright spot for Colorado homes for sale, the state dropped out of the top ten in foreclosures nationwide. According to a November 12, 2009 article in the Northern Colorado Business Report, “Colorado came in at No. 11 among the states with the highest foreclosure activity in the month of October, dropping out of the top 10 for the first time since March, when it placed No. 12, according to a report by Irvine-based RealtyTrac. The October report shows Colorado’s foreclosure activity dropping by 18.75 percent from September and 6.08 percent from October of 2008.” On the other hand, mortgage rates have fallen, presenting an opportunity for prospective buyers, according to a November 26, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal. It noted that “Colorado home mortgage rates continue to sink this week, reaching 4.54 percent on a 30-year fixed loan Wednesday, according to Zillow Mortgage Marketplace.”

Home sales of real estate in Colorado continued to remain slow, according to a November 23, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal. The piece, by Mark Harden, found that “Home resales in Colorado and other western states rose 1.6 percent in October from the previous month and are up 12 percent from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. The West’s rate of increase in sales of existing homes lagged the nation as a whole, which saw a 10.1 percent sales jump in October from the previous month and a 23.5 percent increase from October 2008, NAR said.”

The Fort Worth real estate market is very closely linked to that of the larger city of Dallas, meaning that in general it is facing mixed messages. According to a November 12, 2009 article in the Dallas Business Journal by Bill Hethcock, “Annual home foreclosure postings have reached new annual highs in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, topping 60,000 for the first time. From January through the upcoming foreclosure auctions in December, 61,676 homes have been posted for foreclosure - a 23-percent increase over last year’s 50,324 residential postings, which was the previous annual record, according to information compiled by Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. Fourth-quarter residential foreclosure notices in the D-FW area jumped 31 percent to 16,747, compared to 12,752 for the same quarter last year. For the upcoming D-FW foreclosure auctions on Dec. 1, some 5,253 homes have been posted for foreclosure.”

Fort Worth home sales increased substantially in the month of October, according to a November 10, 2009 article in the Dallas Morning News. The article, written by Steve Brown, found that “Pre-owned home sales in North Texas were up 11 percent in October from a year ago - the first year-over-year gain since September 2008 and the best sign yet the local housing market has turned the corner. Real estate agents sold more than 6,300 single-family homes through the Multiple Listing Service last month, according to numbers released Monday by the Real Estate Center at the Texas A&M University and the North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. October’s increase was only the second year-over-year rise in home sales in three years.”

Another perspective on real estate in Fort Worth was reported by another article in the Dallas Morning News. According to this piece, written on October 28, 2009, “Dallas-Forth Worth pre-owned house prices were down just 1.2 percent in August from a year ago, according to a closely-watched national index released Tuesday. It was the smallest annual decline in almost two years for the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller’s Home Price Index. And on a month-to-month basis, the index showed an increase for the sixth consecutive month. D-FW home prices in the report reached the highest point since September 2008.”

The prognosis for Palm Desert home sales seems to be looking up leading into the holiday season based on similar news for the commercial sector, according to a November 8, 2009 article also in the Desert Sun. The piece, written by Debra Gruszecki, found that “The Coachella Valley’s 2009 holiday forecast is a bit like a gift sent from that beloved, but eccentric out-of-town aunt: You’re hopeful, but you’re just not sure what’s really beneath all the wrapping. As holiday decorations and the accompanying sales signs start to multiply as desert retailers, merchants are holding their breath that recent good news on Wall Street and other sectors of the national economy will result in a not-so-humbug shopping season here.”

Real estate in Palm Desert will likely be facing higher home prices in the upcoming months, according to a third article in the Desert Sun, this one published on November 14, 2009. This piece noted that “Home prices are expected to grow modestly next year and sales will keep rising as the housing market continues to recover, the National Association of Realtors said Friday…Patrick Veling, founder and president of Brea-based Real Data Strategies, said it’s difficult to say how the Coachella Valley scene will play out when stacked against national projections, because ‘all real estate is local’ and, as such, is driven by the local economy.”

The Las Vegas real estate market, which was one of the hardest hit during the most intense periods of the nationwide economic recession, seems to be showing some signs of recovery, although Sin City certainly still faces numerous challenges in getting back on the road to economic health. According to a November 10, 2009 article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Single-family home sales continued to post big numbers in October and median prices rose for the second straight month, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported Monday. There were 3,535 home sales during the month, a 5.3 percent increase from September and a 30.1 percent increase from the same month a year ago. The median price climbed to $139,100, up from $138,000 in September and from $135,500 in August. It’s down 26.8 percent from a year ago. Inventory remained steady at nearly 21,000 units, though most of the listings are contingent or pending sale, the Realtors group said.”

Las Vegas homes for sale are enjoying a relatively stable environment, as evidenced by somewhat constant home prices. According to a second article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, written by Hubble Smith, “Home prices in Las Vegas have plummeted more than 50 percent from their 2006 peak, but have stabilized over the last five months as the ‘phantom’ inventory of foreclosures held by banks never materialized. The median price of 4,254 recorded resales in October was $125,000, down just $250 from the previous month, Home Builders Research reported Wednesday.” According to a November 18, 2009 article by News Radio KXNT, “The local housing market continues to see a slight uptick after more than a year of sharp decline. According to new figures from the group Home Builders Research, sales of existing homes in the Las Vegas Valley topped 4,000 for the fifth straight month in October, and are up by 47% for the year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2008.”

One potential problem spot for real estate in Las Vegas was reported by an article in Bloomberg published on November 12, 2009 - “Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate for the 34th consecutive month, with one in 80 households receiving a filing.”