The majority of home sales in Orange County are of the short sale variety. Of the 6,268 pending sales in Orange County, 3,639 of them are short sales — 58% of all pending sales. The astronomical proportion of short sales (58%) to foreclosures (8%) and equity sellers (34%) for pending sales is at least partly [...]

After reporting a net loss of $4.7 billion in the second quarter of 2010, Freddie Mac asked the U.S. Treasury to pitch in another $1.8 billion, bringing the total bill for Freddie Mac’s government relief to $63.1 billion since September 2008. Fannie Mae also asked for a recent addition of $1.5 billion, bringing the combined [...]

A second quarter 2010 data report by Zillow.com claims there is a noteworthy decrease in the national percentage of underwater homeowners. Currently, 21.5% of homes are underwater — down from 23.3% in the first quarter of 2010 and 23% from the previous year. The data service attributes the decreasing percentage of underwater homeowners to rising [...]

The newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is scheduled to begin functioning in 2011. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is now responsible for regulating and enforcing consumer protection laws as the new authority on activities currently monitored by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Reserve (the [...]

Condominium (condo) prices in California are lower than ever. Condo prices in the so-called sand states (the group of real estate markets hit hardest by the economic crisis: California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida) have plunged as much as 65% from their peak prices during the Millennium Boom, with some now selling for as little as [...]

After a four-year climb in popularity, the homeowner practice of strategically defaulting on an underwater property and walking away may have crested. Fannie Mae has established new restrictions on the availability of future mortgage money to strategic defaulters. A recent Experian—Oliver Wyman Market Intelligence Report concluded that 19% of national mortgage defaults in the second [...]

Annual property tax rolls reported by county assessors are lower than last year, buoying homeowners with reduced property tax bills and producing revenue shortfalls for local governments. For example, the total assessed value of property in Sacramento County dropped 2.2%, while El Dorado and Placer Counties suffered decreases over 6%. The dwindling tax rolls means [...]

Ever wonder why builders increase prices several times while building a new subdivision? The primary reason is not that they misjudged their costs or the proper price for their inventory, but to create a sense of urgency on the part of potential buyers. Builders believe invoking this sense of panic in buyers will make them [...]

As the financial market wavers and business growth remains uncertain, occupancies for commercial buildings continue to ebb, leading to the lowest lease rates in Southern California in years. Vacancy rates increased across the board in the three major Southern California commercial markets: the greater Los Angeles area, Orange County and the Inland Empire. Along with [...]

Most homeowners who bought or refinanced after 2001 during the superheated years of the Millennium Boom are in precarious financial straits – their homes being underwater with negative equities and their family balance sheets are in the red, insolvent.  Since then the economy has crashed and home values have plummeted; the low tier is probably [...]