From the monthly archives:

February 2010

Housing Crisis: The End Is Near

February 28, 2010
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Tweet A smaller percentage of mortgages were delinquent and the rate of those entering the foreclosure process slowed in the fourth quarter, possible signs that the foreclosure crisis that has gripped many of the nation’s housing markets – with Southwest Florida’s market especially hard-hit – is finally starting to ease, a trade group has reported. [...]

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Economists Say Buy Now, But Only What You Can Afford

February 28, 2010
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Tweet Two Southern California economists pay close attention to the ebbs and flows of the Coachella Valley’s economy. Esmael Adibi, Chapman University’s A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research director, compiles The Desert Sun’s quarterly economic index and has data dating back to 1994. John Husing is a longtime economist who focuses on Riverside and [...]

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5 Tax Breaks You Should Look At

February 28, 2010
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Tweet Tax season is upon us. And while nobody likes shelling out their hard-earned dollars to the IRS, this year the government is offering up some new opportunities that could save you big money. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or stimulus bill, Congress introduced several new tax goodies that could help [...]

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Singles, Especially Women, A Growing Share Of Homebuyers

February 28, 2010
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Tweet First-time homebuyers largely have been credited for the glimpses of optimism appearing in the nation’s housing market. But there’s another demographic group flexing its muscle: single buyers and, more specifically, single women. Unmarried, solo buyers have been growing in number since the residential market heated up seven years ago, and there’ve been twice as [...]

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Reno: Real Estate Businesses See Workload Increase

February 28, 2010
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Tweet Residential real estate brokerages and their suppliers – everyone from mortgage companies to home inspectors – aren’t leaping to add staff even though the number of home sales is up strongly. The Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors reported last week that the 346 home sales closed in Washoe County during January marked a 49 percent [...]

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Some See Small Signs Of Growth In South Carolina Economy

February 28, 2010
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Tweet For pawn shop operator Donovan Tenney, the economic cycle is written in saws. For more than two years, Tenney has had shelves of them – miter saws, circular saws, jigsaws – piled up by construction workers pawning them to pay the bills during The Great Recession. “But now, they’re selling,” said Tenney. Granted, the [...]

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Palm Springs: Real Estate Market In Stage Of Stabilization

February 28, 2010
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Tweet Price dictates most moves in today’s real estate market. Attention to price likely will continue to be the guiding force in 2010, real estate experts say. Home sales in the Coachella Valley, rising 25 percent last year compared to 2008, have been most robust in the entry-level market. Deals below $100,000 are not atypical. [...]

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Starwood And Lennar Bet Florida Is Back

February 27, 2010
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Tweet Remember Florida, that hard-hit state where no one wants to build homes? Well, Starwood Land Ventures LLC is betting on a comeback. It recently finalized the purchase of nearly 5,500 residential lots – and 36 model homes – from TOUSA, a Florida builder that filed for bankruptcy in 2008. “It’s really an A-rated portfolio [...]

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Home Sales In West Inch Higher In January

February 27, 2010
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Tweet Home sales inched about 3 percent higher in the Western region of the country last month, as homebuyers set out to take advantage of temporary government tax incentives and lock in still-low mortgage interest rates. The modest annual increase benefited from an easy comparison to January 2009 sales, which cratered in the wake of [...]

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Home Sales Up Year-Over-Year In South

February 27, 2010
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Tweet Home sales in the South posted an annual increase of 8 percent in January as buyers grabbed hold of federal tax credits and affordable prices. However, sales plummeted 35 percent from December, a sign that the housing market’s recovery may be on shaky ground. The year-over-year increase in the South was mainly driven by [...]

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