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The drop means the number of people losing their homes will start to fall. But some pain from the crisis is sure to persist. Because millions of people are already in foreclosure, deeply discounted houses will put pressure on home prices for years.

“Housing is on a path to recovery,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. “It’s going to be a very long, gradual process.”

In high-foreclosure cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami, homes have lost roughly half their values from their peaks. But a report Friday from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed Nevada, Arizona and Florida had some of the biggest declines in new delinquencies.
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CNL occupies two towers that flank Orlando City Hall downtown.

Orlando-based CNL Financial Group and Sydney’s Macquarie Group have joined forces for the first time to establish a new global REIT, CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust Inc., which will pursue opportunities in just about every sector of commercial real estate in various areas around the world. The partners can afford to think big, as the proposed total offering for the REIT is $1.5 billion.

CNL going on a global buying spree

ORLANDO, Fla. – Oct. 27, 2009 – CNL Macquarie Global Growth Trust Inc. announced its first public offering of $1.5 billion common shares for a new real-estate investment trust, with CNL Financial Group of Orlando serving as managing dealer.

The move marks the first partnership between the CNL group and the Australian-based Macquarie Capital Funds, an affiliate of Macquarie Group Limited, which has more than $189 billion of global assets.

Unlike traditional income-driven trusts, the product announced Thursday is growth-oriented rather than income driven, said a spokesman for CNL. The focus will be on acquiring commercial office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties that may “require repositioning or redevelopment” and that may face financial deadlines or be in markets with growth potential, according to a statement released by CNL on Thursday morning.

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Florida’s consumer confidence rises as economic fears ease

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Sept. 30, 2009 – Belief that a national economic recovery is under way boosted Florida’s consumer confidence three points to 74 in September, according to a new University of Florida survey.

“I think Florida consumers are buying into the argument that the worst of the recession is over and we have avoided a complete meltdown,” says Chris McCarty, survey director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “Once again, they have surprised us with a higher-than-expected index.”

This month’s three-point rise follows a four-point revised increase in August. Of the five components that make up September’s index, three rose, one declined and one was unchanged. Perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago remained unchanged at 44, only five points above its all-time low of 39 in December. Expectations about personal finances a year from now fell three points to 81.

In contrast, perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year rose three points to 75, while expectations about economic conditions over the next five years rose five points to 86. Perceptions of whether it is a good time to buy big-ticket items, such as appliances and cars, rose nine points to 84.

“It is worth noting that the two index components that gauge perceptions of personal finances both now and in the future are flat or down,” McCarty says. “All of the increase is in perceptions of future economic conditions, and in the perception that if you have the money, it’s a good time to buy.”

There are some signs that the economy is improving, he says.
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July new U.S. home sales up 9.6 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) – Aug. 26, 2009 – Sales of new U.S. homes surged 9.6 percent in July, another sign the housing market is climbing back from the historic bottom it reached early this year. The monthly increase was greater than expected and the fourth in a row and it was spurred by a decrease in the price of homes.

The Commerce Department said Wednesday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 from an upwardly revised June rate of 395,000. Sales are now up more than 30 percent from the bottom in January, but are still off from the frenzied peak four years ago.

The median sales price of $210,100, however, was down slightly from $210,400 in June and was off 11.5 percent from year-ago levels. Prices are still up from March’s low of $205,100.

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Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in 2Q 2009

2Q existing-home sales rise in most states, says NAR

ORLANDO, Fla. – Aug. 12, 2009 – Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 23 percent in second quarter 2009 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). A total of 43,125 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2009; during the same period the year before, a total of 35,008 existing homes sold. It marks the fourth consecutive quarter that Florida has seen higher existing year-to-year home sales, according to FAR.

Sales of existing condominiums statewide in the second quarter rose 29 percent compared to the same time the previous year. This marks the third consecutive quarter for increased statewide sales in both the existing home and condo markets compared to year-ago levels.

Statewide sales activity in 2Q 2009 also increased over 1Q 2009’s sales figure in both the existing home and existing condo markets, FAR records show. For 2Q 2009, statewide sales of existing homes rose 37.2 percent over the 1Q 2009 figure; existing condo sales statewide in 2Q 2009 increased 45.3 percent over the 1Q 2009 level.

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High-end homes: is the tide turning?

HORSHAM, Penn. – Aug. 14, 2009 – High-end homes appear to be selling better than analysts thought.

Toll Brothers (TOL), the nation’s largest luxury homebuilder, on Aug. 12 announced its first year-over-year increase in signed home contracts since 2005, suggesting that first-time buyers might not be alone in driving improving U.S. home sales.

The Horsham [Pa.]-based builder said that signed contracts in the quarter ended July 31 – though still low by historic standards – rose 3 percent, to 837, compared with the same period a year ago. But revenues fell 42 percent in the quarter, to $461.3 million. The company also said it has been able to reduce buyer incentives in several markets as demand and contract cancellations improve.

“Mood has changed”

No other major builder has matched Toll Brothers’ 3 percent increase in contracts signed, though a few reported a 2 percent improvement in the most recent quarter, said Barclays Capital analyst Megan McGrath in New York. The average quarterly decline in new home contracts for major public builders was about 14 percent, she said.

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‘Freaky’ side of real estate economics
Flat-fee brokers may put pressure on traditional commissions
Friday, June 23, 2006

By Glenn Roberts Jr.
Inman News

SAN FRANCISCO — Traditional pricing for real estate services is bound to crumble, and flat-fee brokers will likely deliver the deathblow — at least according to Steven D. Levitt, co-author of “Freakonomics,” a book that takes an unconventional approach to economics.

Levitt, who spoke to attendees Thursday at the PCBC builders’ conference and trade show at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, also said that the real estate brokerage industry is in some ways its own worst enemy, as low barriers to entry lead to proportional surges in agent population during housing market booms.

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