The Sacramento real estate market is showing signs of improvement, although the number of home sales did decline slightly in the latest period. According to a May 20, 2010 article in the Sacramento Bee, “For once California’s economy looks good compared to that of some other states. A foreclosure crisis that has dimmed the state’s golden glow with images of financial ruin and broken government is beginning to wane, says a leading trade group for the U.S. mortgage industry.” The article by Jim Wasserman went on to say that “The new data confirmed improvements in California and the Sacramento area recently cited by researched MDA DataQuick. Last month the firm said mortgage defaults have fallen for a year straight in the state and region, with foreclosures dropping now as well. In hard-hit Sacramento suburbs such as Natomas, Lincoln and Elk Grove, residents see dwindling evidence of the crisis.”

After remaining quite low for some time, the average price of a Sacramento home for sale rallied slightly in the month of April. According to a May 24, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal, “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 piece, written by Ron Trujillo, continued to note that “The fourth-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.”

Home sales in the Sacramento real estate market decreased somewhat in the most recent tracking period, according to a May 20, 2010 article in the Sacramento Business Journal. The piece by Michael Shaw said that “Home sales in the four-county Sacramento region were slightly lower in April than the same month last year, according to figures released Thursday from real estate information company MDA DataQuick. There were 2,873 home sales of all types, including new homes, and existing homes and condos, in April compared with 3,036 sales a year ago, the company reported.”

The Palos Verdes real estate market, a subsidiary of the larger Los Angeles County and Southern California real estate markets, seems to be steadily rallying after the devastating economic recession. According to an April 23, 2010 article in the Valley News, “The number of Riverside County homes slipping toward foreclosure dropped by 49.9 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, a real estate information service reported Tuesday. Lenders sent default notices to 8.474 homeowners in Riverside County in the first quarter, down from the previous year’s first quarter total of 16,906, according to La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. Meanwhile, the number of San Diego County homes slipping toward foreclosure dropped by 39 percent in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in 2009. The number of Los Angeles County homes heading toward foreclosure dropped by 43.5 percent over the same time frame. In Orange County, default notices were sent to 5,270 homeowners, down 37.5 percent from the 2009 first-quarter total.”

The same article in the Valley News continued to quote John Walsh the president of MDA DataQuick, who “said it was difficult to determine if the dramatic reduction in default notices was the result of shifting market conditions or changing banking policies. ‘Several factors are at play here and it’s hard to know how they play into each other right now,’ Walsh said. ‘A year and a half ago, the sub-prime mortgage loan mess was the black hole. Now, playing catch-up is the financial distress households are experiencing because of the recession. Add to the mix shifting policy decisions, both by lending institutions and in public policy,’ he said.”

More good news for the Palos Verdes real estate market was noted by an April 13, 2010 article from the Associated Press, which found that “The median home price in Southern California rose 14 percent last month from March 2009, as more high-end homes trickled into the region’s sales mix, a tracking firm said Tuesday. San Diego-based MDA DataQuick reported that last month’s median of $285,000 was up from $250,000 in March 2009 and up almost 4 percent from February’s $275,000.”

The Denver real estate market is facing mixed signals, meaning that the quasi-recovery after the nationwide economic recession has not been particularly strong. According to a November 19, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal, “Colorado saw 12,468 foreclosure filings in the third quarter, setting a new all-time quarterly record, but completed foreclosures so far in 2009 are down from last year, the state Division of Housing reported Thursday. It’s the fourth consecutive quarter in which statewide foreclosure filings have increased, according to the state’s latest ‘official’ release of statewide foreclosure statistics as mandated earlier this year by the states Legislature. Colorado’s third-quarter filings total is up 3 percent from the second quarter, which in turn was up 15 percent from the first quarter. The new filings brought Colorado’s total for 2009 foreclosure filings to 35,112 for the nine months ending Sept. 30, up 18 percent from the same period of 2008.”

Denver homes for sale were more popular among prospective home buyers, according to a November 10, 2009 article in the Dallas Morning News. The piece, written by Steve Brown, noted 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 200 and the best sign yet that 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 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.”

Real estate in Denver also faced decreasing home prices, according to a November 24, 2009 article in the Denver Business Journal. The piece, composed by Renee McGaw, stated that “Home prices in the Denver area declined 0.5 percent in September from August, a slight pullback following six straight months of improvement, according to S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price data released Tuesday. Some easing is to be expected following the seasonally strong summer selling months, officials said. Denver home prices were down 1.2 percent in September compared with the same month a year ago.”