Real Estate on Shaky Ground

 

Housing markets stalled as sales of existing homes continued to fall after the end of the tax credit. New home sales are at the second lowest monthly level since 1963. Bank repossessions fell for the first time in three months; default notices and scheduled auctions remained stable but elevated.
Courtesy of Calculated Risk

Fragility with a dusting of upward-looking indicators distinguishes this month’s ULI Barometer. Private sector employment grew for the second straight month, although at a level that barely put a dent in the nearly 8 million jobs lost since the beginning of 2008.

Vacancy and rental rates across all commercial investment property types stabilized in the second quarter 2010, continuing a trend suggested in the first quarter. Office absorption was positive for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2007, a welcome sign.

With this leveling off, which is quite possibly the bottom, rents among the property types range from 7 percent to 19 percent below their pre-recession peaks. The recovery seems to be a long, slow process. It could take several years to reach the levels of the pre-recession peaks.

– Courtesy of Urban Land Institute