real estate

Home prices rise for 6th straight month

Home prices rose for the sixth straight month in November, fueled by tax credits for homebuyers. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday inched up 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.49. The index was off 5.3 percent from November last year, nearly matching analysts’ estimates that it would fall by 5.1 percent.

January 27, 2010

Home sales rose in ‘09, prices plunged

Sales of previously occupied homes rose in 2009 for the first time in four years, despite a December slump that was due to a tax credit that had caused many buyers to complete sales earlier.

January 26, 2010

Foreclosures hit record numbers in recession

Several counties in the region reported record numbers of foreclosure sales in 2009, and officials say 2010 isn’t shaping up to be much better. On the other hand, the recession that knocked much of the United States for a loop has had a somewhat less devastating impact locally, said Blaise Johnson, director of lending for Fargo-based Gate City Bank. “We have seen a slight increase in properties we’ve had go through foreclosure,” Johnson said.

By By Dave Olson, Forum Communications Co. , January 21, 2010

Less lending for commercial real estate

Landing a commercial real estate loan in Fargo-Moorhead isn’t as easy as it used to be. Would-be borrowers for commercial real estate projects also may need to pony up more of their own money to get financing.

By By Jonathan Knutson , Forum Communications Co. , November 23, 2009

Home sales end upward climb

Home resales dipped unexpectedly last month, falling 2.7 percent from a month earlier, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, reversing steady monthly gains since April. Most economists, however, called the drop temporary and said they expected sales to strengthen later this fall.

September 25, 2009

IRS says first-tie homebuyers must complete purchases by Dec. 1 to qualify for special credit

With the deadline quickly approaching, the Internal Revenue Service reminds potential homebuyers they must complete their first-time home purchases before Dec. 1 to qualify for the special first-time homebuyer credit.

September 23, 2009

Commercial real estate risks tightened

The Federal Reserve is stepping up its scrutiny of commercial real estate loans at smaller banks, where delinquency rates have risen sharply.

September 17, 2009

U.S. sales of durable goods, new homes jumped in July

Consumers and businesses went on a big-ticket spending spree in July, sending home, car and equipment sales soaring by the largest amount in years. The sales, detailed in two government reports Wednesday, confirmed a subtle but marked shift in confidence about the economy. New home sales jumped almost 10 percent from June, while orders for long-lasting goods like appliances, planes and computers rose nearly 5 percent in July, the third increase in the past four months.

By By Alan Zibel, The Associated Press , August 27, 2009

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Foreclosures stabilize in key states

Even as Americans suffer rising unemployment, foreclosure rates in three states hit hardest by the housing bust — California, Arizona and Florida — stabilized in June, offering hope that the worst of the real estate crisis is over, according to The Associated Press’ monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties.

By By Mike Schneider and Christopher S. Rugaber, The Associated Press , August 04, 2009

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Housing begins slow rebound

It was — note the past tense — the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember. From the frenzied peak of the real estate boom in 2005-2006 to the recession’s trough earlier this year, home resales fell 38 percent and sales of new homes tumbled 76 percent. Construction of homes and apartments skidded 79 percent. And for the first time in more than four decades of record keeping, home prices posted consecutive annual declines. A staggering $4 trillion in home equity was wiped out, and millions of Americans lost their homes through foreclosure.

By By Adrian Sainz, David Twiddy, Daniel Wagner and Alex Veiga, The Associated Press , August 03, 2009

Sales rise, housing market tries a comeback

New home sales rose last month at the fastest clip in more than eight years as buyers eagerly took advantage of bargain prices — a clear sign, economists said, that the real estate market may finally be bouncing back. Historically low interest rates and a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners also helped push home sales to their highest level since November, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

By By Alan Zibel and Alex Veiga, The Associated Press , July 28, 2009

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Mortgage deals

Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation’s largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony. Both senators have said that at the time the mortgages were being written they didn’t know they were getting unique deals from Countrywide Financial Corp., the company that went on to lose billions of dollars on home loans to credit-strapped borrowers. Dodd still maintains he got no preferential treatment.

By By Larry Margasak, The Associated Press , July 28, 2009

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Data: Housing market recovering

The U.S. housing market has started to recover from the most far-reaching crisis since the Great Depression, data released Thursday show.

July 24, 2009

Foreclosures still threaten market

Newfound signs of stability in the housing market could still be threatened by rising foreclosures and slow efforts to stop them, according to two reports released Tuesday.

July 01, 2009

Rentals scarce: Apartments nearly full here

Carol Henne, a renter for as long as she could remember, was one of three parties looking at a four-plex at 454 Fourth Street S.W., Monday morning. For two weeks she has been looking for a place to live for herself, her adult son, Matt, and her dog, Toby. She has had little luck. Earthen dikes and sandbags blocked off the home that Henne viewed Monday, making it too difficult to move all of her belongings into it. She said she chose not to rent the home.

By Ben Rodgers , June 30, 2009

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