In a word, the residential mortgage picture is: BAD.
As reported by MarketWatch, more than 11.3 million homeowners — nearly one-fourth of all Americans with a mortgage — owe more on their loan (or are “under water”), than their home is now worth, according to a report released February 23, 2010, by FirstAmerican CoreLogic.

More than 10% of […]

We have been searching for even a sintilla of good news, when it comes to the real estate market.  
With regard to commercial real estate, one noted real estate attorney has coined the banks recent leding philosophy as “extend and pretend.” Clearly there exists the “fear of catching a falling knife.”
So the question is, are things really getting any better? […]

SOME GOOD NEWS IS ON THE WAY, AT LEAST WITH RESPECT TO STIMULATING HOME SALES. As reported in the New York Ties, the president signed legislation last week that extended the tax credit for first-time home buyers and added a new credit for some existing homeowners. Here’s a primer on the details….
1st TIME HOMEBUYER >> […]

Potential Good News for our Commercial Real Estate Partners (finally): Irrespective of the government’s motivations — wrestling between helping the commercial real estate market and bailing out insured banks — there is, nonetheless, an encouraging story in the WSJ regarding the “possibility” of commercial real estate help that may be on the way.
News Flash >> According to reports, federal […]

Here at MarylandCommercialTitle.com we have blogged on several unique methods to peek into the current and future economic forecasts. Here’s a new one for us: NEMA Lighting Systems Index.
Seems that as a result of tracking lighting purchases, economists and us onlookers, too can immediately shed light on what is truly happening in the marketplace, as well as what may be occuring […]

Just published by Michael K. Houge, CCIM, SIOR in CityBiz Real Estate Blog is a very interesting article entitled: Five Indicators of the Bottom of the Commercial Real Estate Market.
So here it is …. As a commercial real estate broker and investor, I am often asked about the arrival of the low-point of the stressed, […]

Here at MarylandCommercialTitle.com we have reported on much of the bad news since way back in December 2007 (when the markets started to tumble and, ultimately, crash). Now, just maybe things are starting to turn for the better.
As noted previousy, the American Institute of Architects Billing Index is typically considered a LEADING economic indicator. Translated, that means that […]

In an Associated Press article strikingly titled, Welcome to the bottom: Housing begins slow rebound, by Drian Sainz, David Twiddy, Daniel Wagner and AlexVeiga, it was — note in the past tense — the worst housing recession anyone but survivors of the Great Depression can remember is over.
Below we have summarized the mountains of data […]

Today’s release of the S&P/Case-Shiller home price indices for May 2009 showed the first month-to-month gain in 34 months (almost 3 years!).
Clearly this is a notable development but it’s important to put today’s results in perspective before getting to confident that even the initial leg of the declining trend has ceased.

First, it’s important to recognize […]

The Long-Term Budget Outlook
Today I  — the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) — had the opportunity to testify before the Senate Budget Committee about CBO’s most recent analysis of the long-term budget outlook.
Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path, because federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy […]