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| Florida |
| Florida’s existing home, condo sales up in July 2009
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| Florida’s existing home sales rose in July – the 11th month in a row that sales activity increased in the year-to-year comparison. Existing home sales rose 37 percent last month with a total of 15,882 homes sold statewide compared to 11,595 homes sold in July 2008, according to FAR. Statewide existing home sales in July increased 0.2 percent over June’s statewide activity. Florida Realtors also reported a 48 percent rise in statewide sales of existing condos in July.
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| @ Florida Association of Realtors | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0201 EDST
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| Breaking a condominium death spiral
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| Few of the Southwest Florida’s condominiums are untouched by the housing bust, with experts claiming anywhere from a single unit to 40 percent of any given building’s units abandoned, in foreclosure or having residents who can no longer afford to pay their association dues.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Central Florida seeks business deals with Israel
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| Florida and Israel both have hot climates, water-supply challenges and a growing focus on life sciences, simulation technologies and alternative energy. Despite these similarities, only about 1 percent of the total trade between the U.S. and Israel comes from Florida. A group of Central Florida business people is trying to change that by encouraging local companies to do business with companies in Israel.
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| @ Orlando Sentinel | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Navigating the new lending rules
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| By now, most people have heard of the federal regulations implemented this year to standardize the property appraisal and mortgage loan disclosures process. These new regulations are called the Home Valuation Code of Conduct and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.
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| @ Bradenton Herald | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0330 EDST
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| Midwest |
| If it's Friday, those must be federal receivers at the local bank
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| It's FRI-day, which these days stands for Federal Regulatory Intervention in the banking system. Just about every Friday for the rest of the year will bring government takeovers of hopelessly insolvent insitutions, particularly as the commercial-real-estate market continues down its path from bad to worse.
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Illinois home sales totals nearly even with a year ago; sixth monthly increase.
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| SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — July registered another month of positive signs in the Illinois housing market with home sales about even with July 2008 totals as well as six consecutive month-to-month sales increases for both the state as a whole and the Chicagoland PMSA. According to the Illinois Association of REALTORS® latest report, statewide total home sales (which include single-family and condominiums) in July 2009 reached 11,407 homes sold, off a slight 0.1 percent from July 2008 sales of 11,417; sales were up 4.2 percent from 10,944 homes sold the previous month of June 2009.
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| @ Illinois Association of Realtors | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Milwaukee commercial property sale prices buck trend
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| Office buildings in the Milwaukee area sold for an average of $143 per square foot during the 12 months ending June 30, a 12% increase from $128 per square foot during the 12 months ending June 30, 2008. Nationally, the average sale price was $227 psf, down 10% from $251 psf. For area industrial buildings, the average sale price was $56 psf, up 33% from $42 psf. Nationally, the price was $68 psf, a 7% drop from $73 psf.
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| @ Milwaukee Journal | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0415 EDST
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| Minnesota's jobless rate drops
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| Minnesota employers added 10,300 jobs in July, the state's first monthly employment gain since August 2008. The state's unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.4 percent in June, the state reported Thursday. The nation's unemployment rate was 9.4 percent. To be sure, the state's labor market is weak, with 175,000 Minnesotans collecting jobless benefits and twice as many people without jobs as a year ago.
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| @ St. Paul Pioneer Press | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0419 EDST
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| National |
| Strong Gain in Existing-Home Sales Maintains Uptrend
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| For the first time in five years, existing-home sales have increased for four months in a row, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 5.24 million units in July from a level of 4.89 million in June, and are 5.0 percent above the 4.99 million-unit pace in July 2008. The last time sales rose for four consecutive months was in June 2004, and the last time sales were higher than a year earlier was November 2005.
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| @ National Association of Realtors | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Economy's Low Ebb Creates New Gold Rush
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| Pulled by gold prices flirting with $1,000 a troy ounce -- the highest in more than two decades -- and pushed by unfortunate circumstance, the jobless are showing up not only in California but also elsewhere around the country where gold has been found in the past.
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| @ Washington Post | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Europe Industrial Orders Increase More Than Forecast
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| Orders to industrial companies in the euro region rose 3.1 percent from May, the biggest gain in 19 months. From a year earlier, June orders fell 25.1 percent, less than economists had projected.
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| @ Bloomberg News | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0646 EDST
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| Baked bean declining sales signal recovery
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| In the three months from April to June, baked bean sales were up 15% compared with the same quarter of 2008, according to figures prepared for the BBC by the market researchers Nielsen. That sounds impressive, but it shows a slowing in the rate of growth. Every month from November 2008 to May 2009, sales of baked beans grew by about 20%. Then the brakes were suddenly put on, with growth of only 9.9% in June and 8.7% in July.
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| @ BBC | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0652 EDST
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| UK recession is "at an end" new study finds
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| The UK recession has ended according to a new study which found the biggest rise in business confidence in two years. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) found a record rise in confidence amongst professionals from -28.2 at the end of March to +4.8 at the end of June.
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| @ London Times | Posted: 08/24/09 at 0655 EDST
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