NAR – “Decline in Commercial Real Estate Sectors Appears to be Slowing” (8-19-09)

“The Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity1 declined 1.3 percent to an index of 101.5 in the second quarter from a downwardly revised reading of 102.8 in the first quarter, and is 13.7 percent below the 117.6 recorded in the second quarter of 2008. The index is at the lowest level since the first quarter of 1994; NAR’s track of the commercial leading indicator dates back to 1990.”

Mortgage Bankers Association – “Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey” (8-19-09)

“The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 14, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 5.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.8 percent compared with the previous week and increased 25.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier.”

DQNews – “Southland home sales rise again as higher-cost areas awaken” (8-18-09)

“A total of 24,104 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino counties last month. That was up 3.6 percent from 23,262 in June and up 18.6 percent from 20,329 a year ago, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick.”

Orange County Register – “Most improved O.C. home market in Dana Point” (8-19-09)

“we see a concentration of Zippy big gainers near the beach. That’s a touch different than what we’ve seen from other data showing beach towns with some of the weakest housing patterns recently. We shoudl note that ‘most improved’ doesn’t equal price appreciation as only 3 O.C. ZIPs had price gains vs. a year ago for the second quarter.”

Orange County Register – “New iPhone app has data on 140 million homes” (8-19-09)

“If you’re into real estate and have an iPhone, you’ve got to get this new application. Santa Ana-based First American CoreLogic has launched its RealQuest Home Value Pro, which lets you look up estimated values for 140 million properties in the U.S., as well as price, sales and foreclosure data by ZIP code.”

Inman – “Your real estate trading card” (8-19-09)

“Diverse Solutions came up with an online tool dubbed ‘Agent Scouting Report,’ and I believe it has some great potential. In brief, Agent Scouting Report is an agent rating system that uses multiple listing service data rather than purely subjective opinions and client surveys. Diverse Solutions used 10 years' worth of MLS data to compute things like ‘Salesmanship’ (average days on market), ‘Experience’ (tenure in the MLS), ‘Knowledge of Market’ (how many times did the price drop from the initial listing date), and the terribly misnamed ‘Popularity’ (how many homes sold in last 180 days, the past year, and the past two years).”

Inman – “Cities fight blight of foreclosed homes” (8-19-09)

“Since Chula Vista's Abandoned Residential Property Program went into effect in October 2007 (see program), the city has issued about $1.4 million in fines on lenders and servicing agents, according to Doug Leeper, the city's code enforcement manager who authored the language for the program. The program requires lenders to inspect defaulted properties to identify whether they are occupied. If a property is found to be vacant, the program requires that the lender register the property through the free Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) or with the city for $70.”

Realty Times – “New Appraisal Rules are Causing Problems” (8-19-09)

“The primary complaint about AMC appraiser selection processes is that too often appraisers are given assignments that take them out of their geographical area of familiarity and expertise. Let's face it: an appraiser, just like a real estate agent, can at best be very knowledgeable about only an extremely limited number of neighborhoods or areas. Each may be licensed by their state agencies to work anywhere in the state; but none are likely to have the ability to do so with expertise.”

New York Times – “In Appraisal Shift, Lenders Gain Power and Critics” (8-18-09)

“Brokers, real estate agents and banks asked appraisers to do a lot of pretending during the housing boom, pumping up values while ignoring defects. While Mr. Kennedy says he never complied, many appraisers did, some of them thinking they had no choice if they wanted work. A profession that should have been a brake on the spiral in home prices instead became a big contributor. On May 1, a sweeping change took effect that was meant to reduce the conflicts of interest in home appraisals while safeguarding the independence of the people who do them.”