Rents Up in San Diego...Largest Increase in Years

Apartment rents in the county increased 2.49 percent in the last six months while vacancies decreased 1.38 percentage points as homeowners lost their properties to foreclosures and renters found themselves unable to buy, according to the Union-Tribune.

MarketPointe Realty Advisors said in its semiannual survey of 804 large apartment complexes with a total of 115,576 units that the average rent this month stood at $1,344, up from $1,312 in the March survey and $1,291 last September.

MarketPointe President Russ Valone said the rental increase was the largest in recent years and likely to increase further.

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Foreclosed Homes: The Right Time to Buy?

Experts say that by the end of 2008, banks may own as many as 1.2 million homes—equal to about one third of all the homes for sale in America. And as those inventories grow, so does the pressure to sell them. The result? Prices drop.

Click here for more on whether or not it's the right time to buy a foreclosed home.

What $1 Million Can Buy You Around the World

A quaint three-bedroom home in Syndey, Australia. A grandoise estate in Costa Rica. A 1 bedroom home in Tokyo. These are examples of what $1 million could buy you around the world.

Click here to see pictures of homes that $1 million could get you.

Rates Fall to 7 Month Low

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply again this week, falling to the lowest level in seven months, as rates continue to decline following the government's dramatic takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that its nationwide survey found 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages declined to 5.78 percent this week, down from 5.93 percent last week.

It was the fifth consecutive weekly decline and pushed the 30-year mortgage to the lowest level since it stood at 5.72 percent the week of Feb. 14. The decreases have accelerated over the past two weeks since the government announced on Sept. 7 that it was taking control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because of huge losses the companies were experiencing due to soaring defaults on mortgage loans as home prices slump.

Mortgage Rates Drop, but Credit is Still King

From CNN Money:

The takeover of Fannie and Freddie may make mortgage borrowing cheaper - but it won't make getting a loan any easier. Mortgage rates have plummeted, but that hasn't made getting a home loan any easier for most borrowers.

In the wake of the government's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac last weekend, the 30-year fixed rate has dropped from 6.26% last Friday to 5.79%. But only buyers with a credit score of 740 of above - and a 20% down payment - can qualify for such a low rate. During the boom, borrowers only needed scores of 640 to land the lowest rates available. Even a 580 score would get them very close to the best rate.

During the credit crisis, Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) have become virtually the only source of funding for banks and other home lenders looking to make home loans. Their ability to lend is crucial to the housing market. To that end, the Treasury will buy mortgage-backed securities from the two firms, and lend them money if necessary, all in an effort to make credit more available to home buyers.

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CNN Money: Home Prices will Level Off by Next Summer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Alan Greenspan famously declared the worst was over back in November of 2006. And the National Association of Realtors' erstwhile chief economist David Lereah called the bottom a few times, starting in May 2006.

Plenty of other economists and real estate analysts have attempted to do the same - and of course they've all been wrong.

But a consensus seemed to emerge among experts at a housing forum held by Standard & Poor's and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday in New York. Readers will be forgiven for taking this pronouncement with a large grain of salt.

Several panelists, including Economy.com's chief economist Mark Zandi, Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) economist Charlie Himmelberg, S&P managing director David Blitzer and S&P senior economist Beth Ann Bovino all agreed that home prices would stabilize sometime during the summer of 2009.

"The bottom of the housing market is coming into view," said Zandi, whose recent book "Financial Shock," examines how the subprime mortgage crisis occurred. "House prices, based on the S&P Case-Shiller index, are down 20% peak-to-trough and I expect them to fall another 5% to 10%."

"The key is housing affordability," Zandi said. "The [price] decline is beginning to restore affordability, which is now near its long-term average. In some places, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Orange County, affordability has been restored and those markets have stabilized."

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La Jolla Tops Forbes List, "America's Most Expensive Waterfront Cities"

Beautiful La Jolla topped the Forbes list of "America's Most Expensive Waterfront Cities," where the median price of a home is reportedly $1.85 million. With its amazing ocean views, mesmerizing sunsets, fantastic shopping, fine dining and picturesque beaches, it's not hard to see why.

Click here to see what other beach front cities made the list.

Study Says San Diego "Undervalued" Market

San Diego, which three years ago had one of the most overvalued housing markets in the country, is now the most undervalued in California, the economic and financial analysis company Global Insight reported.

The market has improved because housing prices have fallen about 32 percent from their peak, while incomes have continued to increase.

“A metro area like San Diego has, in a sense, fallen too much,” said James Diffley, who directs Global Insight's regional services group.

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