Some of the hardest hit real estate markets are heating up, with sales soaring despite values that are still dropping.
Las Vegas-based real estate data firm SalesTraq said that April 2009 existing home sales were up 78% over April 2008. The 4,198 homes sold last month compares to the boom years in Las Vegas, the most sold since June 2006.
At the same time, the price of an existing Las Vegas home plummeted to its lowest level since 1998 in April, SalesTraq said. Existing home prices fell nearly $10,000 in April alone to $125,000. Average price per square foot dropped to $78.58 in April 2009, down from $135.73 just one year ago.
Mark Andrews, vice president of sales and marketing at the $600 million Clark County Credit Union, said his local Las Vegas market is so hot, "most of the bank-owned properties are gone," and most Vegas deals are limited to short sells.
"About 40% went to out-of-state investors, which means a lot of people in town bought homes as investments," Andrews said.
CCCU acts as a broker for other lenders and passes the rate-risky 30-year fixed mortgages on to them. However, the credit union is booking mortgages with short terms, from five to eight years, for "mature" members.
"We've attracted a lot of business from members who still have considerable equity, who can refinance and pay off the mortgage sooner than if they rode out the rest of their 30-year loan," he said. CCCU only adds mortgages to the books if they are 50% loan-to-value or less, with a balance under $150,000, he said.
Andrews said CCCU was hardly doing any first mortgage business one year ago, but he estimated the credit union has originated as much $15 million so far this year, with more in the pipeline.
After holding steady at $250,000 for two consecutive months, the Southern California median home price fell to $247,000 in April, San Diego-based MDA DataQuick released May 19. That's the region's lowest price since 2002. However, April 2009 sales were up 31% over April 2008.
Foreclosures accounted for 54% of all Southern California resales in April, the seventh consecutive month in which post-foreclosure properties made up more than half of all resales.
The Florida Association of Realtors reported May 12 that in Miami, first-quarter 2009 single-family home sales were up 72% over last year's same period, as first-quarter 2009 home prices fell 38% from first-quarter 2008.

Hilton Associates Offers
Member Perception Study

D. Hilton Associates Inc. asked and credit union members across the country answered.
The result is the 2009 National Member Perception Study, which is designed to help credit unions find out what's on members' minds.
The study was gathered using D. Hilton's proprietary member survey database of respondents over a five-year period. Each participant was asked a series of almost 60 questions, from the member's initial knowledge of the credit union to member satisfaction, product holding and a demographic snapshot.
In addition to result frequencies, each question is broken out by region, asset size, age and year surveyed.
"The information will give credit unions greater knowledge of member satisfaction, member concerns and overall general knowledge of credit unions," said DHA Senior Vice President Brian Kidwell.

Another SBA Lifeline
Thrown to Small Business

The Small Business Administration will roll out its America's Recovery Capital program on June 15 that will feature interest free loans and deferred payments of up to $35,000.
The ARC loans are available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt, the SBA said. The loans will be disbursed within a period of up to six months and will provide funds for payments of principal and interest for existing, qualifying small business debt including mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit, capital leases, credit card obligations and notes payable to vendors, suppliers and utilities.
Repayment will not begin until 12 months after the final disbursement. Borrowers don't have to pay interest on the ARC loans, which are 100% guaranteed by the SBA and carry no fees from the agency. After the 12-month deferral period, borrowers will pay back the loan principal over a period of five years. The ARC loans will be made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly.