Fed Says West's Housing 'sluggish', Again

 Here's what the Fed's San Francisco unit thinks about Western real estate in the "Beige Book" – a report on regional economic conditions that's done eight times a year. L.A. is in the Fed's 12th District, based in San Fran. (DISTRICT MAP HERE) This regional real estate recap is the fourth for 2007 (ENTIRE REPORT HERE) ...

• "Housing market activity remained sluggish, while activity in commercial real estate markets picked up further. In most areas, sales volumes for new and existing homes fell a bit further, and average time on the market rose slightly. Price appreciation slowed accordingly, with modest price declines reported during the survey period in some parts of the District. However, prices continued to rise in some states and areas where local economic conditions are strong, such as Utah, Idaho, Hawaii, and the Seattle area. On the commercial side, vacancy rates for office and industrial space fell further and rental rates continued to rise in most District cities; one exception is Las Vegas, where office vacancies rose recently due to increased supply. Construction activity for commercial and public projects expanded in some areas, partly offsetting declines in residential construction activity. Several contacts noted that the costs of construction materials continued to rise in general despite the slowdown in homebuilding.

In April, the Fed said: "Conditions in residential real estate markets generally remained weak."In March, the Fed said "Residential real estate markets cooled further in most parts of the District, although contacts noted scattered signs of stabilization in market conditions."

Valley realty bloggers generate strong opinions-- but beware, from the Arizona Republic, reports that there are several real estate blogs in the Valley written by just about anyone connected to housing: rank & file consumers, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, appraisers, and publishers of everything from trade magazines to on-line newspapers. Real estate blogging is hot because housing generates strong opinions, especially since the market has pulled back from the frenzy of two years ago. It is also part of a wave of technology that is changing the way real estate is bought and sold. The Web has become an essential tool for shoppers to find houses and compare neighborhoods and price. But beware-- the negative blogs can erode the confidence of home buyers if they buy into what the blogger is saying. Housing blogs fall into two categories- either the housing market is headed for Armageddon, or they try to knock down that idea. The article cites several housing blogs that you should be aware of.

Housing Bubble and Real Estate Market Tracker from SA for 6/14

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