Notices of Trustee Sales and Notices of Default fell dramatically from March to April as our shadow inventory recedes further into the darkness. Reduced foreclosure activity this Spring means there will be even fewer REOs for sale this upcoming Fall and Winter. Foreclosure Radar reports: California Foreclosure Activity: Alameda County Foreclosure Activity: Contra Costa County [...]

It seems like people are always asking me for Danville area elementary school boundaries, so I figured I would post the map. Click here for more maps on the district site.

The giant wave of backlogged foreclosures that is supposed to crush the housing market still isn’t coming. And while logic may dictate that the tsunami is inevitable, it’s time to recognize that there is nothing logical about our current real estate market. The free-market lost. The puppet-masters have won. Our shadow inventory is going to [...]

I have always been a proponent of listening to the people who have generally been right all along about the housing crisis, while ignoring those who are generally wrong year after year (NAR, Mark Zandi, etc.) I pay extra attention to Mike “Mish” Shedlock who recently suggested that the housing collapse is near it’s end. [...]

Felix Salmon put together an interesting chart that shows national mortgage payments vs rents. Not surprisingly, with interest rates now below four percent, buying has become cheaper than renting. He adds: Of course, not all markets work this way: around New York, there are lots of places where it’s still a lot cheaper to rent [...]