A few days have passed in 2007, and there are a few stories I think are worth a look. Enjoy!

• Manhattan real estate market remains strong
  The Manhattan Market is INCREDIBLE! “The average price of a Manhattan apartment rose to more than $1.14 million in the fourth quarter of last year, up 5 percent compared to the same period the year before, according to two reports released Wednesday.” In addition, “The average price per square foot in Manhattan rose to $1,050, topping $979 in the fourth quarter a year ago and setting a new high.” WOW!
• Construction activity dips as housing falls for record eighth straight month
  “Housing has been in a slump this year after a prolonged boom that was fueled by the lowest mortgage rates in more than four decades. However, that boom triggered increased speculation, driving home prices up sharply in many parts of the country.”
• 2007 Predicted to be Poor Real Estate Year in California.
• Subprime Lender Implosion: Bad Omen For Housing Market
• Foreclosures Skyrocket in 2006 according to Default Research. This is nothing new, but there are a few things in the report that are worth reading.
• “The Beginning Of The Domino” In California
  A look at how the California market is begging to topple (compiled from various news sources).

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Tags: construction, estate, foot, Foreclosures, housing, manhattan, market, per, price, real, spending, square, US

Interesting news the other day out of the Commerce Department and reported in the New York Times about new-home prices: The median price (the statistical point where half the houses are priced less but half are priced more) of a new house nosedived 9.7 percent last month when compared with the same month one year earlier. That price, by the way, is $217,100. The decrease represents the “biggest such drop since December 1970,” reports the Times. Now on the positive side, of course, this means new homes are available to buyers at cheaper prices than before. But, the larger picture, some experts say, is one of an economy that may be in for some turbulence ahead.

As the paper points out in an article by Jeremy Peters, the folks who build new houses are just trying to keep ahead of a market that seems to be weakening with each passing day. It was only two months ago when the new home prices were still on the rise.

Tags: commerce, department, drop, housing, median, New, price, prices, Times, York