Real Estate by the Numbers: Week of April 9 – April 15

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A quick rundown of the important real estate news from the week of April 9 – April 15, by the numbers:

27% – Percentage drop in foreclosures notices in the first three months of 2011 compared to the first quarter 0f 2010. “The explanation for this contradiction is that the foreclosure improvement has been artificial, fueled by banks reacting to paperwork processing issues — the infamous “robo-signing” scandal — by cutting back on filings until they can clean up their procedures.”

$991 – Average rent across the country, according to Reis, Inc. Rents have gone up for the last 5 quarters and vacancy rates are the lowest since mid-2008.

$1.7 Billion – Value of the offer ProLogis made for the remaining shares in European Properties (PERP), a publicly traded investment fund. ProLogis already owns a 38% stake in PERP.

1 Million – Approximately the amount of homes bought by investors in 2010 according to the National Association of Realtors.

4.91% – Average rate on a 30 year fixed mortgage. Up slightly from the average rate the previous week, 4.87%

$9.7 Million – Loss Nicholas Cage took on his Rhode Island home. Cage bought the 27 acre estate for $15.7 million and tried selling the home for $19 million. Ultimately, the Rhode Island home sold for $6.2 million.

$199,500 – The national median listing price for a house in March 2011. It’s slightly above February’s national median price of $199,000.

$2.6 Billion – Total amount of offerings filed by mortgage REITs so far this year. Its “the largest amount devoted to mortgage REITs since 2009, when a flurry of investment companies set up REITs to scoop up battered commercial mortgage-backed securities.”

51% – Percentage drop in the number of mortgage industry employees since 2006. The 248,000 employees currently working in the industry is a drop of 257,000 from the 505,000 employees that were working in the mortgage business in February 2006.

14% – Percentage drop in loan modifications in February 2011 from the previous month according to HOPE NOW. The 87,000 mortgages modified in February is down from the approximately 100,000 that were modified in January 2011.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.