NUMBERS ARE LOOKING BETTER IN REAL ESTATE .

Sales of new homes leap 23.6 percent
Sales of newly built homes rose 23.6 percent in June to an annual pace of 330,000 units, according to the Commerce Department.

The National Association of Home Builders called the numbers “an encouraging sign,” especially given the disastrous drop in sales in May when the federal homebuyer tax credit expired.

Sales of new homes rose strongly in three out of four regions in June.

The largest percentage increase was the Northeast’s 46.4 percent gain, followed by a 33.1 percent gain in the South and a 20.5 percent gain in the Midwest. The West was the only region where new-home sales did not improve, instead falling 6.6 percent.

Top metro home prices up 1.3 percent

The Case-Shiller analysis of home prices in 20 metro markets shows prices were up 1.3 percent in May, compared to the previous month.

So far this year, Case-Shiller research shows prices have improved about 4.6 percent.

A spokesman cautioned against reading too much into the gains, saying the housing market remains way too fragile to predict the future. “A broader look at home price levels over the past year still does not indicate that the housing market is in any form of sustained recovery,” the spokesman said.

Foreclosure numbers said to be slowing

(IRVINE, Calif.) – The foreclosure data company RealtyTrac is seeing the “early signs” of easing in the number of foreclosures nationwide, but says numbers in several key areas remain high.

The 20 cities with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates were all in Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona. Overall, the number of foreclosures in the first half of the year was above where it was last year.
On the positive side, however, RealtyTrac said foreclosure activity appears to have crested in 9 of the 10 metros with the highest rates.

“While we’re seeing early signs that foreclosure activity may have peaked in some of the hardest-hit markets, foreclosures continued to rise in three-quarters of the nation’s metropolitan areas in the first half of the year,” said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio