Housing Sales on the Upswing in SoCal, More Foreclosure News

Housing market on the rebound? So suggests the Los Angeles Times, which believes government tax credits and less-expensive homes are helping sales: "Buyers purchased 3,447 new homes in Southern California during the first three months of the year, a 17% increase from the same period last year." The paper takes the big picture look aka there's little actual LA data: Big homebuilding companies like KB seem to be finding success by introducing new lines of more modest homes (e.g. the Target Rodarte collection). And two (not-so-modest) new developments are specifically mentioned in the article, both opening shortly: a 42-acre Irvine planned community called Central Park West (yes, you read that correctly) opening May 22 (pictured) and Rosecrest Lane, a group of 35 homes in northeast Pasadena that start in the $700,000s. (But disturbing: stucco facades are in, reports the paper.) Meanwhile, RealtyTrac released its latest foreclosure data: Nationwide, foreclosure filings dropped 9 percent last month, but "California still posted the nation's fourth highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 192 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing," reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. The Atlantic breaks down the data further, noting that it's the "usual suspects" of states (Nevada, etc) that keep appearing in the top 10 in terms of foreclosures. Still, California had 28 percent fewer foreclosures than a year ago.
· New Homeowners Reemerge in SoCal [LA Times]
· Median Home Prices Chugging Upward [Curbed LA]