By: Jeff Cox, CNBC.com | 02 Jun 2009 | 02:27 PM ET

After taking a beating for the past two years, real estate investment trusts are regaining popularity with investors looking for bargains and a way to capitalize on an industry rebound.

More commonly known by their acronym, REITs are funds that provide investors with a broad range of investment opportunities while delivering substantial tax breaks to the corporations that set up the vehicles.

Wildly popular in the earlier part of the decade during the real estate boom, REITs nosedived in 2006 and 2007 as the market fell correspondingly.

But recent developments over the past several weeks have sharp-eyed investors again examining REITs as a way to profit from a looming rebound in the industry.

* REIT Stocks: Long and Short Strategies

And contrary to the growing trend of investors to eschew the traditional buy-and-hold stocks strategy, REITs are being looked at as long-term plays that will…

But I believe another factor is that the Southern California economy is doing better than many other regional economies around the country. Here are the reasons why I believe that to be the case.

Construction and real estate are hurting here, obviously (and my colleagues and I do see a lot of clients in these fields under financial stress). But other prominent sectors of the regional economy are picking up the slack and softening the blow.

Domestic tourism, although slightly down, is still holding steady in Southern California. Many Americans who used to fly overseas for vacation are staying home due to airline prices, currency valuations and security reasons – and they are now staying domestic,…

TWO ELITE PROPERTIES ARE ADDED TO THE OCEANFRONT DESTINATION MARKETING ALLIANCE

The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel And The Resort at Pelican Hill To Participate In The Promotion Of Coastal Orange County

THE OCEANFRONT, ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and the Resort at Pelican Hill (set to open in December of this year) recently joined The OCeanfront, an exclusive destination marketing alliance organized to promote Orange County, California’s most prestigious coastal destinations, according to an announcement by Blaise Bartell, chairman of The OCeanfront. The OCeanfront alliance now consists of the area’s 12 leading hotels and resorts, golf club operators, shopping venues and convention and visitors bureaus spanning
the 42-mile stretch of coastline from Huntington Beach to Dana Point.

“The addition of The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel and The Resort at…

September 16, 2008 – Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose for the first time in seven months this September, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI gained two points to 18, rising from its record low of the previous two months.

“Builders have several reasons to be more optimistic at this time,” noted NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va. “Many are sensing that home sales are nearing a turning point with the support of the newly enacted first-time home buyer tax credit. Meanwhile, with the government’s explicit backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now assured, this should help keep mortgage rates at very favorable levels going forward.”

Following the Treasury Department’s announcement that it was placing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship last week, the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate conforming home mortgages declined by nearly half a percentage point, falling to below 6 percent for the first time in several months. Market responses to the Lehman Brothers…

El Morro Village: Unpaving paradise near Laguna Beach

Two years after El Morro Village was finally vacated, construction has begun on the state’s first new coastal campground in decades.

By Susannah Rosenblatt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
10:47 AM PDT, August 25, 2008

El Morro Village: Unpaving paradise

All that’s left of the 295 seaside trailers just north of Laguna Beach, once festooned with flowerpots and tidy patios, are some crumbling concrete slabs. And memories.

Dump trucks and earthmovers are scraping across 35 acres of canyon and beach, transforming the funky little enclave that was El Morro Village into Southern California’s first coastal campground in two decades.

State parks officials and environmentalists trumpet the $12-million construction project, which began last month, as a victory for public access and the preservation of pristine Orange County coastline.

“Tens of thousands of added Californians and people from all across the nation can now enjoy this spot of Southern California paradise,” said state parks spokesman Roy Stearns. “It opens up a whole new coastal ocean…

R.O.I.
By BRETT ARENDS

Is Housing Slump at a Bottom?
May 6, 2008 7:28 p.m.

Is it time, at long last, to head down to Florida to start looking at homes?

Maybe.

And the nearby chart shows one reason why.

It comes from Wellesley College Prof. Karl E. Case, one of the leading experts on the housing market in the country. And it suggests we may be at, or near, the bottom of the housing crash.

Of course, even if he’s wrong we won’t know for sure for many months.

But new housing starts have at last slumped below the seemingly magical one million mark. That happened in March. Every time that has happened in the last 50 years, it proved to be the bottom of a recession.

“It is really remarkable how much where we are today looks like the bottom we’ve had in the last three cycles,” Mr. Case says. “Every time we’ve gone below a million starts, the market has cleared at that moment.”

There is no guarantee this market will be the same but the similarities with the past are striking. Each boom peaked at around the same level of 2.5 million starts…

OPINION

The Housing Crisis Is Over
By CYRIL MOULLE-BERTEAUX
May 6, 2008; Page A23

The dire headlines coming fast and furious in the financial and popular press suggest that the housing crisis is intensifying. Yet it is very likely that April 2008 will mark the bottom of the U.S. housing market. Yes, the housing market is bottoming right now.

How can this be? For starters, a bottom does not mean that prices are about to return to the heady days of 2005. That probably won’t happen for another 15 years. It just means that the trend is no longer getting worse, which is the critical factor.

Most people forget that the current housing bust is nearly three years old. Home sales peaked in July 2005. New home sales are down a staggering 63% from peak levels of 1.4 million. Housing starts have fallen more than 50% and, adjusted for population growth, are back to the trough levels of 1982.

Furthermore, residential construction is close to 15-year lows at 3.8% of GDP; by the fourth quarter of this year, it will probably hit the lowest level ever. So…

By CNBC.com | 26 Feb 2008 | 09:43 AM ET

The US economy will avoid recession as the housing market begins to recover this spring, according to billionaire investor Sam Zell.

Speaking on “Squawk Box” this morning, Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

“Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. “We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.

“The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you’re in the credit markets the world couldn’t be worse. If you’re a farmer and you’re getting $25 for your wheat, you’re having a great time. If you’re a CEO and you’ve got a balance sheet that’s bullet-proof, you’re in a great position. This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand.”

Zell said that although he doesn’t try to pick bottoms in markets…

Our no-recession forecast remains nervously intact. We see a lot of problems in the first half of 2008, as housing remains a drag on GDP growth and weakness in personal consumption contributes as well,” he writes. “We expect one quarter of negative GDP growth. The Fed continues to dish out good news for Wall Street with ever lower interest rates. The labor market is sluggish and unemployment elevates to 5.5 percent by the end of 2008. But the housing drag on GDP dissipates in the second half of the year and a normal economy returns in 2009.

This brief quote gives a glimpse of light at the end of the current housing crises tunnel from the generally pessimistic outlook of the Anderson Reports.

• Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during November 2007 were: Newport Beach, $1,400,000; Saratoga, $1,300,000; Santa Monica, $1,100,000; Cupertino, $1,074,090; Santa Barbara, $1,065,000; Danville, $1,021,000; Yorba Linda, $910,000; San Clemente, $870,000; Redwood City, $822,500 and San Francisco, $814,500.
• Statewide, the 13* cities and communities with the greatest median home price increases in November 2007 compared with the same period a year ago were: San Juan Capistrano, 42.3 percent; Newport Beach, 31.5 percent; Santa Monica, 29.4 percent; Mountain View, 18 percent; Cupertino, 18 percent; Truckee, 10.2 percent; Redwood City, 9.7 percent; Yorba Linda, 9.6 percent; Santa Barbara, 7.5 percent; Moorpark, 7.2 percent; San Francisco, 7.2 percent; Pasadena, 7.2 percent; and Los Angeles, 5.8 percent.

This is just another indication that prices of property located in desirable areas continue to hold steady or increase even during the current real estate downturn.

Newport Beach city officials say the acquisition of a 4-acre piece of land on East Coast Highway with access to Upper Newport Bay as part of a multi-million-dollar development agreement with the Irvine Co. is a boon for the city.

“I think we’ll look back on it, and this will be one of the major benefits of this deal,” said Councilman Steve Rosansky, who helped broker the Irvine Co. deal, along with Mayor Ed Selich. “It’s one of the last pieces of undeveloped land on the waterfront.”[read more...]

• Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during October 2007 were: Newport Beach, $1,575,000; Santa Barbara, $1,275,000; Cupertino, $1,033,000; Danville, $1,017,500; Los Gatos, $1,005,000; San Carlos, $927,500; Redwood City, $912,000; San Ramon, $835,000; San Clemente, $832,500; and San Mateo, $829,500.
• Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the greatest median home price increases in October 2007 compared with the same period a year ago were: Santa Barbara, 24.4 percent; Arcadia, 21.3 percent; Redwood City, 20.6 percent; Newport Beach, 18.4 percent; San Ramon, 14.4 percent; Cupertino, 11.7 percent; San Carlos, 9.5 percent; Redlands, 8.8 percent; Redondo Beach, 8.7 percent; and Sunnyvale, 7.6 percent.

This is just another indication that prices of property located in desirable areas continue to hold steady or increase even during the current real estate downturn.

AP
Foreign Cash Could Boost Housing Market
Saturday November 10, 2:35 am ET

By Stephen Bernard, AP Business Writer

Foreign Cash Could Provide Much Needed Relief for U.S. Housing Market Thanks to Weak Dollar

NEW YORK (AP) — The weakening dollar has caused many problems for consumers, but it may also be providing the fuel for one unintended — and very welcome — benefit: a rally in the struggling housing market driven by foreign investors.

For an individual or developer trying to sell a home, interested buyers are just as likely to already have a place in London or Paris as they are to be first-timers new to the market.

“European investment is likely to pick up,” said Mark Vitner, chief economist for Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia Corp. “Now is the time to come over and take advantage.”

The theory goes that foreign investors step in and replace first-time home buyers who have been squeezed out of the housing market during the recent downturn. These new investors in turn allow current homeowners to sell and trade up to larger homes.

That will help restart owners…

For more information, contact:

Walt Molony, 702/691-8592, wmolony@realtors.org

Modest Recovery for Existing-Home Sales in 2008 as Credit Crunch Subsides

LAS VEGAS, November 13, 2007 -  A modest recovery for existing-home sales is expected in 2008 as the impact of the credit crunch subsides, while pending home sales indicate near-term stability, according to the latest forecast released here today at the National Association of Realtors® Conference & Expo. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the housing market will improve from a steady unleashing of pent-up demand, and from a wide abundance of safer mortgage products. “The level of pent-up demand reaching the market next year is a bit uncertain, and it is possible for even higher home sales activity than we’re forecasting if buyers regain their confidence about the long-term benefits of home ownership.  Over the near term, home sales are likely to be fairly flat as the lingering impact of the credit crunch filters through the system through the end of the year.” The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in September, rose 0.2 percent to a reading of 85.7 from…

• Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the highest median home prices in California during September 2007 were: Newport Beach, $1,435,000; Los Gatos, $1,228,000; Cupertino, $1,050,000; Danville, $1,004,000; Redondo Beach, $847,500; San Clemente, $830,000; Yorba Linda, $825,000; Arcadia, $805,000; San Rafael, $797,500; and Santa Monica, $796,500.
• Statewide, the 10 cities and communities with the greatest median home price increases in September 2007 compared with the same period a year ago were: Tustin, 19.7 percent; Los Angeles, 18.2 percent; Arcadia, 14.2 percent; Carlsbad, 11.1 percent; Laguna Niguel, 10.1 percent; Diamond Bar, 8.7 percent; Cupertino, 8.4 percent; Redondo Beach, 8 percent; Reedley, 7.1 percent; and Newport Beach, 6.3 percent.

This is just another indication that prices of property located in desirable areas are holding steady or increasing even during the current real estate downturn.

The Forecast

Waiting Room
by Lawrence Yun, Vice President, NAR Research

Several positive developments in the credit market will pave the way for improving housing market conditions going into 2008. The worst of the credit crunch concerns we saw in August are clearly over. A bold move by the Federal Reserve in cutting the federal funds rate by 50 basis points helped liquidity. Even more importantly, the Fed’s action bolstered the confidence of financial investors that the Fed will not permit a freezing of credit in the marketplace. Consequently, markets have settled down and mortgage rates are now more favorable compared to those in August.

But it’s interesting to note that credit in the conforming loan market (those loans under $417,000 and those that meet the guidelines of Government Sponsored Enterprises like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) has been widely available throughout the recent crisis. It was the jumbo loan market that was particularly hard hit, with the spread over conforming loans rising to over 150 basis points, rather than the historic average of 20 to 30 basis…

To help consumers with that very question and to overcome confusion about title insurance, the California Land Title Association has just launched the CLTA TitleWizard web site.

On this web site you may enter the zip code and selling price of the property in question. You also enter whether you are the seller or buyer and if the property has sold within the previous five years.

After entering all information, the web site lists the cost of title insurance available from the CLTA Member insurance companies.

Keep in mind, however, that your Realtor may have a relationship with a particular title insurance company or representative who can provide a rate that is lower than those published on the CLTA TitleWizard web site. The best procedure would be to review the TitleWizard results and then ask your agent to get a quote for the cost of title insurance through their contacts.

Keep also in mind that not all title insurance policies are identical. Some which are more expensive may provide more coverage than the others. You should review the…

One way to help determine the quality of the education your children will receive is to review the results of the annual testing required by the State of California Department of Education.

This link to the 2007 CST Results will direct your web browser to an interactive page on the California Department of Education web site. This page has a form which allows you to enter the county, school district and school of interest. After you have entered the appropriate information, click on the “View Report” button to display the complete test results for your selection. If you would like to see a report for the entire state, county, or school district, just leave out the information in the fields following your desired grouping.

The table below has been compiled from the 2007 CST Results to show the average test scores for the school districts and schools that might be of interest to residents considering the purchase of a home in Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach or Newport Coast. The various districts and schools are listed, in descending order, by…

This article demonstrates how to locate the schools serving a particular address located within the cities of Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach or Newport Coast.

While following through this example, the reader may perform a mouse click on any of the accompanying illustrations to open the particular Laguna Beach Unified School District
or Newport Mesa Unified School District web page from which that illustration was taken.

In the case of the Laguna Beach schools, the school district has provided an Acrobat PDF file showing all street names in their district. Each street name is followed by an abbreviation for the school that services that address. An example of the address page is shown in the following illustration:

In the case of the Corona del Mar, Newport Beach and Newport Coast schools, the school district has provided an interactive web search page. To locate the schools that service any particular address one just needs to enter that address into the appropriate areas of the search form and press the “go” button. The page will then display a map of the school locations and the written…