Two regions registered improved starts activity in July, with the Northeast and Midwest each posting double-digit gains, of 30.5 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively. The South, which is the country’s largest housing market, posted a 6.3 percent decline in starts this July, while the West posted no change in starts activity.

Permit issuance, which can be an indicator of future building activity, declined 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 565,000 units in July. Single-family permits fell 1.2 percent to 416,000 units, while multi-family permits fell 8 percent to 149,000 units. Regionally, permits fell nearly 26 percent in the Northeast, 1.1 percent in the Midwest, and 4.9 percent in the West, but gained 3.9 percent in the South in July.

Rock-bottom rates should continue to spur demand for home loan refinancing, putting extra cash into consumers’ hands that they can save, use to pay off existing debt or funnel into the economy through extra spending.

Interest rates on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, the most widely used loan, averaged 4.42 percent for the week ended August 19, down from the previous week’s 4.44 percent and its year-ago level of 5.12 percent, according to the survey.

Thirty-year mortgage rates have fallen to fresh lows for nine straight weeks. Freddie Mac started the survey in April 1971.

Meanwhile, 15-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 3.90 percent, down from 3.92 percent last week, the lowest since Freddie Mac began surveying this loan type in 1991. Fifteen-year mortgage rates have hit fresh lows in six straight weeks.

“Investors in long-term bonds appear very confident that inflation will remain in check, and as a result long-term fixed mortgage rates have continued to fall,” Amy Crews Cutts, Freddie Mac deputy chief economist, said in a statement.

Mortgage rates are linked to yields on Treasuries and yields on mortgage-backed securities.

In the second quarter, 100 out of 155 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) had higher median existing single-family home prices in comparison with the second quarter of 2009, including 14 with double-digit increases; two were unchanged and 53 metros showed price declines. In the first quarter of this year 91 areas had higher prices, while only 26 MSAs experienced annual price gains in second quarter of 2009.

Source: NAR

Detailed information on the Indexes can be found at the Fiserv Case-Shiller website, click here.

July 2010	Sales YTD	Avg List Price	Avg Sale Price	2009 Sales	Value of the Month
Las Campanas	15	1,144,733	1,007,153	27	FEATURED PROPERTY 19 Astor Cir  $899,000
Northwest County	54	657,870	620,843	40	FEATURED PROPERTY 1340 Vista Colorado  $840,000
Northeast City	81	725,693	674,994	68	No Listings Found Sorry, no listings matched your search.
Tesuque	9	1,066,211	1,018,778	2	FEATURED PROPERTY 4-A Lodge Circle  $675,000
Santa Fe City	721	458,444	430,552	624	FEATURED PROPERTY 409 East Coronado #4  $699,000
Santa Fe County	769	447,889	420,661	650	FEATURED PROPERTY 806 East Zia Rd  $850,000

Go In-Depth Market Report for Las Campanas

To view the full May 2010 report click here.

To determine where the prices are most attractive, U.S. News & World Report examined price-to-income data for 384 metropolitan statistical areas. This expresses the relationship between owner income and home values.

Here are 10 retirement havens where homes are most affordable by this measure:

1. Bend, Ore.
2. Napa, Calif.
3. Fort Meyers, Fla.
4. Fayetteville, Ark.
5. Las Vegas
6. Sante Fe, N.M.
7. Punta Gorda, Fla.
8. Phoenix
9. Santa Cruz, Calif.
10. Burlington, Vt.

International buyers came from 53 different countries around the world. The top four countries were Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and China/Hong Kong. With 23 percent of international buyers coming from Canada, the country has remained the largest buying group in the past three years. Foreign buyers from Mexico have been steadily increasing. In 2010 Mexico replaced the U.K. as the second largest buying group with 10 percent of buyers. Buyers from the U.K. decreased from 10.5 percent in 2009 to nine percent in 2010. Eight percent of recent buyers came from China/Hong Kong.

Two factors important to international clients when purchasing property in the U.S. are proximity to their home country and the convenience of air transportation.Florida typically attracts European, Canadian and South American buyers while the East Coast draws Europeans. The West Coast brings Asian buyers and the Southwest attracts Mexicans.

June 2010	Sales YTD	Avg List Price	Avg Sale Price	2009 Sales	Value of the Month
Las Campanas	12	1,170,667	1,029,441	20	FEATURED PROPERTY 10 Avenida Herrera  $895,000
Northwest County	49	653,349	622,582	31	FEATURED PROPERTY 3221 Calle Celestial  $880,000
Northeast City	68	716,935	668,419	55	FEATURED PROPERTY 1399 Camino Sin Salida  $599,000
Tesuque	8	1,118,863	1,067,375	1	FEATURED PROPERTY 38-I Lodge Trail  $639,000
Santa Fe City	623	454,651	427,860	498	FEATURED PROPERTY 409 East Coronado #4  $699,000
Santa Fe County	668	443,524	417,365	520	FEATURED PROPERTY 317 Magdalena Rd  $599,000

Go In-Depth Market Report for Las Campanas