Real Estate Chart Wrap-Up

Wednesday: The estate of Lehman Brothers, the failed investment bank, is ramping up sales of its property portfolio as commercial real-estate prices recover, in a move that could help creditors of the defunct firm. In its most recent deal, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. agreed to sell its majority stake in a portfolio of 10 office buildings in Rosslyn, Va., in a transaction that values the properties at $1.26 billion, Lehman said in a court filing late Tuesday. Full story.

See more charts with the full post.

Housing Bust Reverses Ownership Gains

The number of Americans who own their homes continued to decline in recent months and now is at the lowest level since early 1998.

The nation’s home-ownership rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 66% in the second quarter, down from 66.4% in the first quarter and 66.9% in the second quarter a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Friday. During the boom, when easy credit made mortgages readily available, Americans rushed to buy homes, pushing the ownership rate to a record 69.4% in the second quarter of 2004. It remained near that level until Americans began losing their homes to foreclosure or abandoning them in recent years.

The rise in home ownership during the boom “has been more than completely wiped out during the bust,” wrote Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist with Capital Economics, in a client note.

Disharmony Fills Vegas’s Harmon Tower

“The world’s most expensive sign.”

Las Vegas artist Erin Stellmon recently recalled that’s what she and her friend and fellow artist Justin Favela joked to one another in 2009 after hearing one of the towers — known as the Harmon — at the $9 billion CityCenter luxury development in Las Vegas would remain an empty shell. (Ms. Stellmon and Mr. Favela work at the Neon Boneyard, a repository of Las Vegas’s iconic-but-outdated neon signs collected by the Neon Museum.)

CityCenter was first introduced as a mixed use condo, hotel, casino and retail concept in 2005 and its owners promised it would become a new urban center for Las Vegas. But it has failed to live up to those lofty expectations. Financially, CityCenter has struggled and lost more than $1 billion since it opened, including write-downs and interest payments. But its losses have narrowed in recent quarters.

Still, no CityCenter problem is as iconic as the Harmon.

Real Estate News: Horton, Pulte Report Weak Quarters

Here is a look at real-estate news in today’s WSJ:

Horton, Pulte Report Weak Quarters: Two of the nation’s largest home builders reported weak quarterly financial results, but their stocks rallied after an industry report indicated future sales could be stronger.

Mortgages Hold Steady: Mortgage rates in the U.S. were again little changed over the past week, as readings on the U.S. economy continued to show mixed signals.

My Own Private Island: Wealthy buyers are flocking to a little-known archipelago in the Bahamas, fueling an island building boom. Privacy comes at a price: Owning a personal island means importing everything from water to electricity.

Home Front: Choosing to Live On the Edge: A San Francisco home perched on a cliff takes full advantage of its unusual setting.

Open House: Summer Camp for Sale: A summer camp for sale in the Adirondacks offers 13 buildings, including a craft house and a 4,000-square-foot boathouse.

Relative Values: A Stroll to the Farmer’s Market: Three homes near farmer’s markets in Camden, Maine, New York and Sarasota, Fla.

Bailout Watchdog Says Homeowners Shortchanged

The federal watchdog that oversees the Wall Street bailouts is questioning whether the Obama administration has done enough to punish mortgage companies for poor performance in its main loan-assistance program.

The watchdog’s office is officially known as the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It has been run by Acting Special Inspector General Christy Romero since Neil Barofsky, the office’s first director, left to teach law at New York University earlier this year.

In a quarterly report released Thursday, the inspector general’s office supported the Treasury Department’s decision, announced in June, to sanction mortgage servicers for poor performance in the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program. However, the report questioned whether enough companies have been punished. “Clearly, many homeowners are not getting the fair shake they deserve from some of the largest servicers in determining who gets the benefit of a HAMP mortgage modification,” the report said.

Behind the Numbers: Pending Home Sales Rise

This week’s reports on the housing market have been decidedly mixed.

On Tuesday, the government said new home sales were down 1% on a monthly basis in June. Also that day, the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 major U.S. cities was down 4.5% in May from a year earlier.

But today’s news was positive and unexpected: The National Association of Realtors’ seasonally adjusted index for pending sales of existing homes rose 2.4% on a monthly basis to a reading of 90.9 in June. Economists had forecast a 2% drop. It was the third increase in the past four months for the index, which tracks signed agreements to purchase homes. It remains to be seen, however, whether those contracts will turn into sales. Real estate agents have noted an increase in canceled sales in recent months, although some past cancellations may be “nothing more than delayed buying decisions rather than outright cancellations,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Here’s how industry watchers viewed the report:

Foreclosure Filings Down Across the Country

Foreclosure activity has fallen throughout the country, slowed by paperwork problems rather than an improvement in the market. During the first six months of 2011, 84% of U.S. cities with populations of 200,000 or higher posted declines in new foreclosure activity, according to a study released today by RealtyTrac, a real-estate research firm. Foreclosure activity slowed in 178 of the nation’s 211 metropolitan areas when compared with last year. Of the country’s 20 largest metro areas, Seattle was the sole market to post an increase in foreclosure activity, with 1 in every 98 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, up 10 percent from the first half of 2010. “Foreclosures have slowed down not because of a recovery of the market, but simply because of procedural delays,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. Florida has fallen off the leader board almost entirely for foreclosure filings. While Florida cities claimed nine of the top 20 spots for cities with the most foreclosures last year, the only city to make the top 20 so far this year is Cape Coral at No. 12. “Florida is the most visible example of the effect of procedural and paperwork delays on the foreclosure market,” Mr. Sharga said.

Jobless Rate, Tight Lending Hamper Home Builders

Two of the nation’s largest home builders reported quarterly financial results that were weaker than the year before, showing that the industry continues struggling to sell homes as the housing crisis drags through its fifth year.

The pre-market results from PulteGroup Inc. and DR Horton continue a bleak earnings season for the sector. Wednesday, Ryland Group Inc. reported a second-quarter loss. Last week, NVR. Inc., long the sector’s top performer because it made money during the downturn, said that it saw profits slashed by nearly half when compared with a year earlier.

Home sales typically pick up in the spring, as buyers emerge from their winter lulls and rush to move before the new school year starts. But this year’s season was a dud. Both Pulte and Horton saw closings fall, while orders didn’t spike, which weighed on revenue. The market continues to be hampered by high unemployment—the national rate now stands at 9.2%—and tight lending standards, which are preventing would-be buyers from securing mortgages.

“Simply put, we need more jobs and better consumer confidence before meaningful recovery can occur,” Pulte Chief Executive Richard Dugas said in a conference call with analysts and investors.

Real Estate News: UBS Sued for Mortgage Losses

Here is a look at real-estate news in today’s WSJ:

UBS Sued for Mortgage Losses: The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sued UBS, accusing the investment bank of costing the two mortgage giants at least $900 million by selling them shaky mortgage-backed securities.

Google’s Growth Causes Unease in Mountain View: The California city Mountain View is pushing back against Google as the company expands its physical footprint.

A Modern Makeover: A couple bought a flat in an old building in Hong Kong’s Happy Valley neighborhood, making it their own with a $257,000 renovation. Among the numerous changes: getting rid of a third bedroom and maid’s room, and adding stone floors.

Europe House of the Day: Italian Castle: This five-bedroom medieval castle in Tuscany comes with two villas, a cottage, two swimming pools and 7,000 olive trees.

Phoenix Housing Market Shows Signs of Life

Phoenix doesn’t usually churn out upbeat housing news. So it’s worth noting reports for the market that look, well, at least not bad.

In June, Phoenix had the strongest resale activity in six years, helping to lift total sales from the year-ago month when federal tax credits were boosting the market. There were about 10,500 sales of new and existing houses and condos during June in the metro area covering Maricopa and Pinal counties, up 8.3% from May and 1.5% from June of last year, according to DataQuick, the real-estate research company based in San Diego. Since 1994, when DataQuick began fully tracking Phoenix, sales have risen 1.8% on average from May to June. “The main thing would be that we beat the year-ago number, and the year-ago number was inflated by the tax credits,” said Andrew LePage, an analyst with DataQuick.

On prices, the news was uneven. Phoenix-area buyers in June paid a median of $122,900 for all new and resale houses and condos, up 2.4% from the month prior but off 12% from last June.