by Calculated Risk on 6/24/2011 09:39:00 PM

Steve Kanigher at the Las Vegas Sun presents several photos of bubble monuments in Nevada: Abandoned projects leave lasting reminder of economic crash

"It wasn’t long ago that hotels, high-rise condominiums and massive retail and office complexes sprang up in Southern Nevada seemingly faster than one could drive from one end of the valley to the other. Take that same drive today, though, and you’ll likely see vestiges of the Great Recession: partially built structures with exposed foundations or steel beams ..."

Check out the photos ...

It sure seemed like projects with names like "Manhattan West" (see the 4th slide) or "Central Park West" were doomed.

by Calculated Risk on 6/24/2011 05:38:00 PM

From the FDIC: First American Bank and Trust Company, Athens, Georgia, Assumes All of the Deposits of Mountain Heritage Bank, Clayton, Georgia

As of March 31, 2011, Mountain Heritage Bank had approximately $103.7 million in total assets and $89.6 million in total deposits. ... The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $41.1 million. ... Mountain Heritage Bank is the 48th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the fourteenth in Georgia.

What a surprise ... a bank in Georgia fails. That is a pretty big percentage loss.

by Calculated Risk on 6/24/2011 05:31:00 PM

Oh my ...

From the NY Times: Overbuilding in Spain Leaves Many White Elephants

Last March, local officials inaugurated a brand new airport in Castellón, a small city on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. They are still waiting for the first scheduled flight.

That made me laugh ...

Castellón Airport, built at a cost of €150 million, or $213 million, is not the only white elephant that now dots Spain’s infrastructure landscape. ... Across the country, nearly empty toll roads are struggling to turn a profit. Other projects are surviving only with continued public financing ...

This sounds like a classic bubble attitude: "Build it and they will come". Just a reminder that during a bubble, every project seems to make sense ... on paper.

by Calculated Risk on 6/24/2011 01:55:00 PM

Here is the weekly update on hotels from HotelNewsNow.com: STR: Luxury segment leads weekly increases

Overall, the U.S. hotel industry’s occupancy rose 3.7% to 69.2%, ADR increased 3.3% to US$101.73, and RevPAR finished the week up 7.2% to US$70.37.

Note: ADR: Average Daily Rate, RevPAR: Revenue per Available Room.

The following graph shows the seasonal pattern for the hotel occupancy rate using a four week average for the occupancy rate.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

The summer leisure travel season is now starting, and the occupancy rate will increase over the next few of months. Right now the occupancy rate is tracking closer to 2008 than to 2010 - and well above 2009.

Even though the occupancy rate has mostly recovered back to 2008 levels, ADR and RevPAR are below the pre-recession levels.

Data Source: Smith Travel Research, Courtesy of HotelNewsNow.com

By request, here are links to the posts and graph for May Home Sales:
• New Home Sales in May at 319 Thousand SAAR
• May Existing Home Sales: 4.81 million SAAR, 9.3 months of supply
• Graph Galleries: New Home sales and Existing Home sales

by Calculated Risk on 6/24/2011 11:27:00 AM

A couple of updates ...

• FHA Sells record number of REO (Real Estate Owned) in May.

In Q1, Fannie and Freddie were foreclosing at record levels - and selling REO even faster - so their REO inventory actually declined. However, the FHA was apparently having REO inventory problems and the FHA's REO inventory increased in Q1.

It now appears the FHA REO problem has been solved. The FHA sold a record number of REO in April, and even more in May.

According to data from HUD (ht Keith Jurow), the FHA acquired 6,727 REO in May and sold a record 12,671 properties. The FHA REO inventory has declined from 69,958¹ at the end of Q1 2011, to 60,587 at the end of May 2011. It appears REO at the F's will decline again in Q2.

¹REO for March was revised up slightly.

• Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate decreased to 3.53% in May from 3.57% in April. This is down from 4.06% in May 2010. Freddie's serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20%.

The normal serious delinquency rate is under 1%, so this is still very high, but at least it is declining. (I'll post a graph when Fannie release their monthly delinquency report).

Note: These are loans that are "three monthly payments or more past due or in foreclosure".