The Ann Arbor News from Michigan. “In what could be a sign that the local housing market is finally on the mend, numbers released by an Ann Arbor Realtors group Tuesday show Washtenaw County home and condo sales jumped 24 percent in May from a year ago.”
The Pioneer Press from Minnesota. “The large for-sale inventory dogging the Twin Cities housing market may finally be burning off. Total listings in the 13-county metro area dropped in May from a year ago – the first such decline in years.”
The Orlando Sentinel in Florida. “The number of houses and condos available through the local MLS was down 421 for the month and 1.76 percent lower than in May 2007.
Frothing Developer 
What will the future be for all the empty condominium projects that have recently completed or will be completed soon and stand empty? Will developer be defaulting on their loans as sales continue to get cancelled? If developers fail and walk away where does that leave banks like Chorus. They will become the unhappy owner of numerous projects in Las Vegas, Florida and New York that they can’t sell even at a discounted price. Their stock has dropped to $4.25 and it would appear they do not have the reserves to survive the onslaught of defaults that are headed their way. This is just one example. How will it all end????
In Las Vegas, Corus seems to have avoided taking mezzanine loan positions. On Loft 5 and Newport, for example, it is the mezz lenders (Lehman and Fidelity, respectively) that have taken the projects over. Corus should be fine because it’s basis is so low. In Florida though, they appear to have taken mezz positions, which are definitely dangerously exposed.