This week offered a mixed bag of good and bad news. On the positive front, the rate of late mortgage payments dropped in the first quarter of 2010 and RealtyTrac reported that foreclosures were down 9 percent in April from the previous month and down 2 percent from April of 2009. Foreclosures of homes that are worth more than one million dollars, however, began increasing at the end of 2009, leaving many McMansions vacant on the market (let’s just hope they are not leaving out of anger). Also this week, Fannie Mae asked the government for $8.4 billion in aid. Although we are seeing signs of a recovery, the market is still not where it once was.

Reports out this week show the real estate industry may be one of the last to rebound from the recession. We sure hope they are wrong! What are some ways we can shift the increased consumer confidence of a general recessionary rebound to the real estate market? How can we get consumers to see the light at the end of the real estate tunnel, much like they are seeing in the Greater Boston area?

CoreLogic this week reported that 24 percent of home mortgages are considered “underwater,” with Las Vegas leading the pack. States that are most impacted by this are being charged to find innovative solutions with $2.1 billion in federal funding. I can not wait to see how these efforts pan out!

New numbers from Zillow show home prices around the country fell 3.8 percent year-over-year But, of course, there are exceptions and reports from NAR and Integrated Asset Services show prices are stabilizing in many markets, including California. Further, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index, when distressed sales are excluded from calculations, there is a 4.9 percent rise in U.S. prices from this February through next February. Phew!

On a personal note – my iPad arrived this week! Other than my shoes, it’s already my favorite accessory. Anyone else enjoying the iPad or another new device?