The FDIC just released its quarterly report, which breaks down housing and economic conditions in each state. The report is written for banking experts, but really anyone interested in the housing market (read: everyone) will find it useful and easy to read.
For example, in my home state of Virginia, job growth is strong and unemployment is well below the national average. The Washington, DC area remains one of the best office property markets in the nation, with vacancy rates at a low 11.6%.
Unfortunately, that's about where the good news ends. Like many states, Virginia is suffering a hangover from the hot housing market of the last few years. Here's a snippet from the report:
"Home sales across the state in second quarter 2006 were down 24 percent from a year earlier, compared to the 7 percent decline nationwide. Despite the decline, innovative mortgages have helped support real estate market activity and comprised almost 51 percent of the 2006 securitized nonprime originations across the state."
Yeesh. That's doesn't sound good. Could that last part about innovative mortgages be what my colleague Seth Jayson warned us about?
The report also contains data about banks and thrifts in the state. Profitability declined slightly in Q2, but nonperforming assets (essentially bad loans) are still relatively low. In January, I discussed tiny regional bank Virginia Financial Group (NASDAQ:VFGI) as a good value at $24. The market seemed to agree with me, driving the price up to $30 before settling at around $28 today. However, in this current housing environment, I suggest treading carefully around any small banks.
Take a look at these FDIC reports to find out what's going on in your state. I'd also look at the data before taking the plunge on regional banks like Zions (NASDAQ:ZION) and Regions (NYSE:RF), or even homebuilders like Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), DR Horton (NYSE:DHI), and Lennar (NYSE:LEN).
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Fool Joey Khattab is the Financial Services editor and does not own any shares of the companies mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
