What the heck is going on in California?

The rate of sales for resale single-family homes flew up 117 percent in October compared to the same month last year, while the median price shot down about 40 percent (see Inman News article).

The California Association of Realtors explained that the sales surge was largely driven by areas with a high concentration of distressed-property sales (short sales, sales of bank-owned or REO properties, and sales of homes in a foreclosure process, as examples).

The record year-over-year gain in the sales rate in California occurred in the same month that the National Association of Realtors reported (see Inman News) a record year-over-year drop in the national median price of U.S. resale homes (down 11.3 percent).

Check out this Inman News graphic to view some trends on some of the pricing extremes in California cities, city areas and counties, based on data provided by the California Association of Realtors and DataQuick.

Click here to view full-size graphic.

With LandAmerica no longer able to count on a merger with Fidelity to resolve its issues with creditors, we may be headed for the biggest shakeup in the title insurance industry since Mercury Cos. shut down operations in five states and sold its remaining title and escrow operations in Colorado to Fidelity (see story).

LandAmerica says its underwriting subsidiaries are well funded to pay claims, but the question has now become how the company funds ongoing operations. Some analysts who follow LandAmerica reportedly see bankruptcy as an option. LandAmerica's already closed down its 1031 exchange company (see story).

LandAmerica's got several hundred subsidiaries or companies it holds an interest in. We'd like to hear from Inman News readers if you are with one of those subsidiaries or do business with them on what happens next.

And more broadly, what do readers think the broader implications are for the title insurance industry? A Fidelity-LandAmerica merger would have put about 75 percent of the business in the hands of just two companies: Fidelity/LandAmerica and First American. 

Could we still be looking at that kind of consolidation? Would that be a problem for you, or do you see any silver lining?

UPDATE: Fidelity is now looking to pick up LandAmerica's title insurance underwriting subsidiaires in bankruptcy court. If the deal goes through, Fidelity and First American would control about 75 percent of the title insurance business (see story).