Existing-home sales rose to 4.62 million (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in April from a downwardly revised March rate of 4.47 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast the April sales pace would be 4.66 million.

The median price of an existing home climbed 10.1 percent to $177,400 from $161,100 in April 2011, the strongest year-to-year gain since January 2006. The median price in April reached its highest level since July 2010 when it was $182,100.

The inventory of homes for sale in April rose to 2.54 million, the highest level since last November, bringing the months’ supply of homes on the market to 6.6.

The 10.0 percent yearly gain in the sales rate was the strongest since October when sales were up 14.0 percent year-over-year.

Distressed homes – foreclosures and short sales sold at deep discounts – accounted for 28 percent of April sales (17 percent were foreclosures and 11 percent were short sales), down from 29 percent in March and 37 percent in April 2011, the NAR said. Foreclosures sold for an average discount of 21 percent below market value in April (compared with an average discount of 19 percent in March), while short sales were discounted 14 percent in April compared with 16 percent in March.

The months’ supply of existing homes for sale remains well below the July 2010 cyclical peak of 12.4 which had been the highest level since 1982. Inventories as tracked by the NAR are 20.3 percent below their year ago level. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is still a large “shadow” inventory of homes available for sale, especially bank-owned properties.

Regionally, existing-home sales rose in April in every region of the country led by a 5.1 percent month-to-month increase in the Northeast where sales were up19.2 percent over April 2011. Sales rose 4.4 percent over March in the West (a 7.3 percent year-year gain), 3.5 percent in the South (6.5 percent year-year) and 1.0 percent in the Midwest (14.4 percent year over year).

The median price of an existing home rose month-to-month and year-to-year in all four regions. At $256,600, the median price of an existing home reached its highest level since August 2010. The median price of an existing home in the South rose to $153,400, the highest level since July 2010 and the median price of an existing home in the West rose to $221,700, also the highest since July 2010.

The year-to-year price gain in the West, 15.9 percent, was the strongest since November 2005. The year-to-year price increase in the Northeast was the first since last June.

MCLEAN, Va., May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing the record lows for average fixed mortgage rates holding steady for the week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage ticked slightly down to 3.78 percent and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages remained unchanged from last week at 3.04 percent

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.78 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending May 24, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.79 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.60 percent. 
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.04 percent with an average 0.7 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.78 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.41 percent.

LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, a Los Angeles based law firm with offices in New York and San Francisco, announces that it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of investors who suffered losses in connection with the highly publicized initial public offering ("IPO") of Facebook, Inc. ("Facebook" or the "Company") /quotes/zigman/9962609/quotes/nls/fb FB -8.90% . In the IPO, Facebook sold more than 420 million shares of the Company's common stock to the public at a price of $38.00 per share, of which approximately 180 million shares were sold by the Company and approximately 240 million shares were sold by existing stockholders. As a result of the IPO, Facebook received net proceeds of approximately $6.7 billion and the selling stockholders received approximately $9 billion.

The Complaint, captioned Lazar v. Facebook, Inc., et al., was filed today in the Superior Court for the State of California, County of San Mateo, on behalf of a class consisting of all persons or entities who purchased the securities of Facebook pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement and Prospectus issued in connection with the Company's IPO (including investors who purchased shares through May 22, 2012). The Complaint alleges, among others, that the offering materials provided to potential investors were negligently prepared and failed to disclose material information about Facebook's business, operations and prospects, in violation of federal securities laws. A copy of the Complaint is available from the court or from Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP. Please contact us by phone to discuss this action or to obtain a copy of the Complaint at (310) 201-9150 or Toll Free at (888) 773-9224, by email at shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at http://www.glancylaw.com .

Specifically, the Complaint alleges that Facebook, certain of the Company's executive officers and directors and the underwriters of the IPO failed to disclose that during the IPO roadshow, the lead underwriters, including Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, and Goldman, Sachs & Co., cut their earnings forecasts and that news of the estimate cut was passed on only to a handful of large investor clients, not to the public.

On May 22, 2012, Daily Ticker published an article titled "Facebook Bankers Secretly Cut Facebook's Revenue Estimates in Middle of IPO Roadshow," which in relevant part disclosed that "Facebook's lead underwriters, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs all cut their earnings forecasts for the Company in the middle of the IPO roadshow." Moreover, the article disclosed that "news of the estimate cut was passed on only to a handful of big investor clients, not everyone else who was considering an investment in Facebook." The article concluded that, "during the marketing of the Facebook IPO, investors who did not hear about these underwriter estimate cuts were placed at a meaningful and unfair information disadvantage." By the close of trading on May 22, 2012, shares of the Company's stock declined to $31.00 per share, a commutative loss of $7.00 per share from the IPO price of $38.00 per share, in only three days of trading.

Institutional and individual investors that purchased Facebook's shares who wish to discuss this action or their rights or interests with respect to these matters, are welcome to contact Michael Goldberg, Esquire, of Glancy Binkow & Goldberg LLP, 1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100, Los Angeles, California 90067, by telephone at (310) 201-9150 or Toll Free at (888) 773-9224, by e-mail to shareholders@glancylaw.com, or visit our website at http://www.glancylaw.com .

A proposal by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss to use funds contributed to the county by Stanford University for a new bike bridge over Highway 101 in Palo Alto is facing resistance from the Stanford community, where residents and officials are urging the county to slow down and consider other alternatives for the funds.

The plan, which Kniss and Supervisor Dave Cortese unveiled Wednesday, May 16, calls for using $5 million in Stanford funds for the bike bridge at Adobe Creek and another $3 million to complete the Dumbarton link in the Bay Trail between Redwood City and Alviso. The money would come from a $10.34 fund that Stanford pledged to the county when it was applying for a General Use Permit (GUP) 11 years ago. The permit allowed Stanford to add up to 5 million square feet of construction to its campus. The $8 million recreation fund (which has since grown to $10.34 million because of interest) was intended to mitigate the loss of recreational opportunities that would result from the new construction.

But while Kniss maintained Wednesday that her proposals would boost recreational opportunities for Stanford students, residents and the wider community, members of the Stanford Campus Residential Leaseholders (SCRL) board of directors have other thoughts. The board, which is elected to represent the Stanford campus community, had its annual meeting last Wednesday night and Kniss' plan did not go down well with the board, said James Sweeney, the board's president.

Specifically, the board feels that the benefits of Kniss' proposed projects would provide little or no benefit to the campus residents, Sweeney said. Stanford had planned to use the funds to build a trail in San Mateo County but that plan fizzled in December, when the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to nix the idea.

The GUP specifies that if the trail proposal doesn't move forward, the funds would be used to reduce "the adverse effect on recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users that will be caused by the housing and academic development approved by the GUP, which will reduce the availability of recreational facilities, while increasing the demand for such facilities."

Sweeney said he and the board believe that the projects proposed by Kniss fail to meet this criteria. Though they would provide benefits to the general population, they are too distant from Stanford's campus to get much use from the university community. Ideally, he said, the projects would benefit both Stanford and the public at large.

"We had a very strong negative reaction and we have not been able to identify anyone else who believes they'd have any benefit to them on the campus," Sweeney said, referring to the board's discussion of Kniss' proposals.

One proposal that the SCRL board supports is a plan to improve a trail along El Camino Real, between Stanford Shopping Center and Stanford Avenue and to enhance the existing trail along Stanford Avenue, which stops just short of the Stanford Dish. The proposal would stretch the trail to the Dish and to the newly completed S-1 trail on Page Mill Road.

University officials are also urging the Board of Supervisors to slow down. Though the board was scheduled to consider Kniss' proposals Tuesday morning, Stanford officials are calling for the board to continue the meeting to another date. Jean McCown, Stanford's vice president for communications, said Stanford has been waiting for the board to come up with a process for selecting a project that would be funded through Stanford's contributions.

MCLEAN, Va., May 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates again hitting new record lows. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.79 percent continues to remain well below 4 percent and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages are also slightly down at 3.04 percent.

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.79 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 17, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.83 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.61 percent. 
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.04 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.05 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.80 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.83 percent this week, with an average 0.6 point, up from last week when it averaged 2.81 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.48 percent.

Juana Briones Elementary School Principal Matthew Nagle announced Tuesday, May 15, he will leave the school at the end of the school year to work on projects in the Palo Alto school district central office.

Nagle, who is finishing his third year as principal of the 415-student K-5 campus, broke the news in an email to parents and staff Tuesday afternoon.

The announcement followed tensions at the school apparently precipitated by Nagle's controversial recommendation not to renew the contract of a popular school librarian. The dispute led other staff members, with support from a number of parents, to come forward with complaints, sources said.

In his e-mail, Nagle said he had "nothing but gratitude" for his three years as principal at the school.

"I know that the district will find another principal talented enough to lead this school into the next year and beyond."

Nagle was hired to lead Juana Briones in August 2009, replacing principal Michael O'Neill, who resigned in late July after two years at the school to take a job on the East Coast.

Nagle had been an elementary school principal for seven years, having previously served at Blackford Elementary School in San Jose and Marshall Lane Elementary School in Saratoga.

NASA shocked local congress members in April by refusing to approve the offer from Google executives to pay to re-skin Hangar One because they no longer believe Moffett is useful or needed. They declared it surplus and proposed turning the future of Moffett Field over to the General Service Administration, which handles disposition of Federal property. 

This was totally unexpected.  In February a delegation from Sunnyvale spoke to the number two man at NASA and he gave no indication declaring Moffett surplus was being considered.  He spoke only of continuing review of the offer for Hangar One re-skinning.  Loss of Moffett will have a huge negative impact on this area, economically and from a safety and security standpoint.

Activities at Moffett refute the claim that it is un-needed and is surplus.  In 2003 NASA finalized a plan for future uses at Moffett and Ames including research and educational facilities which won the GSA award for Best Innovative Policy.

In 2006 NASA Headquarters approved a 20 year business plan and land use analysis for the site.  In 2010 NASA approved a 50-year lease with the California Air National Guard, and in 2011 NASA Headquarters reviewed and concurred with the Master Plan.

In December 2011 Congresswoman Eshoo and 20 other congress members urged NASA Headquarters to approve the Hangar One re-skinning plus long term lease with H221 LLC, the organization representing Google founders Page and Brin and chair Schmidt.

Letters supporting continued use of Moffett Field and re-skinning Hangar One per the H221 LLC offer were sent to NASA by the cities of Mountain View and Sunnyvale, historic preservation organizations including the Advisory Council for Historic Preservation and National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Secretary to the Air Force. 

Lockheed and Space Systems/Loral sent letters stating that Moffett Field is essential for their shipment of spacecraft and space-related hardware and that loss of the airfield would have significant national security impacts. The response on April 6 from Charles Bolden, head of NASA, was a letter saying Moffett is no longerneeded and is surplus.  Therefore no leases can be signed.

A revised plan to build a prominent "gateway" building at the downtown intersection of Alma Street and Lytton Avenue in Palo Alto will be the subject of a public hearing tonight.

The latest proposal is a scaled-down version of the original plan, which included a five-story building that exceeded the city's 50-foot height limit for new developments. If the City Council approves a "planned community" zone for the project at 355 Alma St. tonight, the new development would be four stories high and would consist mostly of office space, including an area for a nonprofit office that would be rented out at a subsidized rate.

The project, in its original five-story iteration, has already cleared the city's Architectural Review Board and its Planning and Transportation Commission. At its previous hearing on March 12, the City Council was generally sympathetic to the idea of allowing a large, dense office building to occupy a prominent spot near the downtown Caltrain station. But council members shared the concerns of residents from the adjacent Downtown North neighborhood who argued that the new development would exacerbate the area's parking problems.

In exchange for exceeding the city's zoning regulations, applicants Lund Smith, Boyd Smith, Scott Foster and Jim Baer are proposing an "in-lieu parking" fee of about $1.5 million and funding for a downtown parking study. The applicants' package of "public benefits" also includes $1.25 million for affordable housing; about 3,800 square feet of ground-floor retail; four electric-vehicle charging stations (two outside and two more in the underground garage); eight surface parking spaces available to the public and 16 more underground spaces that would be open to the public on nights and weekends; and various landscaping and road improvements.

The Dumbarton Bridge will be closed to traffic Memorial Day weekend to allow Caltrans and its contractor to significantly advance seismic retrofit work on the bridge, according to bridge officials.

Effie Milionis, a spokeswoman for the Dumbarton Bridge Seismic Safety Project, said that the three-plus-day closure will permit Caltrans to replace a major seismic joint across all six lanes of traffic on the bridge's western side.

The 1.6-mile Dumbarton Bridge, which spans from Menlo Park to Fremont, carries approximately 60,000 vehicles daily. In the event of an earthquake, the seismic joint will absorb and dissipate energy.

Milionis said completing the seismic joint is a significant milestone in the retrofit project, which began in 2010 and is expected to be completed next year.

The bridge will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday, May 25, to 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 29, Milionis said.

Motorists should plan ahead, allowing extra travel time to take alternate routes, including the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. Suggested detour routes are available at dumbartonbridgeinfo.org.

With the wind in their hair and the concentration of a race car driver, kids ages 7 to 17 will barrel down Hanover Street hill in cars on May 19 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They won't have to battle the usual traffic. The road will closed for the Palo Alto Elks Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby.

The annual race is a big local draw and the winner in each division will represent Silicon Valley in the All American Soap Box Derby World Championship on July 21 in Akron, Ohio. All participants receive trophies, with larger awards for first- through eighth-place winners in the Stock and Super Stock categories.

Stock and Super Stock car drivers are still needed, event organizers said. They have cars with sponsors and people ready to help families with cars, but they need drivers ages 7 through 17.

"This is a great family-bonding project. Kids from all over the Bay Area feel an amazing sense of pride when they put together their car with an adult family member or friend, and then drive their own car. The kids involved with our group are all friendly, and even though everyone is competing against each other, everyone freely shares advice, wishes each other good luck before each race, and the kids can usually be found playing with each other when it's not their turn to go down the hill," Sandy Masnaghetti, a race organizer, said.

A build clinic takes place May 12 in San Jose from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., where kids, under the supervision of their adult family member or friend, will take cars owned by the nonprofit Silicon Valley Soap Box Derby and re-work them to fit the driver. Other experienced kids and adults will be on hand to offer help and guidance. Once the car fits the driver and the car has been inspected for safety, racers will go to driver school and have test rides. Adults are needed to help volunteer during the actual race.

To learn more, visit www.svsbd.com. A video of a race can be viewed at www.youtube.com. There is a $35 registration fee.

Parents of children who want to take part in the race can contact Sandy Masnaghetti at sandymaz@sbcglobal.net.

MCLEAN, Va., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates hitting new all-time record lows for the second consecutive week as they followed bond yields lower. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged below 4 percent all but one week since December 8, 2011, helping to keep homebuyer affordability high.

News Facts

• 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.83 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 10, 2012, down from last week when it averaged 3.84 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.63 percent.  
• 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.05 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 3.07 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.82 percent. 
• 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.81 percent this week, with an average 0.5 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.85 percent. A year ago, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.41 percent.

The Downtown Palo Alto Farmers’ Market has gifted o$23,000 to Avenidas, according to market representative Cynthia Corpuz.

The gift represents the market’s surplus from last year’s season. The Downtown Farmers’ Market has been giving money to Avenidas—its sole beneficiary—since 1981. Those gifts have totaled $425,000, according to Corpuz. 

“We are fortunate to have a thriving market and an all-volunteer board. Together, those give us the freedom to take our annual earnings from stall rentals and donate them to our longtime friends at Avenidas,” said Phil Carter, president of the Downtown Farmers’ Market, in a statement.

“Residents of all ages enjoy the bounties of the Downtown Palo Alto Farmers’ Market, and we are grateful for the Market’s ongoing support of Avenidas and the programs and services we provide for the city’s older residents,” said Avenidas President and CEO Lisa Hendrickson.

The 2012 Downtown Farmers’ Market season begins Saturday, May 12, and will host 45 local growers behind the Post Office on Hamilton Avenue.