New home sales inched upward by 11.1 percent in March compared with February, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD. That’s an improvement, but then again February’s revised annualized rate of 270,000 units was the worst month rate since the government started tracking new home sales a half-century ago.

In recent months, it appears that lenders, debtors and investors have begun to deploy some of the “dry powder” capital that has been sitting on the sidelines. However, the practice of amend and extend has meant that some of these assets have been sitting dormant or physically unprotected for long periods of time. The lack of TLC can lead to hidden problems. That necessitates increased due diligence, with careful attention paid to the debt structure, market valuation and physical characteristics of the property.

With property values rebounding, greater availability of debt financing and a slew of significant recently completed merger-and-acquisition and individual property transactions, commercial real estate investors might be tempted to believe that a robust market recovery is underway. However, a closer look reveals a highly bifurcated market with enough potential future roadblocks to cause investors concern.

The Phoenix School of Law is expanding and relocating to The Tower at One North Central in the downtown market.

Consumer confidence might have shown a small uptick during the last month according to some surveys, but ask consumers a different question–is the economy going in the right direction?–and a different answer emerges.

The electronic products provider will occupy 250,000 square feet at the new tower at an initial estimated cost of $44 per square foot under a 15-year lease agreement.

Bridgeport Marketplace, a 126,769-square-foot, mixed-use asset, is located in the Southern California city of Valencia.

Economy Watch reporter Dees Stribling offers insights into the top economic news of the week ending April 22 and what to watch out for in the coming week.

Michael Puls, owner of market research firm Foley and Puls, discusses apartment fundamentals, absorption trends in the Southwest, multifamily unit mixes, and why larger units will rent faster.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that its House Price Index dropped 1.6 percent from January to February, a sharper than expected contraction. Compared with February 2010, prices for homes financed with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which is what the FHFA tracks, were down 5.7 percent.