Homes at 43 cents on the dollar

William Lyon Homes is a builder that operates in California, Arizona and Nevada. It just sold Resmark Equity Partners a portfolio of 604 home sites and five model homes in a handful of Southern California communities. The properties are finished or near-finished home sites. Resmark says the homes were being carried at a book value of $210.7 million as of November 30. The firm paid $90.6 million. That's a 57% discount for those of you keeping score at home.

If you'll recall, this post noted that at least one other real estate deal was done at 40 cents on the dollar. The "good" news? Real estate buyers are stepping up and purchasing residential property. The "bad" news? They're paying dimes on the dollar for it, a sign that new and existing home prices have more room to fall.