Median Single-Family Home Prices In Ounces of Gold

This chart courtesy of chartoftheday.com shows the median single-family home selling price divided by the price of gold.

Chartoftheday says:

This results in the home / gold ratio or the cost of the median single-family home in ounces of gold. For example, it currently takes 192 ounces of gold to buy the median single-family home. This is considerably less that the 601 ounces it took back in 2001. When priced in gold, the median single-family home is down 68% from its 2001 peak and remains within the confines of its four-year accelerated downtrend.

BankUnited Flatlines, Collects $4.9 Billion

Thursday, May 21st, BankUnited of Coral Gables, FL was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the FDIC was named as receiver. The FDIC immediately flipped the bank over to a group of investors led by John Kanas who have formed a new savings bank named "BankUnited". Deposits were approximately $8.6 billion in 85 branches. The FDIC has agreed to kick in an estimated $4.9 billion, or 57 cents on the dollar. The new investors will recapitalize the bank with an additional $900 million. BankUnited's demise was expected as number 56 on my list. The FDIC was ready. They issued a death certificate, paid out the insurance, attached a new head and revived the patient swiftly and cleanly. Customers won't even have to get new checks.

Friday, two banks in Illinois closed. The first, Strategic Capital Bank with one office in Champaign was number 28 on my list. Strategic Capital had deposits of $471 million which will be taken over by Midland States Bank of Effingham, IL. The cost to the FDIC insurance fund is estimated at $173 million or 37 cents on the dollar.

The second Illinois bank was Citizens National Bank in Macomb. Deposits were approximately $200 million in local accounts and $200 million in brokered deposits. Local accounts were transferred to Morton Community Bank and the cost to the FDIC insurance fund will be approximately $106 million or 26 cents on the dollar. Citizens had eight banking offices in Illinois.

After striking two from my list, I am adding one more. The one I'm adding to the list is Butler Bank of Lowell, MA. In the past year, the bank's non-performing loans have quintupled to $51.5 million while their equity capital has been halved to $12.2 million.

Here's my current list of the 50 64 Banks Most Likely to Close in 2009.

1 Magnet Bank, Salt Lake City, UT
2 Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, NJ
3 FirstBank Financial Services, McDonough, GA
4 Westsound Bank, Bremerton, WA
5 Suburban Federal Savings Bank, Crofton, MD
6 America West Bank, Layton, UT
7 Silver Falls Bank, Silverton, OR
8 Ocala National Bank, Ocala, FL
9 Sun Security Bank, Ellington, MO
10 Eastern Savings Bank, FSB, Hunt Valley, MD
11 Alliance Bank, Culver City, CA
12 FirstCity Bank, Stockbridge, GA
13 Chestatee State Bank, Dawsonville, GA
14 First Security National Bank, Norcross, GA
15 Ocean Bank, Miami, FL
16 Family Bank and Trust Co., Palos Hills, IL
17 Southern Community Bank, Fayetteville, GA
18 BankCherokee, Saint Paul, MN
19 First Tuskegee Bank, Tuskegee, AL
20 Federal Trust Bank, Sanford, FL
21 Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, OR
22 Lake Country Community Bank, Morristown, MN
23 Mesa Bank, Mesa, AZ
24 Bank of Wyoming, Thermopolis, WY
25 1st American State Bank of Minnesota, Hancock, MN
26 First State Bank of Altus, Altus, OK
27 EvaBank, Eva, AL
28 Strategic Capital Bank, Champaign, IL
29 Ebank, Atlanta, GA
30 Polk County Bank, Johnston, IA
31 Parkway Bank, Rogers, AR
32 Security Bank of Gwinnett County, Suwanee, GA
33 State Bank of Park Rapids, Park Rapids, MN
34 Herrin Security Bank, Herrin, IL
35 Omni National Bank, Atlanta, GA
36 Northpointe Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
37 Towne Bank of Arizona, Mesa, AZ
38 Timberland Bank, El Dorado, AR
39 Blue Ridge Savings Bank, Inc., Asheville, NC
40 First Piedmont Bank, Winder, GA
41 Select Bank, Grand Rapids, MI
42 Oxford Bank, Oxford, MI
43 Security Bank of North Metro, Woodstock, GA
44 MetroPacific Bank, Irvine, CA
45 Earthstar Bank, Southampton, PA
46 Neighborhood Community Bank, Newnan, GA
47 The Home Savings and Loan Company, Youngstown, OH
48 Heritage Community Bank, Glenwood, IL
49 Vineyard Bank, NA, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
50 Community Bank of Lemont, Lemont, IL
51 Mainstreet Bank, Forest Lake, MN
52 Mutual Bank, Harvey, IL
53 Freedom Bank of Georgia, Commerce, GA
54 Newton County Loan & Savings FSB, Goodland, IN
55 Riverside Bank, Cape Coral, FL
56 BankUnited, Coral Gables, FL
57 American Sterling Bank, Sugar Creek, MO
58 The Park Avenue Bank, New York, NY
59 First Commerce Community Bank, Douglasville, GA
60 Centennial Bank, Ogden, UT
61 Warren Bank, Warren, MI
62 Peoples First Community Bank, Panama City, FL
63 Corus Bank, Chicago, IL
64 Butler Bank, Lowell, MA