NAR - "REALTORS® Under 30 Remake Real Estate Services" (5-31-07)

"In its annual '30 under 30' awards, REALTOR® Magazine recently recognized Realtors® who are using technology and other innovations to remake today’s real estate services. They also demonstrate that building community and client relationships is as important as ever to their success in the real estate industry."

CBIA - "Housing Production Forecast Adjusted Downward" (5-31-07)

"A larger-than-expected decline in single-family housing production in the Inland Empire and Central Valley this year, caused in part by record-high gasoline prices, has caused the state’s leading trade association for homebuilders to reduce its production forecast for 2007. But Alan Nevin, Chief Economist for the California Building Industry Association, still forecasts that the market for new homes will begin to gradually accelerate throughout the summer."

Bloomberg - "Subprime Fiasco Exposes Manipulation by Mortgage Brokerages" (5-31-07)

"After years of easy profits, a chain reaction of delinquency, default and foreclosure has ripped through the subprime mortgage industry, which originated $722 billion of loans last year. Since the beginning of 2006, more than 50 U.S. mortgage companies have put themselves up for sale, closed or declared bankruptcy, according to data compiled by Bloomberg."

Bloomberg - "Fed Sees Housing Damping Growth Longer Than Expected" (5-31-07)

"Federal Reserve officials acknowledged they underestimated the U.S. housing recession, while continuing to view inflation as the biggest risk to the economy. 'The correction of the housing sector was likely to continue to weigh heavily on economic activity through most of this year -- somewhat longer than previously expected,' the central bank said in minutes of the May 9 Federal Open Market Committee meeting released today in Washington."

CNN - "Wow, I could've had a prime mortgage" (5-31-07)

"Imagine you're a homeowner, and you discover that instead of the expensive subprime mortgage loan you signed on for, you actually qualified for a prime mortgage with much lower interest rates. Subprime loans are usually designed for borrowers with damaged or sketchy credit histories. Lenders charge higher rates to these customers to offset the extra risks they take on. Prime loans are usually granted to borrowers with credit scores of 650 or higher."

The Wall Street Journal - "'Subprime' Aftermath: Losing the Family Home" (5-31-07)

"For decades, the 5100 block of West Outer Drive in Detroit has been a model of middle-class home ownership, part of an urban enclave of well-kept Colonial residences and manicured lawns. But on a recent spring day, locals saw something disturbing: dandelions growing wild on several properties."

The Honolulu Advertiser - "Refinance — and get bombarded" (5-31-07)

"As a former mortgage broker, Adryenn Ashley thought she knew what to expect when she refinanced her house in March. Yet Ashley was unprepared for one twist she encountered: a barrage of phone calls and e-mails from rival lenders vying to sell her a better mortgage."

Ludwig von Mises Institute - "The Subprime Mortgage "Crisis" Will Fix Itself" (5-31-07)

"Hardly a day goes by without someone's proposing how to make the bad situation in subprime mortgage lending even worse. Legislators at all levels of government are contending for ownership of the most destructive idea. (One example of a thousand) Finalists in this legislative race to the bottom include punitively stiff lending standards, foreclosure holidays and taxpayer-financed bailouts. I would like to propose a far simpler, fairer and effective course of action: let free people sort it out for themselves."

St. Petersburg Times - "Renters, too, face mortgage fallout" (5-31-07)

"Two months ago, Nikki DuFore and her husband paid the owner $3,000 and settled into the house with their three boys. But their stay may be short-lived. On May 19, they were served with notice that the bank seeks to foreclose because the owner is months behind in his mortgage payments."

Reuters - "Centex, DR Horton, Pulte may bust bond terms" (5-31-07)

"At least three major U.S. home builders suffering from the housing slump may soon violate contracts meant to protect payments on some $11 billion in debt, Standard & Poor's analysts said on Tuesday."

The Washington Post - "An ATM That's Out of Money" (5-31-07)

"For a long time, Paul and Amy Woodhull's house on Capitol Hill was a honey pot. Through multiple refinancings over nearly a decade, they pulled out money to fix it up, buy a car, pay down credit cards, buy three other properties and improve them, too. Now the pot is dry. The Woodhulls are feeling squeezed by bills, but with interest rates up and home prices down, they're reluctant to touch their home equity again. They called their six children into a family meeting recently, and Amy laid down new rules: No more impulse purchases or frivolous shopping trips. 'We're going to have to save our pennies,' she declared."