MBA - "Mortgage Applications Essentially Unchanged in Latest MBA Survey" (7-5-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 29, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 619.4, an increase of 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 618.6 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.1 percent compared with the previous week and was up 9.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The Refinance Index decreased 2.6 percent to 1687.2 from 1731.6 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 2.0 percent to 437.3 from 428.9 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index decreased 0.2 percent to 907.2 from 909.2 the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Government Index increased 4.1 percent to 139.5 from 134.0 the previous week."

Washington Post - "Foreclosures, Home Sales Cast a Pall on Public Spending Plans" (7-5-07)

"Residential property values are dropping lower than county and city officials had projected, foreshadowing an even tougher budget season next year. The Manassas City Council budgeted a 2.5 percent drop in real estate property assessments for fiscal 2009, but values have dropped 6 percent, said John P. Grzejka, Manassas's commissioner of revenue. There are 20 percent more houses for sale now than at this time last year, he said, and the number of foreclosures continues to rise. The foreclosure rate and the flooded market are blamed for the falling property tax base."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Subprime Defaults to Rise, Credit Suisse Says" (7-5-07)

"Delinquencies and defaults on U.S. subprime mortgages will keep rising as borrowers who received loans under relaxed underwriting standards miss payments, said Robert Parker, vice chairman of Credit Suisse Asset Management. The share of U.S. subprime mortgages entering default in the first quarter was the highest in almost five years, according to the U.S. Mortgage Bankers Association, as the country had its biggest decline in housing prices since the 1930s."

Miami Herald - "Congress sets its sights on mortgage brokers" (7-5-07)

"Mortgage brokers, who originate up to two-thirds of home loans, have exploited their lack of federal regulation to loosen lending standards in ways that sparked current high mortgage-default rates among borrowers with weak credit. Hearings before Congress this year made it clear that mortgage brokers and nonbank lenders took advantage of a regulatory gap to make unsound home loans to people with the weakest credit history, preying especially on minorities and the working poor. Now Congress must decide how best to bring brokers, who originated about 70 percent of so-called sub-prime loans over the past two years, under some form of federal regulation."

Bloomberg - "European Economies: Bank of England Raises Key Rate to 5.75%" (7-5-07)

"Bank of England policy makers raised interest rates for the fifth time since August and said they're concerned inflation will stay above their target, adding to investor speculation that another move is likely this year. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee increased the bank rate by a quarter-point to 5.75 percent, the highest since April 2001, the central bank said today in London. The panel, led by Governor Mervyn King, said in a statement that 'the balance of risks' to price stability still 'lie to the upside.'"

Bloomberg - "Investors Shun `Falling Knife' of Real Estate Stocks" (7-5-07)

"Rising interest rates and declining profits from real estate are pushing investors to ditch European property stocks after a four-year rally. The Bloomberg Europe Real Estate Index just completed its worst quarter in a decade and the stocks are still expensive compared with European averages. Robert Parkes, who advises pension fund managers as a strategist at HSBC Holdings Plc, said the stocks have further to decline."

Reuters - "H&R Block falls as mortgage unit loses credit line" (7-5-07)

"Tax preparer H&R Block Inc. (HRB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said the subprime mortgage unit it is selling has lost a credit line, cutting its borrowing capacity closer to the minimum needed to complete the sale of the money-losing business. The news sent H&R Block shares down 2.1 percent. Investors have been hoping H&R Block will complete its sale of Option One Mortgage Corp. to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP (CBS.UL: Quote, Profile, Research) so that it can focus on other operations including tax preparation, its largest and most profitable business."

Los Angeles Times - "Mortgage Rates Keep Slipping" (7-5-07)

"Good morning, and good news: Mortgage rates continued to decline this week, pulling back from recent highs, Inman News reports."

Los Angeles Times - "Days on Market? None of Your Business." (7-5-07)

"We couldn't believe this item is true, so we read it three times, and it still says the same thing: The SoCal MLS (Southern California Multiple Listing Service) is removing 'days on market' and 'combined days on market' statistics from listings -- depriving buyers and sellers of crucial information. Days on Market is one of the first MLS numbers we look at, after price and square footage. It tells you how fresh the listing is. A high number tells you that, for some reason, the house isn't selling -- probably because the asking price is too high."