Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (9-26-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 21, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 654.2, a decrease of 2.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 673.2 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 3.3 percent compared with the previous week and was up 15.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. "

NAR - "Natural Disaster Legislation Would Help Property Owners" (9-26-07)

"The National Association of Realtors® supports the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2007, H.R. 3355, because it would help protect homeowners, commercial property owners, and potential property owners by ensuring the availability of adequate and affordable insurance, which NAR views as an important consumer issue. "

The News-Press - "Housing market collapse makes life a bit easier for the 'victimized'" (9-26-07)

"Even though I am retired, I don't speculate in real estate, bought my first home almost on 'green stamps,' exist on limited income and pay my medical bills myself, I felt like I was doing something wrong — because I was living in my own home, yet all those police, firefighters, teachers and nurses, did not own the homes they were living in, and The News-Press and other media said that I was being unfair to the police, firefighters, teachers and nurses because I could afford a home, and they couldn't."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Lennar posts record loss" (9-26-07)

"Tough times in the national housing market led to a company-record loss of $513.9 million for Lennar Corp. in the third quarter, with drops in sales prices and home deliveries compounded by heavy charges to write down land values. Its shares fell almost 4 percent."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Reports raising fears on economy" (9-26-07)

"Crumbling consumer confidence and slumping home sales could prove to be a bad combination for retailers, and for the broader economy going into the holiday shopping season, if the labor market contracts further and chokes off spending, economic data showed yesterday."

Bloomberg - "Fremont Says Ford Isn't Prepared to Complete Purchase" (9-26-07)

"Fremont General Corp., the California thrift ordered in March to stop making home loans, said billionaire banker Gerald J. Ford doesn't want to proceed with a rescue plan. The shares fell 20 percent."

Bloomberg - "House Panel Passes Tax Rise on Vacation-Home Sales" (9-26-07)

"The House Ways and Means Committee, seeking revenue to help homeowners in foreclosure, unanimously approved higher taxes on the sale of vacation homes. The panel adopted a Democrat-drafted provision that would make it harder for people who sell their second homes to exclude as much as $500,000 in profit from capital-gains taxes. The provision would raise $2 billion in additional taxes over the next decade, according to an estimate by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation."

CNN - "Housing: Big-ticket vs. Big value" (9-26-07)

"What's the difference between living in Beverly Hills and Killeen, Texas? About $2 million, according to a new survey. Beverly Hills, Calif. topped Coldwell Banker's annual Home Price Comparison Index (HPCI), as the nation's most expensive housing market for the second year in a row with an average cost of $2.21 million for a house. About 1,400 miles away, Killeen came in as the most affordable market in the index with an average sale price of $136,725."

Orange County Register - "O.C. high-rise boom fizzles" (9-26-07)

"At one time, developers envisioned nearly 50 residential high-rises towering above the Orange County landscape, citing an appetite here to live in skyscrapers like New Yorkers. The first development took off in 2004, selling out while it was little more than a hole in the ground. Other developers soon announced about 20 more projects with four dozen towers ranging from eight to 35 floors high."

Orange County Register - "Reports: Home sales still weak in O.C., nationwide" (9-26-07)

"Sales of existing Orange County houses fell 20.5 percent in August from the same month a year ago, the California Association of Realtors reported. Statewide, home sales decreased 27.8 percent in August. Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 319,200 in August at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, CAR reported. That compares with the 442,150 sales pace recorded in August 2006."

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