Wednesday, September 05, 2007

The Wall Street Journal - "Pending-Home Sales Decline 12%" (9-5-07)

"Future home sales could tumble, according to a housing industry forecasting tool that delivers another swipe to the slumping sector. The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 12.2% to 89.9 in July from June's 102.4, the industry group said Wednesday."

The Wall Street Journal - "Lenders Urged to Help Avoid Foreclosures" (9-5-07)

"Federal and state banking regulators urged lenders and investors to restructure the loans of millions of borrowers at risk of losing their homes as their adjustable-rate mortgages reset to a higher rate. Lenders should 'review to determine the full extent of their authority to identify borrowers at risk of default' and find a way to keep the borrower in a home, the regulatory bodies said in a joint statement."

The Wall Street Journal - "Housing Slump Strains Budgets Of States, Cities" (9-5-07)

"Tremors from the housing market's slump are straining the budgets of state and local governments from coast to coast, sending officials scrambling to plug gaps. Rising defaults on subprime home loans are boosting the inventory of unsold homes and driving sale prices lower. That's cutting into housing-related revenues from building-permit fees, taxes on contracting and recording property transfers, and even sales taxes."

Herald Tribune - "Credit card companies pursue subprime borrowers" (9-5-07)

"As subprime borrowers began to default on their mortgages in rapidly growing numbers this year, credit card issuers increased their efforts to sign up such customers with tarnished financial histories, according to a market research firm. Direct mail credit card offers to subprime customers in the United States jumped 41 percent in the first half of this year, compared with the first half of 2006, according to Mintel International Group."

NAR - "Pending Home Sales Index Falls Largely on Mortgage Tightening" (9-5-07)

"Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator, shows existing-home sales are likely to decline in coming months as mortgage disruptions work their way through the housing market, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index*, based on contracts signed in July, fell 12.2 percent to a reading of 89.9 in July from the June index of 102.4, and was 16.1 percent lower than July 2006 when it stood at 107.1."

MBA - "Mortgage Applications Increase Slightly in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (9-5-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 31, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 622.9, an increase of 1.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 615.2 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 0.2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 10 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Orange County Register - "First American eliminating 1,300 jobs" (9-5-07)

"a Santa Ana-based title insurer, said Tuesday it's cutting 1,300 jobs nationwide, or roughly 4 percent of its workforce, as real estate-related companies keep taking their lumps amid a housing slump. It said job losses are ongoing during its third quarter, which ends this month, and follow 600 cuts during its second quarter. It declined to say if any of the job cuts are in Orange County. The company employed 39,670 workers nationwide at the end of December."

Orange County Register - "Most don't consider house part of nest egg" (9-5-07)

"A survey of affluent baby boomers by Bell Investment Advisors found that these investors may be betting too heavily on real estate. 'Their homes may be their castles, but boomers cannot bank on their residences as their retirement nest egg,' said Jim Bell, president of the firm that bears his name. We asked visitors to the Lansner on Real Estate blog where their house figured in their retirement math, what percent of retirement savings was equity in your residence?"

Los Angeles Times - "USC, developer sue student housing firm" (9-5-07)

"USC joined in a federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday, that alleged a developer of off-campus student housing was trying to squelch competition with intimidation, extortion and fraud. Conquest Student Housing, a firm that owns numerous apartments in the neighborhoods near USC, is illegally trying to stop construction of a rival's project, University Gateway, that would house more than 1,600 students and include retail stores, a fitness center and a parking structure, according to the suit."

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