Monday, December 17, 2007

NAHB - "Senate FHA Bill Would Help Ease Subprime Crisis" (12-14-07)

"To help alleviate the current housing downswing and allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure mortgages for more home owners, the Senate today approved legislation that would improve the capacity and flexibility of the FHA to serve the credit needs of subprime and other challenged mortgage borrowers. The bill passed by an overwhelming 93-to-1 margin."


NAR - "FHA Legislation Will Help Homeowners, Economy, Says NAR" (12-14-07)

"The FHA Modernization Act of 2007, passed today by the U.S. Senate, would help protect the interest of America’s current and future homeowners by giving borrowers a safer alternative to riskier mortgage products while also helping many homeowners who may be facing foreclosure, according to the National Association of Realtors®."

CBIA - "California New-Home Sales Decline Continued in October, CBIA Announces" (12-14-07)

"The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (HWMI) New Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that new home sales in October were 46 percent below October 2006, similar to the year-over-year decline seen in September. During the month, 3,292 homes and condominiums were sold in the subdivisions tracked by Costa Mesa-based HWMI, compared to 6,047 in October 2006. Sales of single family homes dropped by 37 percent, while sales of townhomes and “plexes” – duplexes, triplexes, etc. – were down 41 percent and sales of condominiums were down 71 percent."

Bloomberg - "Citigroup Rescues SIVs With $58 Billion Debt Bailout" (12-14-07)

"Citigroup Inc. will take over seven troubled investment funds and assume $58 billion of debt to avoid forced asset sales that would further erode confidence in capital markets. Moody's Investors Service lowered the bank's credit ratings. The biggest U.S. bank by assets will rescue the so-called structured investment vehicles, or SIVs, taking responsibility for their $49 billion of assets, the New York-based company said in a statement late yesterday."


Financial Times - "US sees asset-backed market shrink" (12-14-07)

"The size of the US asset-backed commercial paper market has shrunk for an 18th consecutive week, reducing this important source of funding for financial institutions to its lowest level in two years. For the week ending on Wednesday, the amount of outstanding ABCP declined $10.3bn to $791bn."

Reuters - "One in 5 homeowners see house price drop: survey" (12-14-07)

"More than one in five U.S. homeowners expect their home to fall in value in the coming year, a Reuters-University of Michigan consumer survey said on Friday. The survey found 21 percent of the 1,168 surveyed see a fall in prices, with those heavily concentrated in areas that have already seen values decline, the survey's director Richard Curtin said in a statement."

Reuters - "Still not the time to buy housing stocks" (12-14-07)

"Investors looking to profit from U.S. housing stocks will have to be patient. Even though they have sunk to multiyear lows, strategists speaking at the Reuters Investment Outlook 2008 Summit said they still aren't worth the risk."

The Press Enterprise - "Recession concerns rise for Inland region" (12-14-07)

"Plummeting home construction and declining growth in global trade that feeds the cargo industry likely will drive Inland Southern California into a recession next year -- the first in decades -- said two economists who closely watch Riverside and San Bernardino counties"

Los Angeles Times - "2 states probe Countrywide home loans" (12-14-07)

"The nation's No. 1 mortgage lender, Countrywide Financial Corp., is under investigation by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown and the attorney general's office in Illinois, the Calabasas company said Thursday. Countrywide said it had received subpoenas for documents from California and Illinois but declined to elaborate, citing company policy. It said it was cooperating in the two probes."

The New York Times - "After the Money’s Gone" (12-14-07)

"On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced plans to lend $40 billion to banks. By my count, it’s the fourth high-profile attempt to rescue the financial system since things started falling apart about five months ago. Maybe this one will do the trick, but I wouldn’t count on it."

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