Monday, February 11, 2008

NAR - "NAR Hails Passage of Economic Stimulus Package to Help Jumpstart Housing Market" (2-8-08)

"The National Association of Realtors® congratulated the U.S. Congress for quickly passing a national economic stimulus package and thanked President George W. Bush for his leadership and willingness to promptly enact legislation that will help thousands of families, the housing market, and the U.S. economy."

CNN - "Refinancing: Only for the privileged few" (2-8-08)

"The good news: mortgage rates are down. The bad news: it's much harder to qualify for a refinanced loan these days. What's more, the borrowers who need to refinance the most - because their adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are resetting to higher interest rates - are among those having the most trouble winning approvals."

Bloomberg - "Treasuries Advance on Recession Concern, Climbing Default Risk" (2-8-08)

"Treasuries rose, pushing two-year notes to their eighth straight weekly gain, as economists said there is an even chance the U.S. will enter a recession and the risk of companies defaulting on their debt climbed to a record. Investors also bought longer-maturity debt after the Treasury's $9 billion sale of 30-year bonds yesterday led to the biggest jump in the securities' yield since 2004. Two-year note yields were the furthest below 10-year rates since 2004, indicating traders are favoring shorter-maturity debt in a bet the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for a sixth time since September."

Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Is `Short' Subprime Mortgages $1 Billion" (2-8-08)

"Bear Stearns Cos., the U.S. securities firm that posted its first-ever loss last quarter on mortgage writedowns, has more than $1 billion of trades that profit if subprime home loans and bonds continue to deteriorate. The 'short' positions on subprime mortgage securities increased from $600 million at the end of November, Chief Financial Officer Sam Molinaro said today at an investor conference in Naples, Florida. The company also reduced its holdings of so-called collateralized debt obligations and underlying bonds, Molinaro said."

Bloomberg - "Toll Cuts Chief Executive's Pay by More Than Half" (2-8-08)

"Robert Toll, the chief executive officer of homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc., had his compensation cut by more than half last fiscal year and received no bonus after the company's shares fell 21 percent. Robert Toll was paid $8.4 million in the year ended Oct. 31, according to a regulatory filing today. In 2006, he got $19.2 million, including a $17.5 million bonus."

Bloomberg - "`Jumbo' Loan Increase May Not Stem Housing Decline" (2-8-08)

"A congressional plan to let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insure larger mortgages may not be enough to reverse the U.S. housing market slide, said Nishu Sood, a homebuilding analyst with Deutsche Bank Securities. Congress yesterday passed a $168 billion economic stimulus package to head off a recession. The bill will allow Fannie and Freddie to raise the limit on purchasing 'jumbo' loans to $729,750 from $417,000. Mortgages will be eligible if they were granted between July 2007 and Dec. 31, 2008."

Orange County Register - "Late Jan. home sales up in just 3 O.C. ZIPs" (2-8-08)

"DataQuick stats show home sales down 44.1% vs. a year ago, for the 22 business days ended Jan. 23. Only three O.C. ZIP codes had sales gains in the period vs. ‘07 — Irvine 92612 (+107%), Tustin 92782 (+95%) and Irvine 92606 (+12.5%). And, almost as noteworthy, is that the biggest losers — in terms of year-to-year percentage drops — don’t come from the county’s urban core: La Palma 90623 (-83%); Foothill Ranch 92610 (-79%) and Placentia (-75%)."

Los Angeles Times - "Value of homes rigged, lawsuit says" (2-8-08)

"As home prices soared higher earlier this decade, the buying frenzy was fueled in part by what real estate industry experts now claim were exaggerated -- or outright fraudulent -- appraisals. A lawsuit filed by two couples this week adds a new twist: It claims that Los Angeles builder KB Home and a unit of lender Countrywide Financial Corp. pumped up appraisals in their Sacramento-area development to sell homes at higher prices."

Real Estate Journal - "Housing Forecast:More Storms" (2-8-08)

"If home prices are near a bottom, then the Fed -- and its allies in the White House and Congress -- probably have deployed enough forces to prevent a deep, prolonged recession. But if those prices still have a long way to fall, then the Committee to Save the World (Version 2.0) -- Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in place of predecessors Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers -- is going to need heavy artillery and air support."

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