NAR - "Existing Home Sales Rise In February" (3-24-08)

"including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – rose 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (1) of 5.03 million units in February from a pace of 4.89 million in January, but remain 23.8 percent below the 6.60 million-unit level in February 2007. The sales pace has been in a fairly narrow range since last September."

CAR - "C.A.R. reports sales decrease 28.5 percent, median home price falls 26.2 percent in February" (3-24-08)

"Home sales decreased 28.5 percent in February in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 26.2 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today."

NAHB - "Builders Support Federal Housing Finance Board Mortgage Relief Proposal" (3-24-08)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today applauded a decision by the Federal Housing Finance Board to allow the Federal Home Loan Banks to temporarily increase their holdings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities to help stabilize the mortgage finance market."

CNN - "PennyMac to invest in shaky mortgages" (3-24-08)

"The new company, Private National Mortgage, also known as PennyMac, intends to help borrowers restructure loans so they can avoid foreclosure and maintain payments. Mortgage delinquency and default rates have risen rapidly since the middle of 2007, leading to a growing number of foreclosures."

Yahoo - "JPMorgan to raise offer for Bear Stearns" (3-24-08)

"JPMorgan Chase & CO (JPM.N) is in talks to increase its offer for Bear Stears COs (BSC.N) to $10 per share in an effort to pacify angry shareholders of Bear Stearns, the New York Times reported in its online edition."

Bloomberg - "Wall Street Firms Cut 34,000 Jobs, Most Since 2001 Dot-Com Bust" (3-24-08)

"Wall Street banks hit by mortgage losses and writedowns have cut more than 34,000 jobs in the past nine months, the most since the dot-com boom fizzled in 2001. Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley are among the firms that have disclosed headcount reductions so far. After the Internet bubble burst, 39,800 jobs were eliminated during the same period; the number climbed to 90,000 in the next two years, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association."

Bloomberg - "Fed May Buy Mortgages Next, Treasury Investors Bet" (3-24-08)

"Forget lower interest rates. For the Federal Reserve to keep the financial markets from imploding it needs to buy troubled mortgage bonds from banks and securities firms, say the world's biggest Treasury investors. Even after cutting rates by 3 percentage points since September, expanding the range of securities it accepts as collateral for loans and giving dealers access to its discount window, the Fed has been unable to promote confidence. The difference between what the government and banks pay for three- month loans almost doubled in the past month to 1.69 percentage points."

Market Watch - "Ex-Countrywide execs forming mortgage firm" (3-24-08)

"A number of former Countrywide Financial Corp. executives are forming a firm to take advantage of the massive unwinding of the mortgage-securitization business, The Wall Street Journal reported."

CNN - "Why it's not too late to refinance" (3-24-08)

"Earlier this year, when mortgage rates dipped below 6% for the first time since 2005, homeowners rushed to refinance costlier loans. In fact, more than six out of 10 mortgage applications so far this year have been for refis. But lately mortgage rates have been on an uptick - the average 30-year fixed mortgage hit 6.2% by the end of February, up from 5.6% a month earlier."

Orange County Register - "Standard Pacific gets credit extension — too little too late?" (3-24-08)

"Standard Pacific Corp. said its bankers granted a 45-day waiver of any default arising from non-compliance with financial covenants — meaning the company can stave off a major showdown with creditors until at least May 14. The troubled Irvine homebuilder’s waiver was originally scheduled to expire March 30. As part of the deal, Standard Pacific said its revolving credit facility was slashed to $700 million from $900 million. The company said it had $90 million in borrowings and $49 million in letters of credit under the revolving credit facility as of March 21."

Orange County Register - "Carrington said to seek $200 million in funding" (3-24-08)

"Carrington Capital Management, which last year bought Irvine-based New Century Financial’s loan servicing operation, is trying to persuade investors to lend it $200 million to replace bank loans, according to the Web site of the UK’s Financial Times."

Orange County Register - "Bigger loan limits help 75% of O.C. home inventory" (3-24-08)

"Home market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo reports, 'Lenders are scrambling in preparation for the new conventional and the FHA loan limits of $729,750, which are just beginning to hit the market. The new loan limits will have a profound impact on demand. At 10% down, the old $417,000 limit only covers 37% of the current active inventory. The new limits now encompass a staggering 75% of the inventory.'"