Bloomberg - "Treasuries Gain After Economy Loses Jobs, Wage Inflation Slows" (4-4-08)

"Treasuries rose, with 10-year notes gaining the most in two weeks, after a government report showed the economy lost more jobs last month than forecast and wages grew at the slowest pace in almost two years."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Local office vacancy rate skyrockets" (4-4-08)

"San Diego's office vacancy rate spiked to its highest level since 1996 in the first quarter thanks to a combination of weak demand and new buildings coming to market. Direct vacancy – landlord-controlled office space that's empty – was 15.1 percent countywide, according to a CB Richard Ellis report issued yesterday. That's up from 11.5 percent a year earlier."

Bloomberg - "Lenders Swamped By Foreclosures Let Homeowners Stay" (4-4-08)

"Banks are so overwhelmed by the U.S. housing crisis they've started to look the other way when homeowners stop paying their mortgages. The number of borrowers at least 90 days late on their home loans rose to 3.6 percent at the end of December, the highest in at least five years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington. That figure, for the first time, is almost double the 2 percent who have been foreclosed on."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Builders Rise to Highest Since September" (4-4-08)

"U.S. homebuilders rose to the highest in more than six months this week on the prospect that lower prices and interest rates will help the industry recover."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Apartment Rents Rise in First Quarter Amid Housing Slump" (4-4-08)

"The average asking rent for U.S. apartments rose 1 percent in the first three months of 2008, the 24th consecutive quarterly gain, as the U.S. housing slump deterred people from buying homes, according to real estate research firm Reis Inc. San Francisco had the most rapid rental growth at 11.1 percent, followed by San Jose, California, at 8.9 percent, New York at 8.8 percent and Seattle at 7.8 percent, New York-based Reis said today in a statement. The national vacancy rate rose 0.3 percentage point to 5.9 percent."

Orange County Register - "Credit unions too?" (4-4-08)

"Lending data indicates real estate loans delinquent 2 months or more grew from 0.34 to 0.67 percent during 2007. Foreclosed real estate increased 102.2 percent to $331.9 million, and although a marked increase, foreclosures continue to represent a very small .12 percent of total real estate loans. After declining for the last three years, credit card delinquencies were a reported 1.33 percent of total credit card loans at year-end 2007, remaining just below the 1.34 percent level reported in 2003. The total loan delinquency ratio for federally insured credit unions increased from .68 to .93 percent during 2007, a 25 basis point increase."

Orange County Register - "O.C. median home price back at $500,000" (4-4-08)

"DataQuick’s latest report on O.C. home sales puts the median selling price back down at $500,000 for the 22 business days ended March 20. The median crashed up through the half-million mark during local housing’s long upswing in April 2004. This latest median is 22.5% below June ’07’s high of $645,000."

Orange County Register - "Pricing bottom ‘getting close,’ South O.C. agent says" (4-4-08)

"South Orange County real estate blogger Vincent Bindi (pictured right) reported recently what we’ve been hearing from a number of O.C. real estate agents: signs that the local housing market is starting to pick up a tic from the moribund doldrums that hit following the late-summer credit crunch. Specifically, many agents speak of rising escrows amid falling prices, with some bidding wars erupting. Bindi, an agent with Keller-Williams Realty who regularly analyzes South County housing numbers, picked up that trend as well. He cites rising escrows and stable inventories, while projecting that prices will drop about 10% more."

Real Estate Journal - "Judge Authorizes ProbeOf Countrywide's Practices" (4-4-08)

"A federal judge has authorized an in-depth probe of Countrywide Financial Corp.'s mortgage-processing systems by bankruptcy investigators hunting for evidence that the big mortgage lender has systematically abused borrowers."