Bloomberg - "Standard Pacific Considers Sale After Reporting Loss" (5-12-08)

"Standard Pacific Corp., the California homebuilder that has lost more than 80 percent of its value in the past year, said it's considering a possible sale after reporting a wider first-quarter loss in the deepening housing slump. The shares plunged as much as 28 percent. The loss of $216.4 million, or $3.34 a share, was the sixth consecutive for the company and more than double analysts' estimates. Irvine-based Standard Pacific said the board is examining alternatives including selling stock, debt or the whole company."

Bloomberg - "IndyMac Reports Loss, Doesn't See Profit in 2008" (5-12-08)

"IndyMac Bancorp Inc., the second- biggest independent U.S. mortgage company, reported a first- quarter loss, omitted some dividends and said it probably won't make money this year. The shares fell to an all-time low. The $184 million loss, equal to $2.27 a share, compares with profit a year earlier of $52.4 million, or 70 cents, the Pasadena, California-based company said today in a statement. Mortgages that stopped collecting interest rose 39 percent. That's 11 percent of all loans, more than the 8.8 percent estimate of RBC Capital Markets analyst Jason Arnold."

Bloomberg - "Meruelo Maddux Tumble Puts Los Angeles on Sale at 65% Discount" (5-12-08)

"A package of Los Angeles real estate on sale for 35 cents on the dollar is attracting investors to the depressed shares of Meruelo Maddux Properties Inc., the biggest private landowner in the city's four-square-mile downtown. The stock has plummeted 85 percent since an initial public offering 15 months ago as the global credit crisis threatens to disrupt refinancing of $200 million in mortgage debt coming due in the next 12 months, as well as completion of the city's tallest downtown residential tower."

Orange County Register - "IndyMac expects to lose money for all of 2008" (5-12-08)

"IndyMac Bancorp, which has operations in Irvine, said Monday it lost $184.2 million in the first quarter as deteriorating credit markets forced it to lower the value of mortgage-backed securities and warned it would not post a profitable quarter in 2008, reports the Associated Press. That compares with a profit of $52.4 million a year earlier."

Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: Silicon Valley Price Fall Spreads" (5-12-08)

"Silicon Valley's median price on single-family homes in closed sales is back where it was two years ago and a whopping $100,000 less than it was when the market peaked a year ago, Calhoun reported. The region's April median price for single-family homes came in at $768,000. Two years ago it was $775,000. That median price peaked at about $868,000 a year ago."

Realty Times - "Washington Report: Are 'Jumbo' Loans Overpriced?" (5-12-08)

"Capitol Hill's most influential legislator on housing issues says Wall Street and the mortgage lending industry are needlessly overpricing "jumbo" loans designed to help borrowers in areas with high home costs. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee and chief author of legislation that raised the maximum mortgage limits of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA to $729,750 through the end of the year, plans to haul officials of major mortgage firms before Congress next week to explain why interest rates and fees for new jumbo loans are so high."

Realty Times - "AD&C Loans Tighten with Financial Markets" (5-12-08)

"The mortgage credit crunch has spilled over into land acquisition, land development and home construction (AD&C) lending, increasing the challenges faced by builders in the current housing downturn, according to the National Association of Home Builders."

Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Real-time Housing Index Says Falling Prices Easing" (5-12-08)

"The Real-Time Housing Market Report shows an interesting trend. Housing prices are down a little over half a percent. That's no surprise, but out of 25 markets, only seven fell in asking price. That's a big improvement over March when listing prices fell 2.7 percent."