CNN - "Can $15 billion and some paint save your 'hood?" (5-6-08)

"A housing-rescue bill moving through Congress would allocate $7.5 billion in grants and $7.5 billion in zero-interest loans to states to buy foreclosed homes, rehab them, and resell them. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), passed committee last week and will most likely be taken up on the House floor this week. A Senate bill including a similar provision passed in April, appropriating $4 billion to the task."

News Week - "It’s Going to Get Worse" (5-6-08)

"Whenever a boom goes bust, there's always a round of finger pointing and blame assigning, of people asking "Why didn't the experts see this coming?" So as the housing bust has morphed from a cyclical downturn into a full-blown crisis, there's been no shortage of culprits. Some blame Alan Greenspan for badly orchestrated monetary policy, a charge against which he's lately been fighting back. Some blame the subprime lenders and the brokers who found clients for them; together they underwrote many of the loans that are now causing so many foreclosures and so much pain. And at least a few observers include an industry economist in this lineup: David Lereah, the former chief forecaster for the National Association of Realtors, whose irrational exuberance for real estate has led to some measure of ridicule."

NAR - "NAR Joins Congressmen Mcnerney and Miller in Call to Stabilize Mortgage Market by Increasing Conforming Loan Limits Permanently" (5-6-08)

"The National Association of Realtors®, in a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urged Congress to make the FHA and conforming loan limit increases permanent as part of the 2008 Housing Stimulus bill, which is expected to be marked up this week. Yesterday, Reps. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., and Gary Miller, R-Calif., introduced H.R. 5958, the Homeowner Opportunity Act, making permanent the increase to FHA and conforming loan limits for high-cost areas. The bill will be considered as an amendment to the larger housing stimulus bill."

Bloomberg - "Banks, Brokers Cut 65,000 Jobs as Subprime Losses Mount: Table" (5-6-08)

"The following table shows the 65,000 jobs cut by the world's biggest banks and securities firms in the past 10 months as mortgage losses and writedowns for financial institutions reached $319 billion."

Bloomberg - "D.R. Horton Reports Record Loss as Slump Worsens" (5-6-08)

"D.R. Horton Inc. reported a record loss as the deepening housing slump forced it to write down $834.1 million of land and inventory. The company cut its quarterly dividend by half. The fiscal second-quarter net loss at the largest U.S. homebuilder was $1.31 billion, or $4.14 a share, almost seven times higher than analysts' estimates. Revenue plunged 38 percent to $1.62 billion."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Home Slump Puts Owners `Under Water,' Zillow Says" (5-6-08)

"U.S. home values dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter to the lowest in almost three years, according to estimates by Zillow.com, an online data provider. The decline is the biggest in 12 years of data compiled by Seattle-based Zillow.com, a Web site started in 2006 to provide homeowners, real estate agents and potential buyers with value assessments called 'zestimates' for single-family homes, co- operative apartments and condominiums."

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Urges Action to Slow Jump in U.S. Home Foreclosures" (5-6-08)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking to end the worst housing slump in a quarter century, urged the government and mortgage lenders to intensify their efforts to avoid home foreclosures. Bernanke, in a speech in New York yesterday, also reiterated his call for lenders to forgive portions of mortgages for some struggling homeowners. He said proposals should be 'tightly targeted' at borrowers at greatest risk of losing their properties, and avoid providing an incentive for defaults."

Orange County Register - "Fannie Mae’s big loss and the credit crunch" (5-6-08)

"Fannie Mae, the government sponsored loan buyer that some politicians hope will ease the credit crunch, reported a $2.2 billion loss in the first quarter as it set aside $3.2 billion to cover bad loans, reports the Associated Press. It will cut its dividend and raise $6 billion in new capital, amid expectations the housing slump will persist into next year."

Los Angeles Times - "Flat, flat, flat, flat: Listing prices unchanged, again" (5-6-08)

"Update: Median listing prices were flat again in greater L.A. over the last week, holding steady at $450,000 for the fourth week in a row, according to Housing Tracker's analysis of MLS listings. Inventory of unsold houses and condos was also essentially flat. Regardless of whether prices have reached a bottom, a temporary bottom, or none of the above, there is a clear trend here: inventory is not building. I'd love to hear your interpretations of that trend."