Yahoo - "Senate confirms Preston as HUD secretary" (6-5-08)

"The Senate has confirmed President Bush's new housing secretary, elevating Small Business Administration Administrator Steven Preston to be the administration's point man on the slumping housing market and subprime lending crisis. Preston is likely to be lead negotiator as Congress and the White House work on legislation to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, including many in which the mortgages exceed the value of their homes.?

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Delinquencies and Foreclosures Increase in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey" (6-5-08)

"The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.35 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, up 53 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2007, and up 151 basis points from one year ago, according to MBA’s National Delinquency Survey."

CNN - "The trick to getting a mortgage fixed" (6-5-08)

"what's best for a borrower isn't always best for the lenders, who weigh the cost of every workout against the cost of foreclosure. Whether or not a homeowner gets help boils down to the numbers. If keeping an at-risk borrower in their home is going to cost the lender more than a foreclosure will, that homeowner is usually out of luck. The good news is that foreclosures are expensive - at least $50,000 according to the Center for Responsible Lending."

Orange County Register - "More O.C. homes for rent? HUD thinks so" (6-5-08)

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest Orange County market housing analysis suggests the so-called 'shadow market' of homes and condos now being rented by individual owners — vs. big landlords’ complexes — is for real. During the early 2000s in North Orange County, the number of new single-family homes and condos being used as 'shadow' rentals was increasing at 100 units a year, says the report. That jumped to 700 units a year after 2005."

Orange County Register - "Loan delinquencies fall! Are government aid efforts working?" (6-5-08)

"The percentage of loans on which borrowers missed one payment dropped in March vs. a month earlier for people with good, bad or in-between credit, according to an industry report released last week that tracked loans which have been turned into securities and sold to investors."

The Wall Street Journal - "Housing Supply Declined in May" (6-5-08)

"The supply of homes available for sale in major metropolitan areas declined slightly in May. Total listings of homes in 29 metro areas at the end of May edged down 0.3% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover listings of single-family homes, condos and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas, where Zip operates."

Bloomberg - "MBIA, Ambac May Quit Aaa Battle on Moody's Likely Cut" (6-5-08)

"The world's largest bond insurers, which have raised $4.1 billion combined in the past six months, said they won't seek more capital after New York-based Moody's yesterday said the most likely result of its examination would be a downgrade of the companies' top insurance financial strength rankings."

Bloomberg - "MGIC, PMI Downgraded by Fitch on Poor Underwriting" (6-5-08)

"MGIC Investment Corp. and PMI Group Inc., the two largest U.S. mortgage insurers, had their financial strength grades cut by Fitch Ratings based on the sale of coverage for risky loans in 2007."

Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Positive GDP Growth Rate" (6-5-08)

"But last week's big economic number -- positive growth in the national gross domestic product for the second straight quarter -- is the latest sign that this economy still has some fight left in it."