NAHB - "Dynamic Programs Better Than Mandates, NAHB Says" (7-17-08)

"'significant increases in costs for efficiency upgrades and the additional increase in home price to accommodate them has the potential to harm the part of the market with the least flexibility to react to price constraints: the marginal first-time home buyer,' Belcher said. 'NAHB does not support the assertion that a broad public policy objective should be achieved on the backs of a relatively narrow segment of the market with limited resources.'"

NAHB - "Single-Family Housing Starts And Permits Decline In June" (7-17-08)

"Starts of new single-family homes declined 5.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 647,000 units in June. This was the slowest pace in 17 years, and marked a decline of 64.5 percent from the peak of the building boom in January of 2006. Meanwhile, issuance of building permits for single-family homes declined 3.5 percent to a rate of 613,000 units."

Los Angeles Times - "Bargain hunting picks up as Southern California home values fall further" (7-17-08)

"Southern California home values keep spiraling down, but sales volume is picking up in the Inland Empire and other areas where bargain hunters are snapping up foreclosed properties at steep discounts.Home prices plunged 29.3% last month from a year earlier, to a median of $355,000 in six Southern California counties, a real estate information service reported Wednesday. That's about where prices were in 2004."

Yahoo - "Bernanke: Fannie, Freddie in no danger of failing" (7-17-08)

"The Fed and the Treasury Department on Sunday came to the rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, offering to throw them a financial lifeline. The two companies hold or guarantee more than $5 trillion in mortgages — almost half of the nation's total_ and are major sources of financing for the mortgage market. The Bush administration is asking Congress to temporarily increase lines of credit to Fannie and Freddie and to let the government buy their stock. The Fed has offered to let the companies draw emergency loans."

DQNews - "Bay Area median price dives below $500K; sales near record low" (7-17-08)

"The median has fallen on a year-over-year basis for seven consecutive months, the result of both widespread depreciation, most pronounced inland, and a shift of sales towards lower-priced markets. The region's four most expensive counties -- Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara -- accounted for a combined 42 percent of Bay Area sales last month, down from 49 percent in June 2007."

Orange County Register - "O.C. office construction plummets 91%" (7-17-08)

"Voit Commercial Brokerage reports that construction of O.C. office buildings plunged 90.8% in the second quarter to 325,276 square feet. Last year in the second quarter, 3.5 million square feet was under construction."

Orange County Register - "Jerry Brown says Countrywide used “shocking”deceptive lending practices" (7-17-08)

"Jerry Brown, California’s attorney general, has added new accusations to a law suit against Countrywide Financial, alleging the lender’s deceptive business practices included ignoring its internal underwriting guidelines and rewarding employees for selling risky home loans."

Bloomberg - "U.S. West Apartment Rents Increased 2.5% in the Second Quarter" (7-17-08)

"The average monthly rent in 15 U.S. states, most of which are in the West, climbed 0.6 percent from the first quarter to $999, Novato, California-based RealFacts said today in a statement. The average occupancy rate dropped from a year earlier in 22 metropolitan areas tracked by RealFacts, rose in seven and was unchanged in two."

Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: New Home Loan Applications Up" (7-17-08)

"With all the stock market jitters about Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the U.S. mortgage system, you might have the impression that the real estate market is on the edge of some sort of cliff. But that's wrong: Would you believe that new home loan applications jumped by a seasonally-adjusted seven and a half percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers of America's national survey! Applications to purchase homes using FHA loans surged by nearly 20 percent."