DQNews - "Bay Area home sales climb above last year; median price falls hard" (8-19-08)

"A total of 7,586 new and resale houses and condos sold across the nine- county Bay Area in July. That was up 5.7 percent from 7,178 in June and up 2.2 percent from 7,423 in July 2007, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick."

CBIA - "Despite Improvement, California Housing Remains Mostly Unaffordable, CBIA Announces" (8-19-08)

"Fueled by waves of foreclosures resulting in sharp price reductions throughout California, housing affordability increased in most markets throughout the state during the second quarter of 2008, but affordability in California remains a serious long-term issue, the California Building Industry Association said today."

NAHB - "Builders Continue To Rein-In New Housing Production In July" (8-19-08)

"Single-family home builders continued to practice aggressive inventory management in July by slowing the pace of new production nearly 3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 641,000 units, according to Commerce Department figures released today. This was the lowest rate of single-family housing starts since January 1991."

Bloomberg - "Large U.S. Banks May Fail Amid Recession, Rogoff Says" (8-19-08)

"Credit market turmoil has driven the U.S. into a recession and may topple some of the nation's biggest banks, said Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
'The worst is yet to come in the U.S.,' Rogoff, a Harvard University professor of economics, said in an interview in Singapore today. 'The financial sector needs to shrink; I don't think simply having a couple of medium-sized banks and a couple of small banks going under is going to do the job.'"

Bloomberg - "Apollo Adds $309 Million for Property Loans as Banks Cut Back" (8-19-08)

"Apollo Real Estate Advisors LLC, the New York firm that has made $40 billion in property investments, raised an additional $309 million to allow its debt fund to do larger deals. Apollo's Real Estate Finance Corp. will now have $930 million in capital, the company said today in a statement. The unit lends money for mortgages, subordinate debt and higher- interest mezzanine loans designed to fill the gap between the senior loan and the down payment."

Orange County Register - "O.C. homes are 10th least affordable in U.S." (8-19-08)

"Economists at Wells Fargo Bank and the National Association of Home Builders say Orange County homes were the 10th least affordable to buy in the nation in the second quarter. The good news is that this ranking is an improvement over eighth worst in the previous quarter and O.C.’s nadir with a second-place finish in the first quarter of 2007 and quarters 1 and 2 of 2006. That’s what’s charted in graphic at right."

Realty Times - "What the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Means for You" (8-19-08)

"It means a lot if you are in the market to be a first time homebuyer -- up to a $7,500 tax credit if you purchase before July 1, 2009. And there's more good news. First time homebuyers is defined as, 'a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.' This means for all those markets that have started to stabilize, now could be a great time to buy."

Inman News - "AP: Monitoring of appraisers ineffective" (8-19-08)

"A nationwide system set up to monitor appraisers in the wake of the savings and loan crisis did little to prevent appraisers, real estate agents and mortgage brokers from colluding to inflate home prices during the housing boom, the Associated Press said in reporting the results of a six-month investigation."