Yahoo - "Home builder shares up on valuation, broad rally" (9-02-08)

"D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N), Lennar Corp (LEN.N) and Centex Corp (CTX.N) , the top three U.S. builders, led the rally, with shares rising about 9 percent at the market open. The home builders' index was up about 5 percent in early trading (.DJUSHB), ahead of the broader market's Standard & Poor's 500 index (.SPX), which was up only 1.4 percent."

Inman News - "Western cities bear brunt of falling prices" (9-02-08)

"Sacramento, Calif., posted the second-largest drop in June, down 27.8 percent to $155.71, followed by Phoenix, Ariz., down 26.9 percent to $115.28."

CNN - "How the housing crash hurts your retirement" (9-02-08)

"According to a recent report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a Washington, D.C. think tank, the collapse of house prices that started in 2006 has wiped out more than $4 trillion in home equity, putting a sizable dent in the net worth of millions of baby boomers. Among its more ominous findings: By next year, the average net worth of households headed by homeowners age 45 to 54 will be almost 25% less than it was in 2004."

Bloomberg - "Auction-Rate Mess Reminds Buyers to Still Beware" (9-02-08)

"The $200,000 that Dibbell invested through Chase Investment Services Corp., a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co., was frozen and his statement at one point indicated the value of the securities, tied to student loans, was 'zero.' Dibbell had purchased the securities with the proceeds from the sale of his late mother's home in California. He was hoping to buy a house. Although interim loans from Chase and a recent settlement -- one among several between regulators and brokers -- allowed him to close on his house, he was dangerously near to cashing out a retirement account. That withdrawal would have triggered $10,000 in taxes and penalties."

Bloomberg - "Buffett Becomes Vulture as HomeServices Seeks Deals" (9-02-08)

"Three years of tumbling U.S. home sales and prices may give Peltier, who says he fields as many as three calls a week to his Minneapolis office from desperate brokerages seeking a buyer, a chance to grab market share. NRT's pace of acquisitions has dropped to four this year from an annual average of 20 since 2002 as Realogy's debt ratio -- borrowing relative to earnings beforeinterest, taxes, depreciation and amortization -- increased to 4.9 in June from 3.8 at the end of 2007."

Orange County Register - "O.C. renters prefer downscale units" (9-02-08)

"Landlords hiked their asking rents in high-end “Class A” complexes 4.4% in the past year to $1,835 per month."

Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (9-02-08)

"Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said commercial real estate activity, as measured by net absorption and the completion of new commercial buildings, is projected to weaken over the next six to nine months. 'The pace of decline has intensified due to job cuts and very sluggish economic activity since the beginning of the year, particularly in those industries requiring commercial building spaces,' he said. 'We anticipate the weakest commercial brokerage activity in nearly three years as a result.'"

Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Positive Trends In Housing Studies" (9-02-08)

"Resales were up almost everywhere: Up 9.7 percent in the Western states, up 6 percent in the Northeast, one percent in the Midwest. Only the south saw a slight decline -- one half of one percent. New home sales showed a similar pattern: Up an amazing 39 percent in the Northeast, 10 percent in the West, 8.2 percent in the Midwest and down by 2.5 percent in the South. Most notable of all were the strong rebounds in sales in areas that had seen the biggest drops following the boom years -- especially in California and Florida."

Realty Times - "Washington Report: FHA Increasing Premiums" (9-02-08)

"Forced by Congress to raise prices, FHA is increasing the mortgage premiums it charges applicants in its booming programs. Starting October 1st, upfront premiums will jump by one quarter of a percentage point -- from the current one and half percent of the loan amount to one and three quarters."