Mortgage Bankers Association - "MBA Reports Multifamily Lending Hit $147.7 billion in 2007; Leading Lenders Part of Industry Consolidation" (10-14-08)

"In 2007, 2,739 different multifamily lenders provided a total of more than $147.7 billion in financing for apartment buildings with five or more units, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Lenders closed 48,577 individual loans, with an average loan size of $3 million. The average lender made 18 multifamily loans over the course of the year."

CNN - "U.S. pulls the trigger" (10-14-08)

"The federal government on Tuesday announced an extraordinary and historic direct investment in the nation's banks - the biggest bet ever made with taxpayer dollars on the U.S. financial system. As a start, the Treasury will pump $250 billion into financial institutions. Nine of the nation's largest banks have already agreed to take the capital and in return will give preferred shares to taxpayers and accept limits on executive pay. Half of the money, or $125 billion, will go to the nine large banks."

CNN - "Home prices may plummet, but taxes won't" (10-14-08)

"Housing prices have plummeted, but property tax bills probably won't budge. This January, local tax authorities will begin to send out property assessments for 2009, telling homeowners what their property is valued at, and how much their tax bill is. But many assessments won't reflect any of the steep home price declines that have been making headlines for the last year or so."

Bloomberg - "Roubini Sees Worst Recession in 40 Years, Stock Drop" (10-14-08)

"The economist said the recession will last 18 to 24 months, pushing unemployment to 9 percent, and already depressed home prices will fall another 15 percent. The U.S. government will need to double its purchase of bank stakes and force lenders to eliminate dividends to save them from bankruptcy, Roubini added. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today he plans to use $250 billion of taxpayer funds to purchase equity in thousands of financial firms to halt a credit freeze that threatened to drive companies into bankruptcy and eliminate jobs."

Orange County Register - "Economy’s shadow felt at Realtor convention" (10-14-08)

"Here’s what some said when asked if the financial crisis will impact the housing market:
Joel Singer, CAR executive director: "There’s kind of a sense that things are getting better, albeit very, very slowly. That’s coupled with concern about what’s happened lately … We were heading for a really nice recovery until a couple weeks ago.'"