Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (10-29-08)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 24, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 476.7, an increase of 16.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 408.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 29.6 percent compared with the previous week and was down 30.0 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

The Wall Street Journal - "Economists Predict Home Prices Will Bottom Next Year" (10-29-08)

"When will housing's sickening slide stop? According to economists at the semi-annual National Association of Home Builders forecast conference, not soon—though the end is in sight. The consensus: Home prices will bottom out as early as the middle of next year."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Growth Will Be Hurt More by Homes Than Stocks, Study Says" (10-29-08)

"Plunging home prices will cut economic growth in the U.S. more than the drop in stock prices this year, economists at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles, said. A 10 percent decline in housing wealth results in a $105 billion, or 1.2 percent, reduction in personal spending, according to the three-year study by economists at the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of GDP, so that drop would result in a reduction in real GDP growth of 1 percentage point, the study said."

Bloomberg - "Most U.S. Homeowners Say Houses Lost Value, Zillow Survey Finds" (10-29-08)

"The survey of 1,388 homeowners between Oct. 7 and Oct. 9 found 51 percent said their houses had lost value, while 49 percent believed the value had stayed the same or increased, Seattle-based Zillow found. In an earlier survey, taken June 30 to July 2, 38 percent said their homes had lost value and 62 percent said they had gained or stayed the same. Three quarters of homes have actually fallen in value over the past year, Zillow said."

Bloomberg - "Ambac Pushes Treasury for Backstop, MBIA Backs Sales" (10-29-08)

"Ambac Financial Group Inc. is pushing for government help in backstopping its bond insurance portfolio, breaking ranks with competitor MBIA Inc., which said the U.S. Treasury should stick to its main plan of buying troubled mortgage assets and investing directly in financial companies."

Orange County Register - "Fed cuts key rate by half-point to 1%" (10-29-08)

"The Federal Reserve today cut its widely watched Fed Funds rate by a half-point to 1%. Last time this rate was that low was June 2004. Its reasons: The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures. Business equipment spending and industrial production have weakened in recent months, and slowing economic activity in many foreign economies is damping the prospects for U.S. exports. Moreover, the intensification of financial market turmoil is likely to exert additional restraint on spending, partly by further reducing the ability of households and businesses to obtain credit."

Orange County Register - "More homeowners get help to avoid foreclosure" (10-29-08)

"The California Department of Corporations reported Tuesday that state-licensed lenders and loan servicers modified 38,085 home loans in the third quarter to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, up 85% from the first quarter, when the department first began detailed tracking of such efforts."

Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (10-29-08)

"According to a recent report from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, home prices fell dramatically in August -- by 16.6 percent from the year before."