Monday, October 27, 2008

NAHB - "NEW-HOME SALES RISE 2.7 PERCENT IN SEPTEMBER" (10-27-08)

"Sales of newly built single-family homes turned upward in September, posting a 2.7 percent gain to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 units, according to U.S. Commerce Department numbers released today. The report also indicated that builders are making substantial progress in winnowing down the months’ supply of unsold units on the market."

Daily News - "Valley foreclosures soar, prices slide" (10-27-08)

"Foreclosures in the San Fernando Valley ballooned to a record level in the third quarter, pounding down prices but driving a huge jump in September sales, according to a report released today. Foreclosures soared 203 percent from July through September compared to a year earlier, as 2,589 local families lost their homes in the market collapse, according to the San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center."

CNN - "New home sales tick up 2.7%" (10-27-08)

"Sales of newly constructed homes rose in September, according to the monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau, inching up 2.7% from August to an annualized rate of 464,000. The reading was above the consensus forecast of 450,000, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com, and up slightly from the 17-year low in August, which saw 452,000 new home sales."

Bloomberg - "Hovnanian Asks Bondholders to Cut Principal Owed Them" (10-27-08)

"Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., the New Jersey homebuilder that has lost more than half its value in the past month, asked bondholders to reduce the principal on its debt in exchange for notes that pay a higher interest rate. The shares fell 13 percent."

Bloomberg - "California Faith Groups Fight Banks on Foreclosures" (10-27-08)

"For almost a year, Luis Flores has been lobbying mortgage lender IndyMac Federal Bank FSB to cut his house payments. They have doubled since he refinanced his home loan in 2005 and he can't afford them, Flores says."

Bloomberg - "Evil Wall Street Exports Boomed With `Fools' Born to Buy Debt" (10-27-08)

"The bundling of consumer loans and home mortgages into packages of securities -- a process known as securitization -- was the biggest U.S. export business of the 21st century. More than $27 trillion of these securities have been sold since 2001, according to the Securities Industry Financial Markets Association, an industry trade group. That's almost twice last year's U.S. gross domestic product of $13.8 trillion."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Property Insurers Won't Seek Government Capital" (10-27-08)

"U.S. property and casualty insurers are well capitalized and a 'substantial majority' won't sell stock to the government under Treasury's $700 billion bailout of financial companies, the American Insurance Association said."

Realty Times - "Washington Report: Tax Credit For Homebuyers" (10-27-08)

"The National Association of Realtors already is pushing a plan that would give a tax credit to all buyers of houses nationwide -- not just first time purchasers -- and would make the credit non-repayable. Under housing legislation passed this summer, first time buyers can qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit, but they have to agree to pay it back to the government over a period of years, or whenever they sell the property."

Realty Times - "Investor Report: Best Opportunities Ahead" (10-27-08)

"Get involved in multifamily rentals if you are not already. Well-located apartment properties are positioned to do well in the emerging softer, post-boom economic climate. People who've lost houses to short sales and foreclosures need to rent … and they're pushing up demand in many areas. Aging baby boomers looking to downsize from their former suburban lifestyles also are opting to rent - at least for the time being -- rather than gamble on buying a replacement home in an unsettled market. Add in the children of the boomers who are forming new households but can't afford to buy, and you've got a substantial base for more rentals in the next couple of years."

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