Orange County Register - "O.C. home sellers take 2nd largest U.S. retreat" (10-30-08)

"The Wall Street Journal has reported that the number of homes for sale in Orange County fell 27.1% from the year before at the end of June, the second-highest decrease among 28 major U.S. metro areas. The Journal reported that the it would take 7.5 months to sell the current number of O.C. homes on the market based on the average monthly sales rate for the past year."

Inman News - "Mortgage rates follow bonds upward" (10-30-08)

"Long-term mortgage rates followed Treasury bond yields higher this week, bringing fixed-rate mortgages back up to levels seen two weeks ago, Freddie Mac said today. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.46 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Oct. 30, up from 6.04 percent a week ago and 6.26 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey."

Bloomberg - "Greenspan Slept as Off-Books Debt Escaped Scrutiny" (10-30-08)

"As George Miller welcomed 60 bankers to the chandeliered Charlotte City Club one evening in September, the focus was on more than the recent bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. From their 31st-floor perch, members of the American Securitization Forum, which Miller leads, fretted about the future of their $10.7 trillion industry. The bankers were warned that a Financial Accounting Standards Board plan would force trillions of dollars back onto balance sheets, requiring cash reserves to soar. Their business of pooling and reselling assets had dropped 47 percent in the first six months of the year, and the industry couldn't afford another setback."

Bloomberg - "Hamptons Home Prices Plunge as Wall Street Upheaval Cools Sales" (10-30-08)

"Upheaval in global financial markets has dashed the confidence of wealthy buyers, even those who spurn mortgages and pay cash for waterfront mansions, said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel."

Bloomberg - "Treasury, FDIC Said to Consider Guarantees to Stem Foreclosure" (10-30-08)

"The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. are considering a program that may offer about $500 billion in guarantees for troubled mortgages to stem record foreclosures, people familiar with the matter said."

Orange County Register - "First American swings to loss, cuts jobs" (10-30-08)

"First American Corp., the Santa Ana-based title insurance giant, said today it swung to a loss of $8.3 million in the third quarter vs. a profit of $46.6 million a year earlier. And it cut 1,250 jobs during the period."