DQNews - "Bay Area median home price sinks to 8-year low; sales up over '07 again" (12-18-08)

"The median price paid for all new and resale houses and condos combined in the nine-county Bay Area fell to $350,000 last month. That was down 6.7 percent from $375,000 in October and down a record 44.4 percent from $629,000 in November 2007, according to MDA DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information service."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Small Decrease in Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding Reported in Latest MBA Analysis" (12-18-08)

"The level of commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased slightly by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, to $3.44 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) analysis of the Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Realtors: State home prices have a brutal 2008" (12-18-08)

"Beset by falling prices, foreclosure sales and a credit crunch, California real estate underwent a turbulent year in 2008, according to the California Association of Realtors' annual report on the state's housing market released on Wednesday. Based on a survey of 747 Realtors statewide, the report provided an on-the-ground look at how the market fared. Not surprisingly, much of it was grim. While some specific numbers differed from those tracked by other reports, the overall trend of downward momentum was clear."

Inman News - "California foreclosure filings rise" (12-18-08)

"Despite the positive effect California's Senate Bill 1137 had on reducing foreclosures during September and October, its impact clearly fizzled during November, as significant increases in foreclosure activity gripped the state. According to data tracked by ForeclosureRadar.com, notice of default filings -- which mark the beginning of the home foreclosure process -- jumped 28 percent statewide from October to November, to 21,557 filings."

Bloomberg - "Lennar Reports Seventh Straight Loss on Housing Slump" (12-18-08)

"Lennar Corp., a U.S. home construction company that builds in 14 states, reported its seventh straight quarterly loss as mounting job losses and record foreclosures cut demand. The fiscal fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $811 million, or $5.12 a share, from $1.25 billion, or $7.92, a year earlier, Miami-based Lennar said today in a statement. The loss, which included a tax-related charge of $4.61 a share, was higher than the average estimate of $1.64 a share projected by 14 analysts in a Bloomberg survey."

Bloomberg - "Fed to Conduct Second Round of Agency Debt Buying This Week" (12-18-08)

"The Federal Reserve said it will buy Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Federal Home Loan Bank debt for a second time this week, doubling the pace of the central bank’s purchases under a program aimed at reducing mortgage costs. The central bank today bought $2.4 billion of the debt and will seek to buy more bonds tomorrow at 10:30 a.m., according to the New York Fed’s Web site. Dealers offered $4.4 billion of the securities today. The central bank has bought $10.4 billion of so-called agency debt since the program began three weeks ago."

Orange County Register - "Mortgage aid scheme a failure" (12-18-08)

"Steve Preston, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said the government’s central plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure is a failure, reports the Washington Post. He blames Congress. HUD’s Hope for Homeowners program was supposed to help 400,000 borrowers. But only 312 people have applied since it was launched in October. Preston said it is too expensive and onerous for lenders and borrowers"

Orange County Register - "Fountain Valley homes rank as easiest to sell" (12-18-08)

"The latest O.C. homes-for-sale inventory report from Steve Thomas at Altera Real Estate in Aliso Viejo suggest that Fountatin Valley’s recently been the easiest town to sell a home in, as it has an owner’s most favorable mix of buyers and sellers. As of last Thursday, Fountain Valley led the county with the best 'market time' — that’s Thomas’ benchmark tracking how many months it theoretically takes to sell all the inventory in the local MLS for-sale listings at the current pace of pending deals being made."

Orange County Register - "CA banks drop protection against bad loans" (12-18-08)

"Banks in California are not keeping their reserves in line with the rising number of bad loans on their books, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported Wednesday. Considering the ongoing housing slump and national recession, one would expect the opposite. In the third quarter, 312 banks insured by the FDIC had a median 2.27% delinquent loans (at least one month late), up from 1.59% in Q2 and 0.54% a year ago."