Mortgage Bankers Association - "Near Record Low Mortgage Rates Boost Mortgage Applications in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (12-24-08)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 19, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1245.4, an increase of 48.0 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 841.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 50.2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 124.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

New York Times - "Home Prices Fell at Their Sharpest Pace in October" (12-30-08)

"That grim assessment underscored numbers released Tuesday showing that home prices in 20 metropolitan areas across the country dropped at a record rate of 18 percent in October from a year earlier as the fallout from the financial collapse reverberated through the housing market. According to the measure, the Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller Home Price Index, all 20 cities surveyed reported one-year price declines in October. Prices in 14 of the 20 metropolitan areas fell at a record rate."

New York Times - "Printing Money – and Its Price" (12-27-08)

"Since late August, the Fed has expanded its balance sheet from about $900 billion to more than $2.2 trillion, creating $1.3 trillion that did not exist to replace some of the trillions wiped out by falling house prices and vengeful stock markets. The Fed has taken troublesome assets off the hands of banks and simply credited them with having reserves they previously lacked. In the case of the Treasury, the money comes from the same wellspring that has been financing American debt for decades: Investors in the United States and around the world — not least, the central banks of China, Japan and Saudi Arabia, which have parked national savings in the safety of American government bonds."

Ventura County Star - "Housing market is still in cellar" (12-27-08)

"The county's median price fell to $382,590 last month, down 38.6 percent from $623,510 the previous year, according to CAR. The median, the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less, fell 10.5 percent from $427,650 in October."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Guarantee Won’t Cut Debt Costs, Lockhart Says" (12-30-08)

"The U.S. government probably wouldn’t be able to lower borrowing costs substantially for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with an explicit guarantee of their debt, their regulator said."

Bloomberg - "‘Piggyback’ Mortgages May Cut Modifications, Fed Says" (12-30-08)

"Attempts to loosen terms on hundreds of thousands of delinquent home loans may be hindered by so- called piggyback second mortgages that gained popularity during the U.S. housing boom, Federal Reserve researchers said."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae’s Portfolio Expands at 9.3% Annual Rate" (12-30-08)

"Fannie Mae’s portfolio of mortgages and related securities grew at a 9.3 percent annualized rate last month, as regulators pushed the government-run company to aid the U.S. housing market."

Bloomberg - "Fed Selects Four Firms to Manage MBS Purchase Plan" (12-30-08)

"The Federal Reserve chose BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Pacific Investment Management Co. and Wellington Management Co. to manage a $500 billion purchase of mortgage-backed securities it plans to complete by June."