NAHB - "Decline In Housing Production Accelerates In November" (12-16-08)

"Indicating that the ongoing decline in housing and the economy is accelerating, starts and permits for new housing construction fell by double digits to new record lows in November, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures released today. Commerce reported an 18.9 percent decline in total housing starts to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 625,000 units and a 15.6 percent decline in permit issuance to 616,000 units for the month"

DQNews - "Bay Area median price tumbles to $375K; sales reach high for '08" (12-16-08)

"Bay Area homes sold at their fastest pace in 17 months in October as buyers favored more affordable inland areas where depreciation and foreclosures have hit hardest. As a result, the median sale price continued its steep, months-long decline, falling a record 40.6 percent, or $256,000, from a year ago, a real estate information service reported"

Bloomberg - "Fed Readies for Balance Sheet Tool as Rate Nears Zero" (12-16-08)

"The Federal Reserve may today reduce its main interest rate to the lowest level on record and prepare for one of the boldest experiments in its 94-year history: using its balance sheet as the key tool for monetary policy. The Fed’s Open Market Committee will probably cut the benchmark rate in half, to 0.5 percent, according to the median of 84 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. The central bank may also signal plans to channel credit to businesses and consumers by further enlarging its $2.26 trillion of assets."

Bloomberg - "AIG Should Reveal Extent of Bonuses, Cummings Says" (12-16-08)

"American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy may face a congressional hearing to explain 'the full extent' of the insurer’s plan to give bonuses to as many as 7,000 people so they won’t quit"

Bloomberg - "General Re’s Ferguson Gets Two Years, Avoids Life" (12-16-08)

"Ronald Ferguson, the former chief executive of General Reinsurance Corp., was sentenced to two years in prison for helping American International Group Inc. deceive shareholders, avoiding a potential life term. Ferguson, 66, was the highest-ranking of five executives convicted for using a sham transaction in 2000 to help AIG improve its balance sheet. U.S. District Judge Christopher Droney also ordered Ferguson to pay a $200,000 fine and serve two years of supervised release after prison. The judge could have given Ferguson a life sentence after ruling earlier that the fraud cost AIG shareholders as much as $597 million."

Orange County Register - "O.C. home seizures in free-fall" (12-16-08)

"Banks last month took 633 homes in Orange County from delinquent borrowers, a 14% drop from October and the lowest monthly foreclosure total in a year. Still, foreclosures were up 74% from 364 homes taken in November ‘07. Of course, last month’s total was close to the peak at the end of the slump in the ’90s: 674 foreclosures in October ‘96"

Realty Times - "Condo Trends: Wine Country Hot for Condos" (12-16-08)

"Condo sales in the nine-county area surrounding the San Francisco Bay are shooting through the roof, ranging from sales increases of 2.7 (San Mateo) to 188 percent (Sonoma). The Marin Independent Journal reports the upward swing of each county year over year for the month of September 2008. The driving force is the downward spiral of prices over the last year in the region."

Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Affordability Dramatically Improved" (12-16-08)

"How you see the real estate market at the moment depends on what parts you look at. If you focus primarily on mortgage rates and core affordability measures, you may see the country in a recession, but there are some very positive forces at work in the housing sector. On the other hand, if you look at widespread employment losses -- 530,000 last month alone -- along with rising personal and business bankruptcies, mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures at levels not seen since the 1930's, you might ask: How can housing rebound if the overall economy is mired in such a mess?"