Tuesday, December 02, 2008

NAR - "Curb Appeal Matters Now More Than Ever, Say Realtors®" (12-2-08)

"For the second year in a row, Realtors® report that exterior remodeling projects return the most money as a percentage of cost, as detailed in the 2008 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report."

The Wall Street Journal - "The Future for Home Prices" (12-2-08)

"Those hoping for a quick rebound are likely to be disappointed. Economists and other pros generally say home prices won't bottom out before the second half of 2009, and some don't see a bottom until 2011 or 2012. Even when they stop falling, prices may scrape along the bottom of the rut for years."

San Francisco Chronicle - "TransUnion: 3Q mortgage delinquencies shoot higher" (12-2-08)

"The percentage of people who are two months behind on their mortgages shot up in the third quarter from the same period last year, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion LLC. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, 3.96 percent of people holding a mortgage were at least 60 days behind in payments, compared with 2.56 percent in the 2007 third quarter."

Inman News - "Sacramento metro leads price declines" (12-2-08)

"In Sacramento, Calif., the price per square foot fell 31.9 percent from September 2007 to September 2007, according to Radar Logic. San Francisco (down 31.9 percent), Phoenix (down 29.3 percent), and Los Angeles (down 27.4 percent) also were among the metro areas with the largest year-over-year price declines."

CNN - "FDIC chief: Intervene on foreclosures" (12-2-08)

"The nation's top banking regulator warned Tuesday that help for troubled homeowners is failing to keep pace with the foreclosure crisis."


Bloomberg - "Icahn Sues Leon Black’s Realogy Over Debt Exchange" (12-2-08)

"
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sued Leon Black‘s Realogy Corp. over claims the company’s planned $1.1 billion debt exchange is a fraudulent transfer of money that will only delay its inevitable failure. Icahn’s High River Limited Partnership, owner of Realogy’s so-called pay-in-kind toggle bonds, said it will be unfairly pushed behind other noteholders in the exchange. Realogy, the Parsippany, New Jersey-based owner of Coldwell Banker and Century 21 brands, is asking bondholders to swap the securities for new debt at a discount as it battles the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression."

Bloomberg - "GMAC May Close Commercial Paper Unit If Not Upgraded" (12-2-08)

"
GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender that’s been shut out of some credit markets, may end operations at a commercial paper unit. GMAC has until Dec. 24 to secure upgrades from ratings firms on securities at its New Center Asset Trust unit, before an “orderly wind-down” may begin, the Detroit-based company said today in a regulatory filing. GMAC still plans on using the facility to sell commercial paper to the Federal Reserve as part of a government plan to unlock credit markets."

Bloomberg - "Beazer Shares Drop on Report of Eighth Straight Loss" (12-2-08)

"
Beazer Homes USA Inc., the U.S. homebuilder under investigation by the Justice Department, fell 8 percent in New York trading after the company reported a loss five times larger than analysts had projected. The fiscal fourth-quarter net loss widened on higher tax charges to $473.9 million, or $12.29 a share, from $155.2 million, or $4.03, a year earlier, the Atlanta-based company said today in a statement. Shares dropped 12 cents to $1.38 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading."

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