Charles Hugh Smith - "Let the Banks Go Under, Sell 10 Million Houses for $1 Each" (6-30-08)
"Today's target: the notion that the collapse of the insolvent U.S. banking system would be so terrible. Really? Terrible for who? Certainly not the nation at large. In fact the dissolution of the insolvent parts of the U.S. banking sector--yes, the investment banks, the money-center banks, the regional banks, and the savings and loans--would actually be an enormously positive development for the nation and indeed the world."
Yahoo - "The Next Victim of the Real Estate Crisis" (6-30-08)
"States are facing flat or even declining revenues even as costs for salaries, fuel, and construction increase. And revenues will only plunge further as the housing slump and credit crunch begin to reflect more in lower property assessments and sales and income taxes. With fewer homes being sold, homeowners are spending less on new furniture, carpets, bathroom and kitchen fixtures, and other household costs. Americans struggling just to make mortgage payments and fill fuel tanks have less to spend on discretionary purchases. Income tax is down as a result of job losses and shrinking profits for corporations, including those in the construction business."
Bloomberg - "Homeowners Fall Further Behind on Mortgage Payments" (6-30-08)
"In the worst housing slump since the Great Depression, 67,967 homeowners with mortgage insurance fell at least 60 days behind on their loans, compared with 40,687 who got back on track, the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America reported today. Borrowers who take on debt of more than 80 percent of a home's value are often required to buy coverage that pays lenders if they default."
Bloomberg - "Treasury Bear Market to Worsen Under Bernanke's Fed" (6-30-08)
"The biggest bear market in Treasuries since 2004 may get worse. Unlike four years ago, when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan embarked on 17 consecutive interest-rate increases to contain the threat of rising consumer prices, his successor Ben S. Bernanke is giving investors few assurances that the scourge of inflation will abate anytime soon."
Bloomberg - "California Under Schwarzenegger Underperforms Davis" (6-30-08)
"As the most populous U.S. state, with a gross domestic product that's No. 8 in the world, California is so strapped for cash that it must consider a short-term, $10 billion loan to cover its bills. The widening deficit means the financing may be about 0.85 percentage point more expensive than five years ago, when Davis lost his job over a budget gap twice as large as the $17 billion deficit the state now faces. That's an added $8.5 million on every $1 billion borrowed."
Orange County Register - "Demand for O.C. homes takes first ‘08 dip" (6-30-08)
"Market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services‘ latest report raises a question about the durability of the spring’s buying spurt. Thomas says that shoppers’ demand for O.C. housing, measured by the MLS tally of homes placed in pending escrows in the prior month, fell last week for the first time in 2008."
Orange County Register - "Distressed homes now 40% of O.C. supply" (6-30-08)
"Home market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo reports that the number of O.C. distressed properties (homes listed by agents as foreclosures or short sales) was 5,946 last week, up 48 vs. two weeks earlier or a 0.8% gain. Two weeks ago, distressed homes for sale fell by 7, the first drop of 2008."
Orange County Register - "Commercial construction down 34% in 2008" (6-30-08)
"The Construction Industry Research Board reports that plans for new office, industrial and retail space are down by two-thirds or more so far this year, accounting for the bulk of the declines in non-residential building permit values this year so far. verall, non-residential construction is off 34% in the first five months of the year vs. the same January-May period in 2007, the research board reported."
Bloomberg - "KB Home's Broad Says Investors `Better Off in Cash'" (6-30-08)
"Eli Broad, the philanthropist and founder of KB Home, said the growing number of vacant U.S. homes, mortgage-related losses at banks and declining consumer confidence have convinced him investors are 'letter off in cash' right now."
Bloomberg - "Genworth Mortgage Unit's Rating Reduced by Moody's" (6-30-08)
"Genworth Financial Inc., the insurer spun off by General Electric Co., had the financial strength rating of its mortgage insurance unit cut by Moody's Investors Service. 'The downgrade reflects historically high mortgage defaults and uncertainty about ultimate losses,' Moody's said today in a statement about the Richmond, Virginia-based insurer. The subsidiary was cut to Aa3 from Aa2, the rating company said"
Bloomberg - "Insurers' Catastrophe Claims Rise at Fastest Pace Since 1994" (6-30-08)
"U.S. property and casualty insurers have been hit with $8.9 billion in catastrophe claims so far this year for the highest first-half total since 1994, amid a surge in tornado-related damage, Insurance Services Office Inc. said."
Monday, June 30, 2008
Telegraph.Co.Uk - "Barclays warns of a financial storm as Federal Reserve's credibility crumbles" (6-28-08)
"Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall 'below zero'."
The Market Oracle - "US House Prices Forecast 2008-2010" (6-29-08)
"US House prices continued to plunge for April 08 data, reaching an extreme low reading of down 16.3% on a year earlier as measured by the S&P/ Case-Shiller Composite-10 and down more than 19% from the mid 2006 peak. The rate of decline is the worst since the Great Depression and signals further distress in the real estate linked credit markets and therefore a continuing drag on the US economy in the face of the continuing deleveraging of the mortgage backed derivatives markets. "
The New York Times - "As Housing Bill Evolves, Crisis Grows Deeper" (6-29-08)
"More than three million borrowers are in distress, and analysts are forecasting a couple of million more will fall behind on their payments in the coming year as home prices fall further and the economy weakens."
Orange County Register - "Gov. Arnold says Calif. will ‘grow out’ of housing ills by ‘09" (6-29-08)
"GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, no, I think that, you know, there were big mistakes made by borrowers and there were big mistakes made by lenders. And I think that everyone was on such a roll and the real estate market always, every year, went up and up and up, and so people started speculating. And, of course, what happened was the housing market was like the dot-com bubble, it was a housing bubble, and it finally — the whole thing collapsed. And now we have to just wait until we grow our way out of this situation. And I think that by next year we will grow out of it."
"Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall 'below zero'."
The Market Oracle - "US House Prices Forecast 2008-2010" (6-29-08)
"US House prices continued to plunge for April 08 data, reaching an extreme low reading of down 16.3% on a year earlier as measured by the S&P/ Case-Shiller Composite-10 and down more than 19% from the mid 2006 peak. The rate of decline is the worst since the Great Depression and signals further distress in the real estate linked credit markets and therefore a continuing drag on the US economy in the face of the continuing deleveraging of the mortgage backed derivatives markets. "
The New York Times - "As Housing Bill Evolves, Crisis Grows Deeper" (6-29-08)
"More than three million borrowers are in distress, and analysts are forecasting a couple of million more will fall behind on their payments in the coming year as home prices fall further and the economy weakens."
Orange County Register - "Gov. Arnold says Calif. will ‘grow out’ of housing ills by ‘09" (6-29-08)
"GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, no, I think that, you know, there were big mistakes made by borrowers and there were big mistakes made by lenders. And I think that everyone was on such a roll and the real estate market always, every year, went up and up and up, and so people started speculating. And, of course, what happened was the housing market was like the dot-com bubble, it was a housing bubble, and it finally — the whole thing collapsed. And now we have to just wait until we grow our way out of this situation. And I think that by next year we will grow out of it."
Friday, June 27, 2008
Yahoo - "BofA to cut 7,500 jobs after Countrywide deal" (6-27-08)
"Bank of America said Thursday it will cut about 7,500 jobs after it closes its acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The job cuts amount to about 12.5 percent of the combined companies' mortgage, home equity and insurance businesses, after the purchase is completed next week."
Bloomberg - "KB Home Reports Loss as Slump Hurts U.S. House Sales" (6-27-08)
"KB Home, the Los Angeles-based homebuilder founded by Eli Broad, reported its fifth straight quarterly loss as rising mortgage rates and falling prices reduced demand for homes. The fiscal second-quarter net loss was $255.9 million, or $3.30 a share, more than three times the average estimate of $1 per share in a Bloomberg survey. KB Home's shares dropped as much as 7.5 percent in New York. Revenue dropped 55 percent to $639.1 million, the company said today in a statement."
Bloomberg - "Homes Less Affordable as Prices Fall, Rates Rise, Zillow Says" (6-27-08)
"Rising mortgage rates are driving up the cost of buying a house even as prices fall, making property more expensive across the U.S., according to a new study by Zillow.com, an online provider of home valuations. Monthly payments on 30-year fixed mortgages are 6 percent to 10 percent higher in 41 of the top U.S. housing markets than they were two months ago. First-quarter prices have declined from a year earlier in 88 percent of those areas, Zillow said."
Bloomberg - "Values of Higher-Priced Homes May Drop Faster, JPMorgan Says" (6-27-08)
"The U.S. home-price declines most associated with lower-priced properties may accelerate among more expensive houses, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. The increasing odds that the U.S. will enter a recession and a wave of payment spikes on option adjustable-rate mortgages make the larger percentage drops more likely, New York-based mortgage- bond analysts at JPMorgan wrote in a report today."
Bloomberg - "Fed Reviews Bank Investment Rules to Channel Capital to Lenders" (6-27-08)
"Federal Reserve officials are reviewing regulations that limit investment firms' stakes in banks, aiming to channel more capital into the U.S. banking system. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have urged lenders to raise capital to compensate for almost $400 billion in writedowns and credit losses from the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market. Concern about rising loan losses has sent the Standard & Poor's 500 Banks Index into a 21 percent dive this month, putting it on course for its worst monthly return in almost a decade."
Bloomberg - "AIG to Absorb $5 Billion Loss on Securities Lending" (6-27-08)
"American International Group Inc. plans to absorb losses for a dozen insurance units after their securities-lending accounts suffered $13 billion of writedowns tied to the subprime-mortgage collapse during the past year. Moody's Investors Service and A.M. Best Co. both cited the writedowns in May when they downgraded New York-based AIG's credit ratings. State regulators in Texas said they didn't know AIG was investing cash collateral from the securities-lending business in subprime-linked assets and were concerned the insurance units hadn't put aside enough capital to cover potential losses."
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Anti-Flipping Rules" (6-27-08)
"Here's some really good news for anyone involved in acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling foreclosed houses: The Federal Housing Administration is temporarily waiving its 'anti-flipping' rules and will now insure mortgages on properties that have been owned by the current seller for less than 90 days."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: New Home Sales Will Reverse Without Stimulus" (6-27-08)
"New home sales fell another 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 512,000 units. At this rate, about one million new homes will be sold by the end of the year. That's about half what both the National Association of Home Builders and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard says sustainable new home sales should be."
"Bank of America said Thursday it will cut about 7,500 jobs after it closes its acquisition of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. The job cuts amount to about 12.5 percent of the combined companies' mortgage, home equity and insurance businesses, after the purchase is completed next week."
Bloomberg - "KB Home Reports Loss as Slump Hurts U.S. House Sales" (6-27-08)
"KB Home, the Los Angeles-based homebuilder founded by Eli Broad, reported its fifth straight quarterly loss as rising mortgage rates and falling prices reduced demand for homes. The fiscal second-quarter net loss was $255.9 million, or $3.30 a share, more than three times the average estimate of $1 per share in a Bloomberg survey. KB Home's shares dropped as much as 7.5 percent in New York. Revenue dropped 55 percent to $639.1 million, the company said today in a statement."
Bloomberg - "Homes Less Affordable as Prices Fall, Rates Rise, Zillow Says" (6-27-08)
"Rising mortgage rates are driving up the cost of buying a house even as prices fall, making property more expensive across the U.S., according to a new study by Zillow.com, an online provider of home valuations. Monthly payments on 30-year fixed mortgages are 6 percent to 10 percent higher in 41 of the top U.S. housing markets than they were two months ago. First-quarter prices have declined from a year earlier in 88 percent of those areas, Zillow said."
Bloomberg - "Values of Higher-Priced Homes May Drop Faster, JPMorgan Says" (6-27-08)
"The U.S. home-price declines most associated with lower-priced properties may accelerate among more expensive houses, according to analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. The increasing odds that the U.S. will enter a recession and a wave of payment spikes on option adjustable-rate mortgages make the larger percentage drops more likely, New York-based mortgage- bond analysts at JPMorgan wrote in a report today."
Bloomberg - "Fed Reviews Bank Investment Rules to Channel Capital to Lenders" (6-27-08)
"Federal Reserve officials are reviewing regulations that limit investment firms' stakes in banks, aiming to channel more capital into the U.S. banking system. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have urged lenders to raise capital to compensate for almost $400 billion in writedowns and credit losses from the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market. Concern about rising loan losses has sent the Standard & Poor's 500 Banks Index into a 21 percent dive this month, putting it on course for its worst monthly return in almost a decade."
Bloomberg - "AIG to Absorb $5 Billion Loss on Securities Lending" (6-27-08)
"American International Group Inc. plans to absorb losses for a dozen insurance units after their securities-lending accounts suffered $13 billion of writedowns tied to the subprime-mortgage collapse during the past year. Moody's Investors Service and A.M. Best Co. both cited the writedowns in May when they downgraded New York-based AIG's credit ratings. State regulators in Texas said they didn't know AIG was investing cash collateral from the securities-lending business in subprime-linked assets and were concerned the insurance units hadn't put aside enough capital to cover potential losses."
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Anti-Flipping Rules" (6-27-08)
"Here's some really good news for anyone involved in acquiring, rehabilitating and reselling foreclosed houses: The Federal Housing Administration is temporarily waiving its 'anti-flipping' rules and will now insure mortgages on properties that have been owned by the current seller for less than 90 days."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: New Home Sales Will Reverse Without Stimulus" (6-27-08)
"New home sales fell another 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted rate of 512,000 units. At this rate, about one million new homes will be sold by the end of the year. That's about half what both the National Association of Home Builders and the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard says sustainable new home sales should be."
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Loan Safe Solutions - "New York Tackles Reckless Subprime Lending…Will California Be Next?" (6-26-08)
"New York is the latest to pass a tough law with stronger protections to put an end to many of the abuses that led to today’s foreclosure crisis. This action came on the heels of new laws in Connecticut and Maryland, and Michigan is actively considering a robust bill, too. Approximately a dozen states, including Ohio, Minnesota, and North Carolina last year, have taken the lead in passing common-sense protections consumers should have had all along."
NAR - "May Existing-Home Sales Show Modest Gain" (6-26-08)
"Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 1 of 4.99 million units in May from a level of 4.89 million in April, but are 15.9 percent below the 5.93 million-unit pace in May 2007."
Bloomberg - "Lennar Reports Loss, Says Home Market Not at Bottom" (6-26-08)
"Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and said the housing market has yet to see the worst of the slump. The shares fell 8.4 percent after Miami-based Lennar reported a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $121 million, or 76 cents a share. Analysts projected a loss of 68 cents. Revenue fell 61 percent to $1.1 billion."
Bloomberg - "SEC Inquiries Stemming From Subprime Crisis Surge" (6-26-08)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's docket of probes stemming from the subprime- mortgage crisis has grown at least 40 percent since January amid mounting investor losses and the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., a person familiar with the agency's caseload said."
Bloomberg - "Commercial-Mortgage Bond Sales May Reach 12-Year Low" (6-26-08)
"Commercial-mortgage backed securities offerings dropped to $12.2 billion in the first half of the year, from about $137 billion in the same period of 2007, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analysts at the firm, Moody's Investors Service and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc cut their forecasts. JPMorgan predicts sales will fall to $20 billion this year from the record $237 billion in 2007 and the lowest since 1996."
Bloomberg - "Subprime-Mortgage Defaults Rise Less Than Some Forecasts in May" (6-26-08)
"Subprime-mortgage defaults last month rose less than some forecasts as some categories of delinquency rates improved, according to data on the debt underlying the benchmark Markit ABX derivatives indexes."
Bloomberg - "Genworth Financial Is `Comfortable' With 2008 Earnings Forecast" (6-26-08)
"The Richmond-Virginia-based company, whose shares have fallen 46 percent in the past year, forecasts a 2008 operating profit range of $2.25 to $2.65 a share. Fraizer last week reorganized management so that its U.S. mortgage-insurance unit reports to him directly, and announced the chief investment officer was leaving the company. The three insurers in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index that declined more than Genworth in the past year all replaced their CEOs."
Realty Times - "Assessing Your Readiness to Invest in Foreclosures" (6-26-08)
"Not everyone is cut out to invest in foreclosures. Some people would rather watch TV, invest in stocks and bonds, spend time with family members, or hang out with their friends. Others have a low risk tolerance and can't convince themselves to borrow money."
Orange County Register - "REITs? Forget it." (6-26-08)
"Who came up with the bright idea of creating a company that buys a bunch of home loans and then pays out nearly all the income it gets to shareholders? What if the loans go bad? What if interest rates rise? Paying at least 90 percent of earnings as dividends, a requirement of any real estate investment trust, means there’s little money left over for a rainy day."
Orange County Register - "Aliso Viejo is top city for property tax cuts" (6-26-08)
"Orange County Tax Assessor’s Office says Aliso Viejo leads Orange County cities in the percentage of its homes that had their property tax assessments reduced for the coming fiscal year"
"New York is the latest to pass a tough law with stronger protections to put an end to many of the abuses that led to today’s foreclosure crisis. This action came on the heels of new laws in Connecticut and Maryland, and Michigan is actively considering a robust bill, too. Approximately a dozen states, including Ohio, Minnesota, and North Carolina last year, have taken the lead in passing common-sense protections consumers should have had all along."
NAR - "May Existing-Home Sales Show Modest Gain" (6-26-08)
"Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – increased 2.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 1 of 4.99 million units in May from a level of 4.89 million in April, but are 15.9 percent below the 5.93 million-unit pace in May 2007."
Bloomberg - "Lennar Reports Loss, Says Home Market Not at Bottom" (6-26-08)
"Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, reported its fifth straight quarterly loss and said the housing market has yet to see the worst of the slump. The shares fell 8.4 percent after Miami-based Lennar reported a fiscal second-quarter net loss of $121 million, or 76 cents a share. Analysts projected a loss of 68 cents. Revenue fell 61 percent to $1.1 billion."
Bloomberg - "SEC Inquiries Stemming From Subprime Crisis Surge" (6-26-08)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's docket of probes stemming from the subprime- mortgage crisis has grown at least 40 percent since January amid mounting investor losses and the collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., a person familiar with the agency's caseload said."
Bloomberg - "Commercial-Mortgage Bond Sales May Reach 12-Year Low" (6-26-08)
"Commercial-mortgage backed securities offerings dropped to $12.2 billion in the first half of the year, from about $137 billion in the same period of 2007, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analysts at the firm, Moody's Investors Service and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc cut their forecasts. JPMorgan predicts sales will fall to $20 billion this year from the record $237 billion in 2007 and the lowest since 1996."
Bloomberg - "Subprime-Mortgage Defaults Rise Less Than Some Forecasts in May" (6-26-08)
"Subprime-mortgage defaults last month rose less than some forecasts as some categories of delinquency rates improved, according to data on the debt underlying the benchmark Markit ABX derivatives indexes."
Bloomberg - "Genworth Financial Is `Comfortable' With 2008 Earnings Forecast" (6-26-08)
"The Richmond-Virginia-based company, whose shares have fallen 46 percent in the past year, forecasts a 2008 operating profit range of $2.25 to $2.65 a share. Fraizer last week reorganized management so that its U.S. mortgage-insurance unit reports to him directly, and announced the chief investment officer was leaving the company. The three insurers in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index that declined more than Genworth in the past year all replaced their CEOs."
Realty Times - "Assessing Your Readiness to Invest in Foreclosures" (6-26-08)
"Not everyone is cut out to invest in foreclosures. Some people would rather watch TV, invest in stocks and bonds, spend time with family members, or hang out with their friends. Others have a low risk tolerance and can't convince themselves to borrow money."
Orange County Register - "REITs? Forget it." (6-26-08)
"Who came up with the bright idea of creating a company that buys a bunch of home loans and then pays out nearly all the income it gets to shareholders? What if the loans go bad? What if interest rates rise? Paying at least 90 percent of earnings as dividends, a requirement of any real estate investment trust, means there’s little money left over for a rainy day."
Orange County Register - "Aliso Viejo is top city for property tax cuts" (6-26-08)
"Orange County Tax Assessor’s Office says Aliso Viejo leads Orange County cities in the percentage of its homes that had their property tax assessments reduced for the coming fiscal year"
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
NAHB - "New-Home Sales Decline In May" (6-25-08)
"In the latest evidence of severe and ongoing weakness in the nation’s housing market, the Commerce Department reported today that sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units, largely offsetting a gain they recorded in the previous month."
NAR - "NAR Grants Help Increase Local Housing Opportunities" (6-25-08)
"The National Association of Realtors® has awarded $39,500 to 13 local and state Realtor® associations through the Housing Opportunity Fund grants program. The grants help support the housing opportunity efforts of local and state Realtor® associations. 'Realtors® build communities and care about the lack of housing opportunities available to low- and moderate-income families,' said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. 'These grants help support NAR’s mission of advocating solutions to today’s critical housing needs and help position Realtors® as leaders in their communities by increasing access to affordable housing and homeownership.'"
Wall Street Journal - "Consumer Confidence Plummets" (6-25-08)
"American consumers, battered by falling home prices and soaring gasoline prices, are at their gloomiest in decades, raising fears they might cut back on spending later this year and tip the economy into a recession. Consumer confidence plunged in June to its lowest level since 1992, and home-price declines accelerated in April, according to data released Tuesday. The renewed signs of economic weakness underscored why Federal Reserve policy makers, who wrap up a two-day meeting Wednesday, are likely to hold the target for their benchmark interest rate steady at 2%."
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decreased In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-25-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 20, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 461.3, a decrease of 9.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 508.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9.3 percent compared with the previous week and was down 25.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
CBIA - "CBIA Sharply Reduces 2008 Housing Forecast" (6-25-08)
"California homebuilders are expected to begin construction on just 72,000 homes, condominiums and apartments this year, significantly lower than earlier forecasts. If that level is correct it will be the lowest production in the Golden State since at least the early 1950s, according to the annual midyear housing forecast released today by the California Building Industry Association."
Market Watch - "Four years of gains in home prices wiped out" (6-25-08)
"Home prices across 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year and are now back to where they were in the summer of 2004, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's."
Yahoo - "Fed leaves rates unchanged, ending 9-months of rate cuts" (6-25-08)
"The Federal Reserve left its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday at 2%, marking the first time in the nine months that it did not cut rates. The central bank also raised alarms about inflation. But experts said it is still unclear what the Fed will do with interest rates at its next meeting Aug. 5 and for the remainder of the year."
Bloomberg - "Analysts Backtrack on Banking Stocks After Saying Worst Is Over" (6-25-08)
"The mortgage-market rout that began last year and led to almost $400 billion in bank writedowns and credit losses has lasted longer and cut deeper than bearish analysts predicted. Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, and UBS AG, Switzerland's largest lender, have lost $43 billion and $38 billion, respectively."
Market Watch - "Housing crash hits baby boomers" (6-25-08)
"The collapse of the housing bubble will likely have drastic implications on the wealth and retirement of certain baby boomers, according to a report Tuesday by the Center for Economic and Policy Research."
CNN - "On the path to a housing rebound" (6-25-08)
"The news that housing starts have fallen to their lowest level in 17 years sounds like one more reason to be depressed about the shrinking value of your home. In fact, it's an almost certain sign that the path to a housing recovery is finally in sight. If prices are going to stabilize, let alone rebound, the United States needs to produce far more first-time home buyers than new houses. That's the only way to tame the glut of 'For Sale' signs dotting front yards from the Inland Empire of California to the Gold Coast of Florida."
Bloomberg - "Countrywide Sued by California, Illinois, Over Mortgage Loans" (6-25-08)
"Countrywide Financial Corp., the mortgage lender that lost $2.5 billion amid rising defaults and foreclosures, was sued by California and Illinois for allegedly luring borrowers into risky loans they couldn't afford. Countrywide and Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo were named in the suits, filed today, claiming the lender's tactics led thousands of borrowers to lose their homes when they couldn't make their payments. Countrywide used deceptive practices, including low 'teaser' rates, to entice borrowers into adjustable-rate loans without adequately informing them that the payments would balloon in later months, according to the suits."
CAR - "C.A.R. reports sales increased 18.1 percent; median home price fell 35.3 percent in May" (6-25-08)
"The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during May 2008 was $384,840, a 35.3 percent decrease from the revised $594,530 median for May 2007, C.A.R. reported. The May 2008 median price fell 4.7 percent compared with April’s $403,870 median price."
"In the latest evidence of severe and ongoing weakness in the nation’s housing market, the Commerce Department reported today that sales of newly built, single-family homes fell 2.5 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000 units, largely offsetting a gain they recorded in the previous month."
NAR - "NAR Grants Help Increase Local Housing Opportunities" (6-25-08)
"The National Association of Realtors® has awarded $39,500 to 13 local and state Realtor® associations through the Housing Opportunity Fund grants program. The grants help support the housing opportunity efforts of local and state Realtor® associations. 'Realtors® build communities and care about the lack of housing opportunities available to low- and moderate-income families,' said NAR President Dick Gaylord, a broker with RE/MAX Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif. 'These grants help support NAR’s mission of advocating solutions to today’s critical housing needs and help position Realtors® as leaders in their communities by increasing access to affordable housing and homeownership.'"
Wall Street Journal - "Consumer Confidence Plummets" (6-25-08)
"American consumers, battered by falling home prices and soaring gasoline prices, are at their gloomiest in decades, raising fears they might cut back on spending later this year and tip the economy into a recession. Consumer confidence plunged in June to its lowest level since 1992, and home-price declines accelerated in April, according to data released Tuesday. The renewed signs of economic weakness underscored why Federal Reserve policy makers, who wrap up a two-day meeting Wednesday, are likely to hold the target for their benchmark interest rate steady at 2%."
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decreased In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-25-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 20, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 461.3, a decrease of 9.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 508.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9.3 percent compared with the previous week and was down 25.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
CBIA - "CBIA Sharply Reduces 2008 Housing Forecast" (6-25-08)
"California homebuilders are expected to begin construction on just 72,000 homes, condominiums and apartments this year, significantly lower than earlier forecasts. If that level is correct it will be the lowest production in the Golden State since at least the early 1950s, according to the annual midyear housing forecast released today by the California Building Industry Association."
Market Watch - "Four years of gains in home prices wiped out" (6-25-08)
"Home prices across 20 major U.S. cities have dropped a record 15.3% in the past year and are now back to where they were in the summer of 2004, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's."
Yahoo - "Fed leaves rates unchanged, ending 9-months of rate cuts" (6-25-08)
"The Federal Reserve left its key short-term interest rate unchanged Wednesday at 2%, marking the first time in the nine months that it did not cut rates. The central bank also raised alarms about inflation. But experts said it is still unclear what the Fed will do with interest rates at its next meeting Aug. 5 and for the remainder of the year."
Bloomberg - "Analysts Backtrack on Banking Stocks After Saying Worst Is Over" (6-25-08)
"The mortgage-market rout that began last year and led to almost $400 billion in bank writedowns and credit losses has lasted longer and cut deeper than bearish analysts predicted. Citigroup Inc., the biggest U.S. bank by assets, and UBS AG, Switzerland's largest lender, have lost $43 billion and $38 billion, respectively."
Market Watch - "Housing crash hits baby boomers" (6-25-08)
"The collapse of the housing bubble will likely have drastic implications on the wealth and retirement of certain baby boomers, according to a report Tuesday by the Center for Economic and Policy Research."
CNN - "On the path to a housing rebound" (6-25-08)
"The news that housing starts have fallen to their lowest level in 17 years sounds like one more reason to be depressed about the shrinking value of your home. In fact, it's an almost certain sign that the path to a housing recovery is finally in sight. If prices are going to stabilize, let alone rebound, the United States needs to produce far more first-time home buyers than new houses. That's the only way to tame the glut of 'For Sale' signs dotting front yards from the Inland Empire of California to the Gold Coast of Florida."
Bloomberg - "Countrywide Sued by California, Illinois, Over Mortgage Loans" (6-25-08)
"Countrywide Financial Corp., the mortgage lender that lost $2.5 billion amid rising defaults and foreclosures, was sued by California and Illinois for allegedly luring borrowers into risky loans they couldn't afford. Countrywide and Chief Executive Officer Angelo Mozilo were named in the suits, filed today, claiming the lender's tactics led thousands of borrowers to lose their homes when they couldn't make their payments. Countrywide used deceptive practices, including low 'teaser' rates, to entice borrowers into adjustable-rate loans without adequately informing them that the payments would balloon in later months, according to the suits."
CAR - "C.A.R. reports sales increased 18.1 percent; median home price fell 35.3 percent in May" (6-25-08)
"The median price of an existing, single-family detached home in California during May 2008 was $384,840, a 35.3 percent decrease from the revised $594,530 median for May 2007, C.A.R. reported. The May 2008 median price fell 4.7 percent compared with April’s $403,870 median price."
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Bloomberg - "S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Fell 15.3% in April" (6-24-08)
"Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in April by the most on record, signaling the housing recession is far from over, a private survey showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 15.3 percent from a year earlier, less than forecast, after a 14.3 percent decline in March. The group began keeping year-over-year records in 2001. A separate report showed consumer confidence slumped this month to the lowest level in 16 years."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Homebuilders Rise on Positive Analyst Rating" (6-24-08)
"Centex Corp. and KB Home led an index of U.S. homebuilders to its biggest gain in three weeks after a Credit Suisse analyst started coverage of the builders with an ``overweight'' rating on the industry. A Standard & Poor's measure of home construction companies gained 3.7 percent, the most since June 3, after the positive recommendation in a report dated yesterday by Daniel Oppenheim of Credit Suisse."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Attorney Charges Follieri, Sued by Burkle, With Wire Fraud" (6-24-08)
"Follieri's company, Follieri Group LLC, was sued in April by Ron Burkle's Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Cos., which claimed he used part of a $55.6 million investment in a joint venture with the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I to finance a lifestyle that included private jets, a penthouse and trips to Europe with actress Anne Hathaway, his girlfriend at the time."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing May Reach `Inflection' in 2009, Credit Suisse Says" (6-24-08)
"The U.S. housing market may reach an 'inflection point' next year as the number of existing homes for sale peaks and new-home construction stalls."
Bloomberg - "Fannie, Freddie Fail to Relieve Jumbo Loan Pressure" (6-24-08)
"Three months after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won the freedom to step up home-loan purchases, the government-chartered mortgage-finance companies are doing what critics in the Federal Reserve and Congress had predicted. Instead of using powers granted by Congress to buy jumbo loans for the first time, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are purchasing their own mortgage-backed securities, helping reduce losses, company filings show. The large loans, above $417,000, made up almost a third of the U.S. market last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."
Bloomberg - "Bernanke Plays `Dangerous Game' Weighing Talk, Action" (6-24-08)
"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, by voicing concern about inflation and the slumping dollar, has fanned investor expectations for an interest-rate increase as soon as August. He may regret it. Raising rates may exacerbate the economic slowdown and roil banks whose losses sent their stocks down the most in a decade this month. Forgoing a rate boost next quarter risks damaging the Fed's credibility and deepening its divisions. Already this year, three officials have dissented on rate decisions."
Reuters - "WaMu may face $30 bln credit losses through 2011: Lehman" (6-24-08)
"Washington Mutual Inc may set aside as much as $30 billion for credit losses through 2011, according to Lehman Brothers Inc analyst Bruce Harting, who increased his forecast for losses this year at the largest U.S. savings and loan. Harting also wrote that the Seattle-based thrift may need to widen its loss forecast of $12 billion to $19 billion tied to single-family residential home loans for the next three to four years."
Wall Street Journal - "U.S.-Backed Mortgage Program Fuels Risks" (6-24-08)
"Mortgages that allow consumers to put little if any money down when buying a home have largely disappeared as a financing option available from private lenders. But they are still available -- and growing more popular -- through a government-backed program. That's raising concerns among critics who blame no-money-down mortgages for many of today's housing market woes. And while federal housing officials are moving to end the practice, for now home builders are promoting the programs to move unsold inventory."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-24-08)
"The Joint Center for Housing Studies has reported that America's rental market may see some significant changes as the mortgage crisis continues. Foreclosure rates have jumped from less than 200,000 a decade ago -- to a rate in the millions. While slower economic conditions are creating financial hard times for many individuals, much of the blame points to subprime loans, which skewed the line of affordability and reason for buyers in the past few years."
Realty Times - "Climate Change, Home Location Intertwined" (6-24-08)
"When it comes to where you choose to live, be very careful what you wish for. That river-side bargain, bay view dream home or desert adobe could, along with you, become a victim of climate change."
Daily News - "State's real estate bust is still playing out" (6-24-08)
"California's real estate market is a three-act play. Sort of a greed tragedy full of surprises. That's how the UCLA Anderson Forecast sees things. Part of its second-quarter assessment included a section titled 'The Three Phases of the California Real Estate Bust.' Of course, hindsight is a pretty good rear-view mirror. Act 1 was great, for the most part. Act 2 was horrible and Act 3 is still playing itself out."
"Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in April by the most on record, signaling the housing recession is far from over, a private survey showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 15.3 percent from a year earlier, less than forecast, after a 14.3 percent decline in March. The group began keeping year-over-year records in 2001. A separate report showed consumer confidence slumped this month to the lowest level in 16 years."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Homebuilders Rise on Positive Analyst Rating" (6-24-08)
"Centex Corp. and KB Home led an index of U.S. homebuilders to its biggest gain in three weeks after a Credit Suisse analyst started coverage of the builders with an ``overweight'' rating on the industry. A Standard & Poor's measure of home construction companies gained 3.7 percent, the most since June 3, after the positive recommendation in a report dated yesterday by Daniel Oppenheim of Credit Suisse."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Attorney Charges Follieri, Sued by Burkle, With Wire Fraud" (6-24-08)
"Follieri's company, Follieri Group LLC, was sued in April by Ron Burkle's Los Angeles-based Yucaipa Cos., which claimed he used part of a $55.6 million investment in a joint venture with the Yucaipa Corporate Initiatives Fund I to finance a lifestyle that included private jets, a penthouse and trips to Europe with actress Anne Hathaway, his girlfriend at the time."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing May Reach `Inflection' in 2009, Credit Suisse Says" (6-24-08)
"The U.S. housing market may reach an 'inflection point' next year as the number of existing homes for sale peaks and new-home construction stalls."
Bloomberg - "Fannie, Freddie Fail to Relieve Jumbo Loan Pressure" (6-24-08)
"Three months after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac won the freedom to step up home-loan purchases, the government-chartered mortgage-finance companies are doing what critics in the Federal Reserve and Congress had predicted. Instead of using powers granted by Congress to buy jumbo loans for the first time, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are purchasing their own mortgage-backed securities, helping reduce losses, company filings show. The large loans, above $417,000, made up almost a third of the U.S. market last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."
Bloomberg - "Bernanke Plays `Dangerous Game' Weighing Talk, Action" (6-24-08)
"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, by voicing concern about inflation and the slumping dollar, has fanned investor expectations for an interest-rate increase as soon as August. He may regret it. Raising rates may exacerbate the economic slowdown and roil banks whose losses sent their stocks down the most in a decade this month. Forgoing a rate boost next quarter risks damaging the Fed's credibility and deepening its divisions. Already this year, three officials have dissented on rate decisions."
Reuters - "WaMu may face $30 bln credit losses through 2011: Lehman" (6-24-08)
"Washington Mutual Inc may set aside as much as $30 billion for credit losses through 2011, according to Lehman Brothers Inc analyst Bruce Harting, who increased his forecast for losses this year at the largest U.S. savings and loan. Harting also wrote that the Seattle-based thrift may need to widen its loss forecast of $12 billion to $19 billion tied to single-family residential home loans for the next three to four years."
Wall Street Journal - "U.S.-Backed Mortgage Program Fuels Risks" (6-24-08)
"Mortgages that allow consumers to put little if any money down when buying a home have largely disappeared as a financing option available from private lenders. But they are still available -- and growing more popular -- through a government-backed program. That's raising concerns among critics who blame no-money-down mortgages for many of today's housing market woes. And while federal housing officials are moving to end the practice, for now home builders are promoting the programs to move unsold inventory."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-24-08)
"The Joint Center for Housing Studies has reported that America's rental market may see some significant changes as the mortgage crisis continues. Foreclosure rates have jumped from less than 200,000 a decade ago -- to a rate in the millions. While slower economic conditions are creating financial hard times for many individuals, much of the blame points to subprime loans, which skewed the line of affordability and reason for buyers in the past few years."
Realty Times - "Climate Change, Home Location Intertwined" (6-24-08)
"When it comes to where you choose to live, be very careful what you wish for. That river-side bargain, bay view dream home or desert adobe could, along with you, become a victim of climate change."
Daily News - "State's real estate bust is still playing out" (6-24-08)
"California's real estate market is a three-act play. Sort of a greed tragedy full of surprises. That's how the UCLA Anderson Forecast sees things. Part of its second-quarter assessment included a section titled 'The Three Phases of the California Real Estate Bust.' Of course, hindsight is a pretty good rear-view mirror. Act 1 was great, for the most part. Act 2 was horrible and Act 3 is still playing itself out."
Monday, June 23, 2008
NAHB - "Builders Call On Congress To Pass Housing Stimulus Bill" (6-23-08)
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has initiated an all-out effort to get Congress to pass badly needed stimulus legislation that will help stabilize the economy and housing market and assist millions of current and potential home owners. A central component of this legislation is a temporary home buyer tax credit to stimulate home purchases by qualified first-time buyers."
CNN - "Over the horizon, a housing recovery" (6-23-08)
"A new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 'The State of the Nation's Housing 2008,' finds the country poised to see an increase in housing demand over the next decade."
CBIA - "New Residential Construction Still Slow in May, CBIA Announces" (6-23-08)
"According to housing permit data supplied by the Construction Industry Research Board, total housing starts in California, as measured by building permits issued, fell 37 percent in May when compared to the same month a year ago to 7,035 units, the highest monthly total of the year thus far. Single-family home production dropped 52 percent while construction of multifamily units dipped 5 percent when compared to May of 2007."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-23-08)
"The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that new home starts were down 3.3 percent in May -- the lowest in 17 years."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: California 'Bringing Bargain-Hunting Buyers Back'" (6-23-08)
"slow sales and rising inventories made home prices more affordable. More bargain-hunters have been attracted to the market, according to Ryan Ratcliff, an Anderson Forecast economist. In April, the median price for single-family homes crashed 32 percent year-over-year, pushing the median price down $200,000, according to California Association of Realtors."
Inman News - "Real estate coach breaks into card games" (6-23-08)
"The market hit its peak in 2005. Historically, real estate cycles tend to be approximately 10 years. If this market follows the patterns from the past, we should see a flattening over the next 12 to 24 months and then a return to price appreciation. The huge number of Gen Ys and foreign investors will drive the next major wave of home purchases."
Inman News - "Market scarred by inflation, capital exhaustion" (6-23-08)
"Mortgage rates have improved, down to 6.5 percent, as credit-market psychology has entered a substantial reversal. In the mass psychosis of late May, the financial markets suddenly decided that the economy had passed bottom; the banking system was recovering; inflation had become the dominant risk; the Fed would therefore begin an extended rate-raising campaign; and it was a good idea to dump every IOU within reach. That hallucination is now responding to medication."
Orange County Register - "O.C. real estate job slump hits 18 months" (6-23-08)
"Employment Development Dept. stats, analyzed by your blogger, show that Orange County real estate and finance jobs in May were 17,800 (-7%) below a year ago, the 18th consecutive month of year-over-year job losses in these property-related niches. All told, jobs in these industries are down 10.5% from the September ‘06 peak."
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has initiated an all-out effort to get Congress to pass badly needed stimulus legislation that will help stabilize the economy and housing market and assist millions of current and potential home owners. A central component of this legislation is a temporary home buyer tax credit to stimulate home purchases by qualified first-time buyers."
CNN - "Over the horizon, a housing recovery" (6-23-08)
"A new study from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, 'The State of the Nation's Housing 2008,' finds the country poised to see an increase in housing demand over the next decade."
CBIA - "New Residential Construction Still Slow in May, CBIA Announces" (6-23-08)
"According to housing permit data supplied by the Construction Industry Research Board, total housing starts in California, as measured by building permits issued, fell 37 percent in May when compared to the same month a year ago to 7,035 units, the highest monthly total of the year thus far. Single-family home production dropped 52 percent while construction of multifamily units dipped 5 percent when compared to May of 2007."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-23-08)
"The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that new home starts were down 3.3 percent in May -- the lowest in 17 years."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: California 'Bringing Bargain-Hunting Buyers Back'" (6-23-08)
"slow sales and rising inventories made home prices more affordable. More bargain-hunters have been attracted to the market, according to Ryan Ratcliff, an Anderson Forecast economist. In April, the median price for single-family homes crashed 32 percent year-over-year, pushing the median price down $200,000, according to California Association of Realtors."
Inman News - "Real estate coach breaks into card games" (6-23-08)
"The market hit its peak in 2005. Historically, real estate cycles tend to be approximately 10 years. If this market follows the patterns from the past, we should see a flattening over the next 12 to 24 months and then a return to price appreciation. The huge number of Gen Ys and foreign investors will drive the next major wave of home purchases."
Inman News - "Market scarred by inflation, capital exhaustion" (6-23-08)
"Mortgage rates have improved, down to 6.5 percent, as credit-market psychology has entered a substantial reversal. In the mass psychosis of late May, the financial markets suddenly decided that the economy had passed bottom; the banking system was recovering; inflation had become the dominant risk; the Fed would therefore begin an extended rate-raising campaign; and it was a good idea to dump every IOU within reach. That hallucination is now responding to medication."
Orange County Register - "O.C. real estate job slump hits 18 months" (6-23-08)
"Employment Development Dept. stats, analyzed by your blogger, show that Orange County real estate and finance jobs in May were 17,800 (-7%) below a year ago, the 18th consecutive month of year-over-year job losses in these property-related niches. All told, jobs in these industries are down 10.5% from the September ‘06 peak."
Ventura Couny Star - "Foreclosures considered for shelters" (6-21-08)
"Nearly 40 financial, government, nonprofit and religious officials met earlier this week in Ventura to explore the idea of developing housing such as emergency shelters, transitional programs and long-term leases for families. Officials said such a program could not only get the homeless off the streets, but also stabilize real estate prices by lowering the number of unsold houses."
CNN - "States take a whack at foreclosures" (6-21-08)
"While Congress has talked for a year about a federal response to the foreclosure crisis, attorneys general have been busy helping troubled homeowners at the state level. AGs are filing lawsuits, lobbying legislatures for tougher mortgage lender laws, and partnering with mortgage servicers and community development groups to help rescue homeowners from foreclosures. Their efforts have paid off. While the Mortgage Bankers Association says a million homes were in foreclosure in the first three months of 2008, one community advocate says that number would have been larger if the AGs weren't involved."
North County Times - "HOUSING: High-end neighborhoods also suffering" (6-21-08)
"From the start of a housing recession that has sent average real estate prices in North County plummeting, some housing analysts said expensive neighborhoods would persevere, dodging steep declines. That's no longer true. Several homes in one of North County's ritzier regions, the San Diego neighborhoods of Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo, have tumbled 30 percent in value."
CNN - "Why Bush, Congress may make housing deal" (6-21-08)
"Bush has threatened a veto. But lawmakers in both parties say the housing legislation is a political imperative, and negotiators see the makings of a summertime bargain. For one, the measure contains elements that Bush long has demanded. They include modernizing the Depression-era Federal Housing Administration and creating a new regulator for the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."
The San Diego Union Tribune - "Mortgage rates on rise, as are fears for housing" (6-22-08)
"As if the local housing market weren't bad enough, there's another storm cloud on the horizon: rising mortgage rates. The interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged more than 6.4 percent last week, rising from 6.3 percent the previous week and an average of 5.8 percent during the first quarter."
Orange County Register - "O.C. builders drop house prices, raise condos" (6-22-08)
"Costa Mesa-based Hanley Wood Market Intelligence reports that the median contract price O.C. builders got for a newly built house fell 8.5% in April to $988,500, vs. $1.08 million in April 2007. The number of contracts also tumbled, declining 35.5% from April 2007 to 89. But builders’ condo prices were up vs. April of last year, rising 3.2% to $453,000, Hanley Wood reported in a recent release from the California Building Industry Association."
Orange County Register - "Subprime and punishment" (6-22-08)
"On Thursday, former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were indicted for securities fraud and conspiracy — and Cioffi for insider trading too. Their indictment is the first subprime-related charge by federal investigators since the mortgage meltdown began more than a year ago."
Fresno Bee - "Mortgage crisis: Other shoe is poised to drop" (6-22-08)
"An adjustable-rate mortgage bubble is coming to the central San Joaquin Valley's housing market, and the tens of thousands of homeowners who hold those mortgages should prepare for the rate increases to come. That's the word from mortgage counselors worried that the easy lending practices of the housing boom years are about to lead to a lot of pain for borrowers."
"Nearly 40 financial, government, nonprofit and religious officials met earlier this week in Ventura to explore the idea of developing housing such as emergency shelters, transitional programs and long-term leases for families. Officials said such a program could not only get the homeless off the streets, but also stabilize real estate prices by lowering the number of unsold houses."
CNN - "States take a whack at foreclosures" (6-21-08)
"While Congress has talked for a year about a federal response to the foreclosure crisis, attorneys general have been busy helping troubled homeowners at the state level. AGs are filing lawsuits, lobbying legislatures for tougher mortgage lender laws, and partnering with mortgage servicers and community development groups to help rescue homeowners from foreclosures. Their efforts have paid off. While the Mortgage Bankers Association says a million homes were in foreclosure in the first three months of 2008, one community advocate says that number would have been larger if the AGs weren't involved."
North County Times - "HOUSING: High-end neighborhoods also suffering" (6-21-08)
"From the start of a housing recession that has sent average real estate prices in North County plummeting, some housing analysts said expensive neighborhoods would persevere, dodging steep declines. That's no longer true. Several homes in one of North County's ritzier regions, the San Diego neighborhoods of Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo, have tumbled 30 percent in value."
CNN - "Why Bush, Congress may make housing deal" (6-21-08)
"Bush has threatened a veto. But lawmakers in both parties say the housing legislation is a political imperative, and negotiators see the makings of a summertime bargain. For one, the measure contains elements that Bush long has demanded. They include modernizing the Depression-era Federal Housing Administration and creating a new regulator for the government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."
The San Diego Union Tribune - "Mortgage rates on rise, as are fears for housing" (6-22-08)
"As if the local housing market weren't bad enough, there's another storm cloud on the horizon: rising mortgage rates. The interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged more than 6.4 percent last week, rising from 6.3 percent the previous week and an average of 5.8 percent during the first quarter."
Orange County Register - "O.C. builders drop house prices, raise condos" (6-22-08)
"Costa Mesa-based Hanley Wood Market Intelligence reports that the median contract price O.C. builders got for a newly built house fell 8.5% in April to $988,500, vs. $1.08 million in April 2007. The number of contracts also tumbled, declining 35.5% from April 2007 to 89. But builders’ condo prices were up vs. April of last year, rising 3.2% to $453,000, Hanley Wood reported in a recent release from the California Building Industry Association."
Orange County Register - "Subprime and punishment" (6-22-08)
"On Thursday, former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin were indicted for securities fraud and conspiracy — and Cioffi for insider trading too. Their indictment is the first subprime-related charge by federal investigators since the mortgage meltdown began more than a year ago."
Fresno Bee - "Mortgage crisis: Other shoe is poised to drop" (6-22-08)
"An adjustable-rate mortgage bubble is coming to the central San Joaquin Valley's housing market, and the tens of thousands of homeowners who hold those mortgages should prepare for the rate increases to come. That's the word from mortgage counselors worried that the easy lending practices of the housing boom years are about to lead to a lot of pain for borrowers."
Friday, June 20, 2008
Mercury News - "Mortgage rates hit nine-month high" (6-20-08)
"Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages are expected to reach a nine-month high of 6.42 percent today, according to mortgage financing company Freddie Mac."
Bloomberg - "Freddie, Fannie to Post More Losses, Lehman Says" (6-20-08)
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, may post further losses in the second quarter as the housing market deteriorates, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said. Lehman changed its forecasts for operating losses for Fannie Mae to $1.20 a share from 68 cents, and lowered its projected loss for Freddie Mac to 55 cents a share from 40 cents, according to report today."
Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Fund Prosecutors Reveal `Lot of Evidence' of Fraud" (6-20-08)
"Ralph Cioffi, 52, and Matthew Tannin, 46, were charged yesterday with falsely saying the funds were thriving while knowing investments in subprime mortgages could cause their collapse. U.S. prosecutors claimed the men lied about liquidity, redemption requests, and their own investments before the funds shut down last June, costing investors $1 billion."
Inman News - "Tap into Gen X, Gen Y goldmine" (6-20-08)
"If you're not marketing your listings using video, you're missing a huge opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition, provide a higher level of service to your clients, and reach the hot new Gen X and Gen Y markets. Perhaps the most challenging question is where to begin and how much to spend. Not only are some of the names confusing, so is selecting the one that will work best with your business. The price points range from very little to very expensive, depending upon the level of quality you want."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-20-08)
"Following a marked drop in oil prices yesterday (it dropped $5 a barrel), stocks surged. In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and the yen. Gas prices dropped on a national average as well. No one wants to jump the gun on spreading the good news, but could this healthy market day be a sign of happier market times to come?"
Realty Times - "Active Vs. Passive Marketing: Changing Real Estate Markets. Strategies to Succeed" (6-20-08)
"Discounts, rebates, do-it-yourself realty companies catering to For Sale By Owners / FSBOS ... are the buzz word! Since real estate right now is having a moment of reckoning in many markets, perspective is needed to take it all in so we can develope survival strategies. Some agents that believe menu pricing and low fees will make them survivors. It doesn't. The markets have changed. Agents that believe otherwise still believe they are in a market that existed a few years ago, and are about to meet the same fate as the dinosaurs! They've failed to learn the most important thing about real estate. Discounting will not pay the bills!"
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Multiple-use 'Flex' Space Properties" (6-20-08)
"Some of the most attractive real estate returns in the coming decade, according to Cannon, will go to investors -- individuals, partnerships, joint venture groups -- who can identify and acquire urban-core land or buildings that are currently underperforming, but that have multiple, adaptive-use potentials going forward."
Orange County Register - "FBI says SoCal has most mortgage fraud reports" (6-20-08)
"We’re looking at all types of fraud: Corporate, criminal enterprises, individuals. The essence of the crime is people aren’t stating the correct facts — to those buying homes, providing mortgages or investing. Fraud runs the gamut from the largest to the smallest. We believe 80 percent of fraud is for profit. And about 20 percent of the fraud is for housing — solely by the borrower using fraudulent documents. The for-profit fraud could be industry insiders who skim equity, inflate the value of property or make fraudulent loans."
Orange County Register - "Foreclosure auction firms accused of 'bait and switch'" (6-20-08)
"At an auction in Pomona in March, Juan and Laura Torres made the highest bid — $146,000 — for a Corona property, according to the suit. Ms. Torres believed she had opened escrow on the property after signing paperwork at the auction and agreed to pay a 5 percent 'buyers premium,' bringing the total price to $153,300. However, 30 days later, she was told that 'she would not be able to purchase the property unless she came up with $50,000 more money,' the suit says."
Orange County Register - "SoCal home woes could mean 50% price drop" (6-20-08)
"Economist Chris Thornberg said Southern California home prices likely will continue falling until mid-to-late 2009. When the dust settles, he added, homes here could end up being worth half as much as they were at the peak of the housing boom."
"Interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages are expected to reach a nine-month high of 6.42 percent today, according to mortgage financing company Freddie Mac."
Bloomberg - "Freddie, Fannie to Post More Losses, Lehman Says" (6-20-08)
"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, may post further losses in the second quarter as the housing market deteriorates, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said. Lehman changed its forecasts for operating losses for Fannie Mae to $1.20 a share from 68 cents, and lowered its projected loss for Freddie Mac to 55 cents a share from 40 cents, according to report today."
Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Fund Prosecutors Reveal `Lot of Evidence' of Fraud" (6-20-08)
"Ralph Cioffi, 52, and Matthew Tannin, 46, were charged yesterday with falsely saying the funds were thriving while knowing investments in subprime mortgages could cause their collapse. U.S. prosecutors claimed the men lied about liquidity, redemption requests, and their own investments before the funds shut down last June, costing investors $1 billion."
Inman News - "Tap into Gen X, Gen Y goldmine" (6-20-08)
"If you're not marketing your listings using video, you're missing a huge opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition, provide a higher level of service to your clients, and reach the hot new Gen X and Gen Y markets. Perhaps the most challenging question is where to begin and how much to spend. Not only are some of the names confusing, so is selecting the one that will work best with your business. The price points range from very little to very expensive, depending upon the level of quality you want."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (6-20-08)
"Following a marked drop in oil prices yesterday (it dropped $5 a barrel), stocks surged. In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and the yen. Gas prices dropped on a national average as well. No one wants to jump the gun on spreading the good news, but could this healthy market day be a sign of happier market times to come?"
Realty Times - "Active Vs. Passive Marketing: Changing Real Estate Markets. Strategies to Succeed" (6-20-08)
"Discounts, rebates, do-it-yourself realty companies catering to For Sale By Owners / FSBOS ... are the buzz word! Since real estate right now is having a moment of reckoning in many markets, perspective is needed to take it all in so we can develope survival strategies. Some agents that believe menu pricing and low fees will make them survivors. It doesn't. The markets have changed. Agents that believe otherwise still believe they are in a market that existed a few years ago, and are about to meet the same fate as the dinosaurs! They've failed to learn the most important thing about real estate. Discounting will not pay the bills!"
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Multiple-use 'Flex' Space Properties" (6-20-08)
"Some of the most attractive real estate returns in the coming decade, according to Cannon, will go to investors -- individuals, partnerships, joint venture groups -- who can identify and acquire urban-core land or buildings that are currently underperforming, but that have multiple, adaptive-use potentials going forward."
Orange County Register - "FBI says SoCal has most mortgage fraud reports" (6-20-08)
"We’re looking at all types of fraud: Corporate, criminal enterprises, individuals. The essence of the crime is people aren’t stating the correct facts — to those buying homes, providing mortgages or investing. Fraud runs the gamut from the largest to the smallest. We believe 80 percent of fraud is for profit. And about 20 percent of the fraud is for housing — solely by the borrower using fraudulent documents. The for-profit fraud could be industry insiders who skim equity, inflate the value of property or make fraudulent loans."
Orange County Register - "Foreclosure auction firms accused of 'bait and switch'" (6-20-08)
"At an auction in Pomona in March, Juan and Laura Torres made the highest bid — $146,000 — for a Corona property, according to the suit. Ms. Torres believed she had opened escrow on the property after signing paperwork at the auction and agreed to pay a 5 percent 'buyers premium,' bringing the total price to $153,300. However, 30 days later, she was told that 'she would not be able to purchase the property unless she came up with $50,000 more money,' the suit says."
Orange County Register - "SoCal home woes could mean 50% price drop" (6-20-08)
"Economist Chris Thornberg said Southern California home prices likely will continue falling until mid-to-late 2009. When the dust settles, he added, homes here could end up being worth half as much as they were at the peak of the housing boom."
Thursday, June 19, 2008
CBIA - "California New-Home Market Still Searching for Bottom, CBIA Announces" (6-19-08)
"The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (HWMI) New Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that new-home sales in April were 44 percent below April 2007. While a significant decline, the drop is an improvement from the year-over-year decline of nearly 49 percent in March."
Bloomberg - "Wealthy Investors Shift Funds From Global Banks to Reduce Risks" (6-19-08)
"Trust companies like Wilmington are benefiting from record subprime-infected losses at companies led by Zurich-based UBS AG, the world's biggest money manager for the rich. UBS clients probably withdrew a net $39 billion during the past three months after the company reported more than $38 billion of writedowns and credit-market losses in the past year, London-based analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimate."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Charges 400 in National Mortgage Fraud Crackdown" (6-19-08)
"Federal prosecutors have charged more than 400 people across the U.S. in a crackdown against mortgage fraud, as the government stepped up efforts to address the subprime loan crisis."
Bloomberg - "Ex-Bear Stearns Fund Managers Indicted for Fraud" (6-19-08)
"two men were charged with misleading investors about the health of two Bear Stearns hedge funds whose implosion ignited the subprime mortgage crisis. Cioffi was also charged with insider trading in the indictment, which cites a series of e-mails between the two men. They both face as much as 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy, and Cioffi faces an additional 20-year term if found guilty of insider trading. The U.S. government has been investigating possible fraud by banks and mortgage firms whose investments in subprime loans and securities plunged in value, causing losses that now total $396.6 billion. Cioffi and Tannin were also sued today by the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Bloomberg - "Thornburg Says Survival in Doubt; Delays Tender Offer" (6-19-08)
"Thornburg won't complete a planned tender offer this month and wants to extend the deadline to the end of September, the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. To complete the rescue, Thornburg needs to buy back 90 percent of its preferred shares for about $5 each, a fifth of what investors paid for them. The lender specialized in mortgages of more than $417,000, which typically were used to buy expensive homes. Falling home sales left the company near bankruptcy, before it announced in March the plan to raise $1.35 billion. That plan hinges on a successful tender offer for the preferred shares."
Bloomberg - "Global REIT Shares are Set to Recover, LaSalle Investment Says" (6-19-08)
"Returns on global REITs fell 19 percent last year as borrowing costs rose worldwide due to the faltering U.S. economic outlook following the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market, according to LaSalle Investment. The average earnings of the trusts meanwhile climbed 11 percent, Canter said."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Senate Considers Foreclosure Bill; Bush May Veto" (6-19-08)
"The U.S. Senate today debated legislation that might help prevent home foreclosures, as the Bush administration said the effort to stem losses in the housing market probably will be vetoed. The measure includes a temporary program to offer government insurance to struggling homeowners, a new regulator for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and funding for counseling to help homeowners avoid foreclosure."
Bloomberg - "Triad Plunges as Freddie Mac Rejects Mortgage Insurer" (6-19-08)
"Triad Guaranty Inc. plunged 40 percent and became the first mortgage insurer to stop selling policies after Freddie Mac disqualified the company as a guarantor of new home loans. The worst housing slump since the Great Depression led to record losses at mortgage insurers, which reimburse lenders when homeowners default. Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Triad, which traded above $60 a share in 2005 as the housing market boomed, lost money in the last three quarters and fell 83 cents to $1.22 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading."
Orange County Register - "Calif. homebuying at 13-year low" (6-19-08)
"A total of 33,024 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 6.0 percent from 31,150 in April and down 10.7 percent from 36,975 for May last year. Last month’s total made for the slowest May since 1995 when 32,223 homes sold. Of the homes sold in May, 38.3 percent were foreclosure resales, up from a revised 37.6 percent in April and 5.4 percent in May a year ago."
Orange County Register - "Brooks to clients who lost money, I can’t pay" (6-19-08)
"The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority awarded $532,300 this week to a client of Brookstreet Securities Corp., the Irvine investment firm that collapsed last year when it lost millions by investing in collateralized mortgage obligations."
Orange County Register - "Gas prices helping O.C. landlords" (6-19-08)
"Vacancy rates rose to almost 14% this year, up from 8.5% at the start of 2007, caused by overbuilding and by the shuttering of several O.C.-based subprime lenders. Sherlock forecast it will be between 17% and 18% by the end of 2008. This year’s forecast calls for O.C. to lose 15,000 office jobs, he said, and in 2009, office jobs will rise 10,000 — not enough to spur a dramatic increase in demand for office space."
"The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence (HWMI) New Home Sales and Pricing Report showed that new-home sales in April were 44 percent below April 2007. While a significant decline, the drop is an improvement from the year-over-year decline of nearly 49 percent in March."
Bloomberg - "Wealthy Investors Shift Funds From Global Banks to Reduce Risks" (6-19-08)
"Trust companies like Wilmington are benefiting from record subprime-infected losses at companies led by Zurich-based UBS AG, the world's biggest money manager for the rich. UBS clients probably withdrew a net $39 billion during the past three months after the company reported more than $38 billion of writedowns and credit-market losses in the past year, London-based analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. estimate."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Charges 400 in National Mortgage Fraud Crackdown" (6-19-08)
"Federal prosecutors have charged more than 400 people across the U.S. in a crackdown against mortgage fraud, as the government stepped up efforts to address the subprime loan crisis."
Bloomberg - "Ex-Bear Stearns Fund Managers Indicted for Fraud" (6-19-08)
"two men were charged with misleading investors about the health of two Bear Stearns hedge funds whose implosion ignited the subprime mortgage crisis. Cioffi was also charged with insider trading in the indictment, which cites a series of e-mails between the two men. They both face as much as 20 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy, and Cioffi faces an additional 20-year term if found guilty of insider trading. The U.S. government has been investigating possible fraud by banks and mortgage firms whose investments in subprime loans and securities plunged in value, causing losses that now total $396.6 billion. Cioffi and Tannin were also sued today by the Securities and Exchange Commission."
Bloomberg - "Thornburg Says Survival in Doubt; Delays Tender Offer" (6-19-08)
"Thornburg won't complete a planned tender offer this month and wants to extend the deadline to the end of September, the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. To complete the rescue, Thornburg needs to buy back 90 percent of its preferred shares for about $5 each, a fifth of what investors paid for them. The lender specialized in mortgages of more than $417,000, which typically were used to buy expensive homes. Falling home sales left the company near bankruptcy, before it announced in March the plan to raise $1.35 billion. That plan hinges on a successful tender offer for the preferred shares."
Bloomberg - "Global REIT Shares are Set to Recover, LaSalle Investment Says" (6-19-08)
"Returns on global REITs fell 19 percent last year as borrowing costs rose worldwide due to the faltering U.S. economic outlook following the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market, according to LaSalle Investment. The average earnings of the trusts meanwhile climbed 11 percent, Canter said."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Senate Considers Foreclosure Bill; Bush May Veto" (6-19-08)
"The U.S. Senate today debated legislation that might help prevent home foreclosures, as the Bush administration said the effort to stem losses in the housing market probably will be vetoed. The measure includes a temporary program to offer government insurance to struggling homeowners, a new regulator for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and funding for counseling to help homeowners avoid foreclosure."
Bloomberg - "Triad Plunges as Freddie Mac Rejects Mortgage Insurer" (6-19-08)
"Triad Guaranty Inc. plunged 40 percent and became the first mortgage insurer to stop selling policies after Freddie Mac disqualified the company as a guarantor of new home loans. The worst housing slump since the Great Depression led to record losses at mortgage insurers, which reimburse lenders when homeowners default. Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Triad, which traded above $60 a share in 2005 as the housing market boomed, lost money in the last three quarters and fell 83 cents to $1.22 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market trading."
Orange County Register - "Calif. homebuying at 13-year low" (6-19-08)
"A total of 33,024 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 6.0 percent from 31,150 in April and down 10.7 percent from 36,975 for May last year. Last month’s total made for the slowest May since 1995 when 32,223 homes sold. Of the homes sold in May, 38.3 percent were foreclosure resales, up from a revised 37.6 percent in April and 5.4 percent in May a year ago."
Orange County Register - "Brooks to clients who lost money, I can’t pay" (6-19-08)
"The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority awarded $532,300 this week to a client of Brookstreet Securities Corp., the Irvine investment firm that collapsed last year when it lost millions by investing in collateralized mortgage obligations."
Orange County Register - "Gas prices helping O.C. landlords" (6-19-08)
"Vacancy rates rose to almost 14% this year, up from 8.5% at the start of 2007, caused by overbuilding and by the shuttering of several O.C.-based subprime lenders. Sherlock forecast it will be between 17% and 18% by the end of 2008. This year’s forecast calls for O.C. to lose 15,000 office jobs, he said, and in 2009, office jobs will rise 10,000 — not enough to spur a dramatic increase in demand for office space."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
NAR - "Commercial Real Estate Easing in Economic Slowdown" (6-18-08)
"Commercial real estate vacancies are trending up modestly, while investment has dropped sharply in the wake of the credit crunch, according to preliminary information for the latest COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK* of the National Association of Realtors®."
DQNews - "California May 2008 Home Sales" (6-18-08)
"A total of 33,024 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 6.0 percent from 31,150 in April and down 10.7 percent from 36,975 for May last year. Last month's total made for the slowest May since 1995 when 32,223 homes sold."
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-18-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 13, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 508.4, a decrease of 8.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 557.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9.6 percent compared with the previous week and was down 21.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
Bloomberg - "Paulson & Co. Says Writedowns May Reach $1.3 Trillion" (6-18-08)
"John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund company Paulson & Co., said global writedowns and losses from the credit crisis may reach $1.3 trillion, exceeding the International Monetary Fund's $945 billion estimate."
Bloomberg - "Fed's Bear Stearns Books Look Prime for Cooking" (6-18-08)
"The Federal Reserve is just days away from completing the financing for its bailout of Bear Stearns Cos., after which the central bank will have another big decision to make: how to account for it."
Bloomberg - "California Home Market Shows First Signs of Recovery" (6-18-08)
"The California housing market may be showing the first signs of a recovery after three years of declining sales and two years of rising foreclosures, the UCLA Anderson Forecast said today. While home prices in the most populous U.S. state are still weak, the number of houses and condominiums changing hands in some parts of California is rising, according to the Anderson Forecast at the University of California, Los Angeles, which released its 127-page forecast for both the state and the U.S. today."
Bloomberg - "Wachovia Moves to Assure Borrowers Understand Loans" (6-18-08)
"Wachovia Corp., which ousted its top executive after estimating it may lose more than $4.5 billion on adjustable-rate home loans, will start calling would-be borrowers to explain the risks of such mortgages. Wachovia is contacting people who apply through independent mortgage brokers to ensure 'the customer understands the key features of the Pick-A-Payment loan product,' according to a June 11 memo from Tim Wilson, head of loan origination at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company. The loans let borrowers defer part of their monthly bills."
Bloomberg - "Subprime Losses Top $396 Billion on Brokers' Writedowns" (6-18-08)
"The following table shows the $396 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses at more than 100 of the world's biggest banks and securities firms as well as the $302 billion capital raised in response. All the charges stem from the collapse of the U.S. subprime-mortgage market and reflect credit losses or writedowns of mortgage assets that aren't subprime, as well as charges taken on leveraged-loan commitments. Capital raised includes common stock, preferred shares, subordinated debt and hybrid securities which count as Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital, depending on local regulations and the amount of each that's already on the bank's books."
Realty Times - "Is Inflation Back?" (6-18-08)
"If inflation is really the core problem we face it will show up in the form of higher interest levels and steeper foreclosure rates by late Spring and early Summer next year. Payment re-sets from toxic loans will surely be a major cause of foreclosures, but the simple mechanism of higher rates will impact the majority of ARM borrowers, not just those troubled by 'nontraditional' loans. Suddenly now-comfy and secure ARM borrowers will understand what the 'marketplace risk' of adjustable rates really means."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Why We Need New Home Production To Fall" (6-18-08)
"Since 2006, there are more single heads of households than marrieds. More singles and non-traditional families are buying homes than ever, yet we keep churning out McMansions, tiny condos and overpriced townhomes. Square footage has doubled since 1950, despite households getting smaller by one whole human being. Does every child really need his or her own bathroom? Aren't there some life lessons to be learned from sharing? The result is that we have over record-high 11-month inventories of homes for sale, and growing. Rampant fear is keeping buyers on the sidelines -- if the suburbs aren't working, what's next?"
Realty Times - "How Top Producers Do Short Sales" (6-18-08)
"Short sales are the most expensive aspect of any real estate transaction, due to the negotiations involved. It is extremely important to ask for more commission and reduce your time invested. It can easily be done by being more selective with the short sales you choose to work."
"Commercial real estate vacancies are trending up modestly, while investment has dropped sharply in the wake of the credit crunch, according to preliminary information for the latest COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE OUTLOOK* of the National Association of Realtors®."
DQNews - "California May 2008 Home Sales" (6-18-08)
"A total of 33,024 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 6.0 percent from 31,150 in April and down 10.7 percent from 36,975 for May last year. Last month's total made for the slowest May since 1995 when 32,223 homes sold."
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-18-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 13, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 508.4, a decrease of 8.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 557.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 9.6 percent compared with the previous week and was down 21.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
Bloomberg - "Paulson & Co. Says Writedowns May Reach $1.3 Trillion" (6-18-08)
"John Paulson, founder of the hedge fund company Paulson & Co., said global writedowns and losses from the credit crisis may reach $1.3 trillion, exceeding the International Monetary Fund's $945 billion estimate."
Bloomberg - "Fed's Bear Stearns Books Look Prime for Cooking" (6-18-08)
"The Federal Reserve is just days away from completing the financing for its bailout of Bear Stearns Cos., after which the central bank will have another big decision to make: how to account for it."
Bloomberg - "California Home Market Shows First Signs of Recovery" (6-18-08)
"The California housing market may be showing the first signs of a recovery after three years of declining sales and two years of rising foreclosures, the UCLA Anderson Forecast said today. While home prices in the most populous U.S. state are still weak, the number of houses and condominiums changing hands in some parts of California is rising, according to the Anderson Forecast at the University of California, Los Angeles, which released its 127-page forecast for both the state and the U.S. today."
Bloomberg - "Wachovia Moves to Assure Borrowers Understand Loans" (6-18-08)
"Wachovia Corp., which ousted its top executive after estimating it may lose more than $4.5 billion on adjustable-rate home loans, will start calling would-be borrowers to explain the risks of such mortgages. Wachovia is contacting people who apply through independent mortgage brokers to ensure 'the customer understands the key features of the Pick-A-Payment loan product,' according to a June 11 memo from Tim Wilson, head of loan origination at the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company. The loans let borrowers defer part of their monthly bills."
Bloomberg - "Subprime Losses Top $396 Billion on Brokers' Writedowns" (6-18-08)
"The following table shows the $396 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses at more than 100 of the world's biggest banks and securities firms as well as the $302 billion capital raised in response. All the charges stem from the collapse of the U.S. subprime-mortgage market and reflect credit losses or writedowns of mortgage assets that aren't subprime, as well as charges taken on leveraged-loan commitments. Capital raised includes common stock, preferred shares, subordinated debt and hybrid securities which count as Tier 1 or Tier 2 capital, depending on local regulations and the amount of each that's already on the bank's books."
Realty Times - "Is Inflation Back?" (6-18-08)
"If inflation is really the core problem we face it will show up in the form of higher interest levels and steeper foreclosure rates by late Spring and early Summer next year. Payment re-sets from toxic loans will surely be a major cause of foreclosures, but the simple mechanism of higher rates will impact the majority of ARM borrowers, not just those troubled by 'nontraditional' loans. Suddenly now-comfy and secure ARM borrowers will understand what the 'marketplace risk' of adjustable rates really means."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Why We Need New Home Production To Fall" (6-18-08)
"Since 2006, there are more single heads of households than marrieds. More singles and non-traditional families are buying homes than ever, yet we keep churning out McMansions, tiny condos and overpriced townhomes. Square footage has doubled since 1950, despite households getting smaller by one whole human being. Does every child really need his or her own bathroom? Aren't there some life lessons to be learned from sharing? The result is that we have over record-high 11-month inventories of homes for sale, and growing. Rampant fear is keeping buyers on the sidelines -- if the suburbs aren't working, what's next?"
Realty Times - "How Top Producers Do Short Sales" (6-18-08)
"Short sales are the most expensive aspect of any real estate transaction, due to the negotiations involved. It is extremely important to ask for more commission and reduce your time invested. It can easily be done by being more selective with the short sales you choose to work."
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
NAHB - "Housing Starts Decline 3.3 Percent In May" (6-17-08)
"Providing the latest evidence of the ongoing downturn in the nation’s housing market, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today that new-home starts declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 units in May. This was the lowest total starts number since March of 1991. Single-family starts declined 1.0 percent to a rate of 674,000 units, their lowest since January of 1991."
Bloomberg - "John Kukral's Northwood Raises $1.25 Billion for Real Estate" (6-17-08)
"Northwood Investors LLC, the firm started by former Blackstone Group LP executive John Kukral last year, raised about $1.25 billion for property investments, a person with knowledge of the fund-raising said. The cash was divided into a main fund of $750 million and a side fund of $500 million after Greenwich, Connecticut-based Northwood surpassed its $500 million goal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the capital-raising is private."
Bloomberg - "AIG's Wilmington Stops Home Lending Through Brokers" (6-17-08)
"American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, said its Wilmington Finance Inc. unit will stop originating mortgages through brokers and reduce the number of loans it makes directly to homebuyers. Wilmington will eliminate 335 jobs by year-end, the unit said today in a statement. The move will cost New York-based AIG $27 million before taxes in the second quarter as it pays to end leases, according to a regulatory filing."
Bloomberg - "Standard Pacific Falls as Second-Quarter Orders Drop" (6-17-08)
"The company lost 83 percent of its value in the past year because most of its home sales are in California, where the foreclosure rate in May was the second highest in the U.S. One in every 183 homes in the state received a foreclosure filing in May, according to data provider RealtyTrac of Irvine, California."
Orange County Register - "Calif. seen as No. 1 destination for movers" (6-17-08)
"California and Texas are the two most popular states for people to move in 2007, based on interstate and intrastate moves combined. Surveys over the past decade have shown that California (the largest state by population) has always ranked first in terms of destination state for people changing residences. This trend continues, despite the growing mortgage crisis, which has heavily affected many areas of California. The effect of declining home values combined with the high cost of living has not kept consumers away. Only 43 percent of people moving to a new location in California currently live in California; thus 57 percent of all moves to California are people moving from other states. Therefore, California is the number one destination state with 6 percent of the total sample moving from another state to California"
Orange County Register - "North County suffers smallest home-sales slump" (6-17-08)
"DataQuick identified 679 home sales last month in ZIPs in north inland communities, a drop of 6% from a year ago. In these 23 ZIPs, last month’s median price change was -17.8% vs. a year ago. In fact, Fullerton’s 92835 was one of just two of O.C.’s 83 ZIPs with rising selling prices (+11.4%) and rising sales (+35%)."
Realty Times - "New Homes: A Silver Lining in Today's Housing Market?" (6-17-08)
"While it seems no one has a crystal ball about the housing market, you'd assume it's a bad time to build that dream home – at least until the market comes into some kind of balance. But the truth is, it may never be a better time to build. The silver lining in all this is that land prices have been and continue to go down, materials prices are competitive and there are a lot of contractors out of work, willing to resort to bargain basement prices for their services."
Inman News - "Lawsuit challenges real estate auctions" (6-17-08)
"A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court challenges real estate auction practices, charging that some auction companies engage in deceptive advertising and violate provisions of federal law related to real estate closing services."
CNN - "Housing rescue group steps up efforts" (6-17-08)
"Life may get a little bit easier for troubled borrowers. Hope Now, the alliance of lenders, mortgage servicers, investors and community advocacy groups put together to fight the foreclosure epidemic, announced new guidelines Tuesday that should help speed up the process of helping borrowers who are trying to hang onto their homes."
"Providing the latest evidence of the ongoing downturn in the nation’s housing market, the U.S. Commerce Department reported today that new-home starts declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 975,000 units in May. This was the lowest total starts number since March of 1991. Single-family starts declined 1.0 percent to a rate of 674,000 units, their lowest since January of 1991."
Bloomberg - "John Kukral's Northwood Raises $1.25 Billion for Real Estate" (6-17-08)
"Northwood Investors LLC, the firm started by former Blackstone Group LP executive John Kukral last year, raised about $1.25 billion for property investments, a person with knowledge of the fund-raising said. The cash was divided into a main fund of $750 million and a side fund of $500 million after Greenwich, Connecticut-based Northwood surpassed its $500 million goal, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the capital-raising is private."
Bloomberg - "AIG's Wilmington Stops Home Lending Through Brokers" (6-17-08)
"American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer by assets, said its Wilmington Finance Inc. unit will stop originating mortgages through brokers and reduce the number of loans it makes directly to homebuyers. Wilmington will eliminate 335 jobs by year-end, the unit said today in a statement. The move will cost New York-based AIG $27 million before taxes in the second quarter as it pays to end leases, according to a regulatory filing."
Bloomberg - "Standard Pacific Falls as Second-Quarter Orders Drop" (6-17-08)
"The company lost 83 percent of its value in the past year because most of its home sales are in California, where the foreclosure rate in May was the second highest in the U.S. One in every 183 homes in the state received a foreclosure filing in May, according to data provider RealtyTrac of Irvine, California."
Orange County Register - "Calif. seen as No. 1 destination for movers" (6-17-08)
"California and Texas are the two most popular states for people to move in 2007, based on interstate and intrastate moves combined. Surveys over the past decade have shown that California (the largest state by population) has always ranked first in terms of destination state for people changing residences. This trend continues, despite the growing mortgage crisis, which has heavily affected many areas of California. The effect of declining home values combined with the high cost of living has not kept consumers away. Only 43 percent of people moving to a new location in California currently live in California; thus 57 percent of all moves to California are people moving from other states. Therefore, California is the number one destination state with 6 percent of the total sample moving from another state to California"
Orange County Register - "North County suffers smallest home-sales slump" (6-17-08)
"DataQuick identified 679 home sales last month in ZIPs in north inland communities, a drop of 6% from a year ago. In these 23 ZIPs, last month’s median price change was -17.8% vs. a year ago. In fact, Fullerton’s 92835 was one of just two of O.C.’s 83 ZIPs with rising selling prices (+11.4%) and rising sales (+35%)."
Realty Times - "New Homes: A Silver Lining in Today's Housing Market?" (6-17-08)
"While it seems no one has a crystal ball about the housing market, you'd assume it's a bad time to build that dream home – at least until the market comes into some kind of balance. But the truth is, it may never be a better time to build. The silver lining in all this is that land prices have been and continue to go down, materials prices are competitive and there are a lot of contractors out of work, willing to resort to bargain basement prices for their services."
Inman News - "Lawsuit challenges real estate auctions" (6-17-08)
"A lawsuit filed in California Superior Court challenges real estate auction practices, charging that some auction companies engage in deceptive advertising and violate provisions of federal law related to real estate closing services."
CNN - "Housing rescue group steps up efforts" (6-17-08)
"Life may get a little bit easier for troubled borrowers. Hope Now, the alliance of lenders, mortgage servicers, investors and community advocacy groups put together to fight the foreclosure epidemic, announced new guidelines Tuesday that should help speed up the process of helping borrowers who are trying to hang onto their homes."
Monday, June 16, 2008
DSNews.com - "FHA Lessons 90-Day Rule to Help Lenders Sell REOs" (6-16-08)
"Lenders will no longer find themselves struggling with the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) 90-day rule, which prevents sellers who have owned a property for less than 90-days from offloading a home to a buyer who intends to be insured by the FHA."
NAHB - "Builder Confidence Edges Down in June" (6-16-08)
"Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes edged down in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The index slipped to 18 this month, returning to the record low that was posted in December of 2007 (the series began in January of 1985)."
DQNews - "Southland home sales back to record low; median price slips again" (6-16-08)
"A total of 16,917 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in May. That was up 8.3 percent from 15,615 in April but down 14.9 percent from 19,874 in May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems."
Bloomberg - "Lenders Agree to Increase Anti-Foreclosure Efforts" (6-16-08)
"Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and other leading U.S. mortgage lenders agreed to expand efforts to help borrowers avert foreclosure as the Senate prepares to weigh legislation addressing the housing crisis."
Bloomberg - "Maguire Finance Chief to Leave; Company to Sell Site" (6-16-08)
"Maguire Properties Inc., the biggest office landlord in downtown Los Angeles, said its finance chief and two other top executives will leave and it plans to sell the 105-acre Park Place development in Orange County to bolster cash. The company also plans to raise up to $110 million by taking new loans against properties in Pasadena, including the Plaza Las Fuentes, Maguire said in a statement today."
The Wall Street Journal - "New Agreement Could Mean More Help for Homeowners" (6-16-08)
"The agreement among the firms in the Treasury Department-backed Hope Now alliance, which is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, comes as U.S. Senate lawmakers prepare to begin debate this week on a massive housing package aimed at slowing the record pace of foreclosures that continues to roil the economy. That legislation, which includes a program to refinance up to $300 billion in troubled mortgages, could be voted on by the Senate this week, sources said."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: Few Takers In Silicon Valley Buyer's Market" (6-16-08)
"The latest report on one of the nation's most expensive housing markets, a market among the last in California and the nation to really feel the pinch, comes with a forecast for more home price declines in the near future. Things could get nasty. In Silicon Valley, the median price of single-family homes in closed sales fell 10 percent in May -- compared to last year. The May median price of $773,000 is down from the peak price of $858,000 set in April 2007, according to Richard Calhoun's Bay Area Market Newsletter."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Banks Choke Sales, Blame Delinquencies" (6-16-08)
"If you have a client or you are a buyer getting a mortgage loan today, count your lucky stars. Mortgage loan lenders are continuing to choke the housing market to the point that even those with good credit are having a tough time getting funds. And there's lots of evidence."
Realty Times - "New Form Points Out What's Required, What Isn't In Foreclosure Properties" (6-16-08)
"It is yet another sign of the times that the California Association of Realtors (CAR) has released a form entitled 'REO Advisory'. REO stands for "real estate owned" and is the common term for property that a lender has acquired through foreclosure. Actually, CAR has released two forms – the second specifies "REO Advisory (Listing)" -- but the two are identical as to their contents."
"Lenders will no longer find themselves struggling with the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) 90-day rule, which prevents sellers who have owned a property for less than 90-days from offloading a home to a buyer who intends to be insured by the FHA."
NAHB - "Builder Confidence Edges Down in June" (6-16-08)
"Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes edged down in June, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI). The index slipped to 18 this month, returning to the record low that was posted in December of 2007 (the series began in January of 1985)."
DQNews - "Southland home sales back to record low; median price slips again" (6-16-08)
"A total of 16,917 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in May. That was up 8.3 percent from 15,615 in April but down 14.9 percent from 19,874 in May last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems."
Bloomberg - "Lenders Agree to Increase Anti-Foreclosure Efforts" (6-16-08)
"Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and other leading U.S. mortgage lenders agreed to expand efforts to help borrowers avert foreclosure as the Senate prepares to weigh legislation addressing the housing crisis."
Bloomberg - "Maguire Finance Chief to Leave; Company to Sell Site" (6-16-08)
"Maguire Properties Inc., the biggest office landlord in downtown Los Angeles, said its finance chief and two other top executives will leave and it plans to sell the 105-acre Park Place development in Orange County to bolster cash. The company also plans to raise up to $110 million by taking new loans against properties in Pasadena, including the Plaza Las Fuentes, Maguire said in a statement today."
The Wall Street Journal - "New Agreement Could Mean More Help for Homeowners" (6-16-08)
"The agreement among the firms in the Treasury Department-backed Hope Now alliance, which is scheduled to be announced Tuesday, comes as U.S. Senate lawmakers prepare to begin debate this week on a massive housing package aimed at slowing the record pace of foreclosures that continues to roil the economy. That legislation, which includes a program to refinance up to $300 billion in troubled mortgages, could be voted on by the Senate this week, sources said."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: Few Takers In Silicon Valley Buyer's Market" (6-16-08)
"The latest report on one of the nation's most expensive housing markets, a market among the last in California and the nation to really feel the pinch, comes with a forecast for more home price declines in the near future. Things could get nasty. In Silicon Valley, the median price of single-family homes in closed sales fell 10 percent in May -- compared to last year. The May median price of $773,000 is down from the peak price of $858,000 set in April 2007, according to Richard Calhoun's Bay Area Market Newsletter."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Banks Choke Sales, Blame Delinquencies" (6-16-08)
"If you have a client or you are a buyer getting a mortgage loan today, count your lucky stars. Mortgage loan lenders are continuing to choke the housing market to the point that even those with good credit are having a tough time getting funds. And there's lots of evidence."
Realty Times - "New Form Points Out What's Required, What Isn't In Foreclosure Properties" (6-16-08)
"It is yet another sign of the times that the California Association of Realtors (CAR) has released a form entitled 'REO Advisory'. REO stands for "real estate owned" and is the common term for property that a lender has acquired through foreclosure. Actually, CAR has released two forms – the second specifies "REO Advisory (Listing)" -- but the two are identical as to their contents."
Orange County Register - "Orange County’s mortgage market distress could soon top the U.S" (6-14-08)
"Keith Carson is a senior consultant for TransUnion, which recently published a report on loans 60 days or more past due in the first quarter of this year. The report said O.C.’s delinquency rate of 3.14 percent, was less than California’s 4.34 percent and the nation’s 3.23 percent."
Blogger.com - "The Country’s Biggest Liar" (6-14-08)
"NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, is making his predecessor David Lereah (Liar) look like a wimp when it comes to touting the strength of the housing markets. Yun met with Realtors in Coral Gables this week and told them this is nothing more than a 'small blip on the radar screen.' He touted prices to be 20-30 percent higher in Florida in just five years."
Blogcritics Magazine - "Planned Economies Do Not Work - Part II" (6-14-08)
"The fact of the matter is that the Fed is the primary culprit for the current subprime crisis and housing bubble. Through artificially low interest rates and expansion of the money supply, the Fed caused many debt-ridden Americans to go deeper into hock by committing to loans they had no chance of repaying. For instance, in 2000, the federal funds rate, the rate set by the Fed that is related to mortgage rates, was at 6.24% (see table below). To head off a recession caused by the dot com bubble (another crisis caused or at least not prevented by the Fed) and 911 attacks, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan took the rate down to 3.88 in 2001 and into the 1% range for the next three years."
Safe Haven - "House Prices, the Wealth Effect and the Cash-in-Hand Effect" (6-14-08)
"House prices are collapsing, which means that homeowners' equity in their houses is plunging. According to Federal Reserve flow-of-funds data, homeowners' equity dropped by $399 billion quarter-to-quarter in Q1:2008 and $880 billion year-over-year - both record absolute declines (see Chart 1). The drop in homeowners' equity contributed significantly to the $1.7 trillion decline in household net worth in the first quarter (see Chart 2)."
Los Angeles Times - "Short sales: A tough road" (6-15-08)
"RESIDENTIAL short sales sound like a picnic: Owners need to sell their homes for less than they owe, lenders forgive the difference and buyers grab a good deal.If only. This is one picnic that requires a long wait for dessert. The only 'short' thing about short sales, buyers and sellers say, is one's patience."
News-JournalOnline.com - "Hard Sell" (6-15-08)
"The glut of unsold real estate on the local market has begun to shrink, but that doesn't mean more houses are getting sold. What would appear to be a promising sign instead may reflect a trend toward giving up -- hundreds of sellers taking their homes off the market each month, unwilling to accept purchase prices that have dropped about 20 percent in the past year."
Orange County Register - "1st drop in ‘08 for O.C. distressed homes for sale" (6-15-08)
"Distressed properties, as a percent of all listed homes for sale, were 39.6% of the market last week vs. 39% two weeks earlier. Since Dec. 27, the number of distressed homes on the market has grown 2,147 while the non-distressed supply is 2,782 lower."
"Keith Carson is a senior consultant for TransUnion, which recently published a report on loans 60 days or more past due in the first quarter of this year. The report said O.C.’s delinquency rate of 3.14 percent, was less than California’s 4.34 percent and the nation’s 3.23 percent."
Blogger.com - "The Country’s Biggest Liar" (6-14-08)
"NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, is making his predecessor David Lereah (Liar) look like a wimp when it comes to touting the strength of the housing markets. Yun met with Realtors in Coral Gables this week and told them this is nothing more than a 'small blip on the radar screen.' He touted prices to be 20-30 percent higher in Florida in just five years."
Blogcritics Magazine - "Planned Economies Do Not Work - Part II" (6-14-08)
"The fact of the matter is that the Fed is the primary culprit for the current subprime crisis and housing bubble. Through artificially low interest rates and expansion of the money supply, the Fed caused many debt-ridden Americans to go deeper into hock by committing to loans they had no chance of repaying. For instance, in 2000, the federal funds rate, the rate set by the Fed that is related to mortgage rates, was at 6.24% (see table below). To head off a recession caused by the dot com bubble (another crisis caused or at least not prevented by the Fed) and 911 attacks, Fed chairman Alan Greenspan took the rate down to 3.88 in 2001 and into the 1% range for the next three years."
Safe Haven - "House Prices, the Wealth Effect and the Cash-in-Hand Effect" (6-14-08)
"House prices are collapsing, which means that homeowners' equity in their houses is plunging. According to Federal Reserve flow-of-funds data, homeowners' equity dropped by $399 billion quarter-to-quarter in Q1:2008 and $880 billion year-over-year - both record absolute declines (see Chart 1). The drop in homeowners' equity contributed significantly to the $1.7 trillion decline in household net worth in the first quarter (see Chart 2)."
Los Angeles Times - "Short sales: A tough road" (6-15-08)
"RESIDENTIAL short sales sound like a picnic: Owners need to sell their homes for less than they owe, lenders forgive the difference and buyers grab a good deal.If only. This is one picnic that requires a long wait for dessert. The only 'short' thing about short sales, buyers and sellers say, is one's patience."
News-JournalOnline.com - "Hard Sell" (6-15-08)
"The glut of unsold real estate on the local market has begun to shrink, but that doesn't mean more houses are getting sold. What would appear to be a promising sign instead may reflect a trend toward giving up -- hundreds of sellers taking their homes off the market each month, unwilling to accept purchase prices that have dropped about 20 percent in the past year."
Orange County Register - "1st drop in ‘08 for O.C. distressed homes for sale" (6-15-08)
"Distressed properties, as a percent of all listed homes for sale, were 39.6% of the market last week vs. 39% two weeks earlier. Since Dec. 27, the number of distressed homes on the market has grown 2,147 while the non-distressed supply is 2,782 lower."
Friday, June 13, 2008
Bloomberg - "Treasury 10-Year Note Yields Rise to Year High on Retail Sales" (6-13-08)
"Treasuries fell, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to the highest level this year, after a larger-than-expected gain in retail sales bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates."
Bloomberg - "Moody's Set to Change Municipal Bond Rating Scale" (6-13-08)
"Moody's Investors Service, under pressure from regulators and state finance officials, will change the way it rates municipal bonds and rank them on the same scale it uses for corporate and sovereign debt. Moody's said today it is asking investors and public officials to comment on changing the municipal scale it has used for decades, and will detail the transition to a new measure by July 31. Gail Sussman, managing director for public finance at the New York-based company, said the change will eventually lead to upgrades of some of its 78,000 municipal ratings."
CNN - "Housing: It'll get worse" (6-13-08)
"With home prices plunging by more than 30% in some markets, bargain-hunters are ready to pounce. But it may pay for buyers to wait. Many housing experts say that the worst-hit metro areas have even farther to fall, and could see total drops of as much as 50%."
Market Watch - "SEC proposes new rules for credit-rating firms" (6-13-08)
"The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Wednesday to propose tightening rules for credit-rating firms, calling for restrictions to attack conflicts of interest and expanded disclosure, including on ratings of structured finance products."
Bloomberg - "FBI Halts Some Cases to Investigate Mortgage Frauds" (6-13-08)
"U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, confronting a surge in mortgage fraud, has ordered more than two dozen of its field offices to stop probing some financial crimes so agents can focus on the subprime crisis."
Market Watch - "Thornburg swings to $3.3 bln loss" (6-13-08)
"Thornburg Mortgage Inc. on Thursday reported a quarterly loss of more than $3 billion as the company was hit hard by falling market values in its mortgage and loan portfolios."
Bloomberg - "Foreclosures Rise 48% in May as Repossessions Double" (6-13-08)
"Banks repossessed twice as many homes in May and foreclosure filings rose 48 percent from a year ago as falling house prices trapped borrowers in mortgages they couldn't afford, RealtyTrac Inc. said in a report today. One in every 483 U.S. households either lost the home to foreclosure, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction, RealtyTrac said. That was the highest rate since the Irvine, California-based company began reporting in January 2005 and the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Nevada, California and Arizona posted the highest rates in the U.S. and New Jersey entered the top 10."
Bloomberg - "Cook Pine Buys Distressed Debt After Beating Peers" (6-13-08)
"Cook Pine is boosting allocations to hedge funds that invest in companies that are struggling to repay debt, Kuwana said. Companies with high-yield, high-risk debt defaulted at an annual rate of 2 percent worldwide in May, compared with 1.7 percent in April, the sixth consecutive month of increases, according to Moody's Investors Service. The rate may climb to 5 percent by the end of 2008, Moody's said."
Orange County Register - "Cheapest O.C. homes selling best in late-May" (6-13-08)
"DataQuick’s late-May homeselling stats show that O.C. sales are destined to be below their year-ago pace for the 32nd consecutive month when full-month figures are out early next week. And May’s median selling price will be under a half-million bucks for the first time since early 2004."
Orange County Register - "Even ‘The Chamber’ knows housing’s killing state economy" (6-13-08)
"As in the resale market, many new home builders have large inventories of mostly-completed-but-not-yet-sold homes. Construction of new homes is dropping fast and effective prices are falling, both of which will help to clear out the unsold inventories. However, this process will take a while. Industry observers do not expect any significant improvement before 2009, with some areas not reaching bottom until a year later."
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Downsides of Short Sales" (6-13-08)
"Are short sales all they're cracked up to be for real estate investors? Absolutely not -- as few as 10 percent of all attempts to buy them actually go to closing in some local markets, says Alexis McGee, California investor and founder and president of Foreclosures.com."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions: Inland Empire and High Desert, California" (6-13-08)
"Smart Move Realty's broker Joshua Beauchamp believes prices will continue their downward trend, but warns that as interest rates rise, monthly payments will be affected. Joshua says now may be a great time for buyers to see what's out there."
"Treasuries fell, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to the highest level this year, after a larger-than-expected gain in retail sales bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to boost interest rates."
Bloomberg - "Moody's Set to Change Municipal Bond Rating Scale" (6-13-08)
"Moody's Investors Service, under pressure from regulators and state finance officials, will change the way it rates municipal bonds and rank them on the same scale it uses for corporate and sovereign debt. Moody's said today it is asking investors and public officials to comment on changing the municipal scale it has used for decades, and will detail the transition to a new measure by July 31. Gail Sussman, managing director for public finance at the New York-based company, said the change will eventually lead to upgrades of some of its 78,000 municipal ratings."
CNN - "Housing: It'll get worse" (6-13-08)
"With home prices plunging by more than 30% in some markets, bargain-hunters are ready to pounce. But it may pay for buyers to wait. Many housing experts say that the worst-hit metro areas have even farther to fall, and could see total drops of as much as 50%."
Market Watch - "SEC proposes new rules for credit-rating firms" (6-13-08)
"The Securities and Exchange Commission voted Wednesday to propose tightening rules for credit-rating firms, calling for restrictions to attack conflicts of interest and expanded disclosure, including on ratings of structured finance products."
Bloomberg - "FBI Halts Some Cases to Investigate Mortgage Frauds" (6-13-08)
"U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, confronting a surge in mortgage fraud, has ordered more than two dozen of its field offices to stop probing some financial crimes so agents can focus on the subprime crisis."
Market Watch - "Thornburg swings to $3.3 bln loss" (6-13-08)
"Thornburg Mortgage Inc. on Thursday reported a quarterly loss of more than $3 billion as the company was hit hard by falling market values in its mortgage and loan portfolios."
Bloomberg - "Foreclosures Rise 48% in May as Repossessions Double" (6-13-08)
"Banks repossessed twice as many homes in May and foreclosure filings rose 48 percent from a year ago as falling house prices trapped borrowers in mortgages they couldn't afford, RealtyTrac Inc. said in a report today. One in every 483 U.S. households either lost the home to foreclosure, received a default notice or was warned of a pending auction, RealtyTrac said. That was the highest rate since the Irvine, California-based company began reporting in January 2005 and the 29th consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Nevada, California and Arizona posted the highest rates in the U.S. and New Jersey entered the top 10."
Bloomberg - "Cook Pine Buys Distressed Debt After Beating Peers" (6-13-08)
"Cook Pine is boosting allocations to hedge funds that invest in companies that are struggling to repay debt, Kuwana said. Companies with high-yield, high-risk debt defaulted at an annual rate of 2 percent worldwide in May, compared with 1.7 percent in April, the sixth consecutive month of increases, according to Moody's Investors Service. The rate may climb to 5 percent by the end of 2008, Moody's said."
Orange County Register - "Cheapest O.C. homes selling best in late-May" (6-13-08)
"DataQuick’s late-May homeselling stats show that O.C. sales are destined to be below their year-ago pace for the 32nd consecutive month when full-month figures are out early next week. And May’s median selling price will be under a half-million bucks for the first time since early 2004."
Orange County Register - "Even ‘The Chamber’ knows housing’s killing state economy" (6-13-08)
"As in the resale market, many new home builders have large inventories of mostly-completed-but-not-yet-sold homes. Construction of new homes is dropping fast and effective prices are falling, both of which will help to clear out the unsold inventories. However, this process will take a while. Industry observers do not expect any significant improvement before 2009, with some areas not reaching bottom until a year later."
Realty Times - "Investor Report: Downsides of Short Sales" (6-13-08)
"Are short sales all they're cracked up to be for real estate investors? Absolutely not -- as few as 10 percent of all attempts to buy them actually go to closing in some local markets, says Alexis McGee, California investor and founder and president of Foreclosures.com."
Realty Times - "Market Conditions: Inland Empire and High Desert, California" (6-13-08)
"Smart Move Realty's broker Joshua Beauchamp believes prices will continue their downward trend, but warns that as interest rates rise, monthly payments will be affected. Joshua says now may be a great time for buyers to see what's out there."
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Bloomberg - "Lampert Buys KB Home, Centex Stakes as Builders Fall" (6-12-08)
"Lampert's ESL Investments Inc. hedge fund purchased 747,500 shares of Centex, the fourth-largest builder, according to a May 15 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares are valued at $10.8 million at today's closing price. The fund also acquired 605,000 shares of KB Home as of March 31, the fifth-largest, valued at $11.2 million."
Bloomberg - "Thornburg Reports Loss of $3.31 Billion on Writedowns" (6-12-08)
"Thornburg Mortgage Inc., the 'jumbo' home lender that averted bankruptcy in April, said it lost $3.31 billion in the first quarter because of writedowns on securities linked to real estate. The loss before preferred stock dividends was $20.64 a share. That compares with net income of $75 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier, Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg said today in a statement. Chief Executive Officer Larry Goldstone said during a conference call the lender may become profitable this year. "
Bloomberg - "`Dirt Bonds' Soil Oppenheimer in Gambits Gone Awry" (6-12-08)
"Almost $70 million of tax-exempt bonds were sold in June 2007 to build roads and sewers for thousands of new homes planned for Elk Grove, California, once the fastest growing city in the U.S. A year later, the lots are largely vacant and the bonds lost 41 percent of their value."
Orange County Register - "Sellers want more for O.C.’s pricier homes. Again!" (6-12-08)
"May numbers from HousingTracker show a growing tale of two cities for Orange County real estate. At least, from a price standpoint looking at this accompanying chart. We see at the top, so to speak, a 5-month string of sellers raising their typical listing price, as measured by the 75th percentile (median of the top half.) HousingTrack pegs this benchmark for May at $848,500 — up 0.4% from April and down 5.6% from a year ago. All told, the 75th percentile’s asking price is up 6.1% since January."
Orange County Register - "4 builders fined for run-off flaws, 15 O.C. projects cited" (6-12-08)
"Centex, KB Home, Pulte Homes, and Richmond American Homes agreed to pay a total of $4.3 million in penalties to resolve alleged violations of storm water run-off regulations at construction sites in 34 states and the District of Columbia — including 15 in O.C."
Bloomberg - "AIG Investors Seek Ouster of Sullivan After Losses" (6-12-08)
"American International Group Inc. investors holding more than 100 million shares demanded Chief Executive Officer Martin Sullivan be replaced after the world's largest insurer lost 43 percent of its value this year. Former AIG director Eli Broad, Shelby Davis of Davis Selected Advisers LP and Bill Miller of Legg Mason Inc. asked that a board member be named interim CEO while a search committee finds a new leader for New York-based AIG, according to a letter dated yesterday. Company spokesman Chris Winans confirmed AIG received the letter."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Financial Firms Cut Dividends Most in Five Years" (6-12-08)
"Citigroup Inc., Wachovia Corp. and KeyCorp are among 16 U.S. financial firms that slashed dividends this year, a tally that exceeds the previous five years combined. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. may follow as mortgage-related losses escalate, analysts say. Banks are trying to hang onto capital as the U.S. home market implodes and loan losses soar. KeyCorp, Ohio's third- largest bank, chopped its payout in half today -- the first decrease in 43 years -- and said it must raise $1.5 billion after losing a tax case. The world's biggest financial companies have raised $291 billion to bolster their balance sheets."
Los Angeles Times - "A cold market for jumbo loans shows signs of a thaw" (6-12-08)
"Despite the government's effort to address one of the repercussions of the sub-prime meltdown, jumbo mortgages -- those exceeding $417,000 -- have remained difficult to obtain and relatively expensive. But there are signs of normalcy returning to the jumbo market."
Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Pending Home Sales Rise in April" (6-12-08)
"For much of the past 12 months, the index has trended negative or flat. But the latest index, released this past Monday, was a big surprise. Rather than falling again -- as was widely predicted by Wall Street analysts -- it rose by 6.3 percent on sales contracts signed during April and heading for closings in the next couple of months."
"Lampert's ESL Investments Inc. hedge fund purchased 747,500 shares of Centex, the fourth-largest builder, according to a May 15 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The shares are valued at $10.8 million at today's closing price. The fund also acquired 605,000 shares of KB Home as of March 31, the fifth-largest, valued at $11.2 million."
Bloomberg - "Thornburg Reports Loss of $3.31 Billion on Writedowns" (6-12-08)
"Thornburg Mortgage Inc., the 'jumbo' home lender that averted bankruptcy in April, said it lost $3.31 billion in the first quarter because of writedowns on securities linked to real estate. The loss before preferred stock dividends was $20.64 a share. That compares with net income of $75 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier, Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg said today in a statement. Chief Executive Officer Larry Goldstone said during a conference call the lender may become profitable this year. "
Bloomberg - "`Dirt Bonds' Soil Oppenheimer in Gambits Gone Awry" (6-12-08)
"Almost $70 million of tax-exempt bonds were sold in June 2007 to build roads and sewers for thousands of new homes planned for Elk Grove, California, once the fastest growing city in the U.S. A year later, the lots are largely vacant and the bonds lost 41 percent of their value."
Orange County Register - "Sellers want more for O.C.’s pricier homes. Again!" (6-12-08)
"May numbers from HousingTracker show a growing tale of two cities for Orange County real estate. At least, from a price standpoint looking at this accompanying chart. We see at the top, so to speak, a 5-month string of sellers raising their typical listing price, as measured by the 75th percentile (median of the top half.) HousingTrack pegs this benchmark for May at $848,500 — up 0.4% from April and down 5.6% from a year ago. All told, the 75th percentile’s asking price is up 6.1% since January."
Orange County Register - "4 builders fined for run-off flaws, 15 O.C. projects cited" (6-12-08)
"Centex, KB Home, Pulte Homes, and Richmond American Homes agreed to pay a total of $4.3 million in penalties to resolve alleged violations of storm water run-off regulations at construction sites in 34 states and the District of Columbia — including 15 in O.C."
Bloomberg - "AIG Investors Seek Ouster of Sullivan After Losses" (6-12-08)
"American International Group Inc. investors holding more than 100 million shares demanded Chief Executive Officer Martin Sullivan be replaced after the world's largest insurer lost 43 percent of its value this year. Former AIG director Eli Broad, Shelby Davis of Davis Selected Advisers LP and Bill Miller of Legg Mason Inc. asked that a board member be named interim CEO while a search committee finds a new leader for New York-based AIG, according to a letter dated yesterday. Company spokesman Chris Winans confirmed AIG received the letter."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Financial Firms Cut Dividends Most in Five Years" (6-12-08)
"Citigroup Inc., Wachovia Corp. and KeyCorp are among 16 U.S. financial firms that slashed dividends this year, a tally that exceeds the previous five years combined. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. may follow as mortgage-related losses escalate, analysts say. Banks are trying to hang onto capital as the U.S. home market implodes and loan losses soar. KeyCorp, Ohio's third- largest bank, chopped its payout in half today -- the first decrease in 43 years -- and said it must raise $1.5 billion after losing a tax case. The world's biggest financial companies have raised $291 billion to bolster their balance sheets."
Los Angeles Times - "A cold market for jumbo loans shows signs of a thaw" (6-12-08)
"Despite the government's effort to address one of the repercussions of the sub-prime meltdown, jumbo mortgages -- those exceeding $417,000 -- have remained difficult to obtain and relatively expensive. But there are signs of normalcy returning to the jumbo market."
Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Pending Home Sales Rise in April" (6-12-08)
"For much of the past 12 months, the index has trended negative or flat. But the latest index, released this past Monday, was a big surprise. Rather than falling again -- as was widely predicted by Wall Street analysts -- it rose by 6.3 percent on sales contracts signed during April and heading for closings in the next couple of months."
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-11-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 6. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 557.1, an increase of 10.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 502.3 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 23 percent compared with the previous week and was down 16.5 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
NAHB - "Builders Offer Congress Recommendations On Making Affordable Housing Green" (6-11-08)
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today testified before Congress on ways to improve sustainability and energy efficiency in housing while simultaneously supporting housing affordability."
Los Angeles Times - "Ambassador campus development in Pasadena foreclosed" (6-11-08)
"An ambitious development project that included hundreds of condominiums, apartments and a senior housing complex on the former Ambassador College campus has been foreclosed, Pasadena officials said Tuesday."
CNN - "For this broker, foreclosures spell boom" (6-11-08)
"These trends are forcing people out of the business. The number of National Association of Realtors members dropped in May to 1.25 million, down 6.4% from the end of 2007. Agents specializing in bank-owned property, however, often have more work than they can handle. More than 1 million homes are in foreclosure, the highest number ever recorded, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week. Agents are signing up in droves to join the National REO Brokers Association, which focuses on real-estate owned properties, as foreclosed homes are known. The Henderson, Nev.-based group used to receive about 100 applications a month. Now it's averaging 400 a month."
CNN - "FHA chief balks at taking on more bad loans" (6-11-08)
"A Bush administration official warned Monday that a proposal to have the government back more bad loans would hurt taxpayers and could make the housing crisis even worse. Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery told the National Press Club that Congress legislation proposing that the FHA back up to $300 billion worth of troubled mortgages - or about two million loans - would weaken the agency."
Bloomberg - "Auction Rates Fall to Two-Year Low, Redemptions Slow" (6-11-08)
"U.S. state and local governments exiting auction-rate bonds are slowing the pace of refinancing as yields on the debt fall to the lowest in at least two years. Borrowers redeemed or announced plans to refinance about $2 billion of the bonds last week, down 64 percent from an average of $5.5 billion a week in April and May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. They have already replaced or said they would convert about $78 billion of the debt, or 47 percent of the total, since investors and brokers abandoned the market in February, triggering penalty rates as high as 20 percent. "
Bloomberg - "Washington Mutual Leads Home Lenders Down on Rates" (6-11-08)
"Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan by assets, slid 9.3 percent, leading mortgage-related stocks lower on concern rising interest rates will hurt home values, increasing foreclosures. Bets in futures markets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will end its series of rate cuts and lift the target rate for overnight loans doubled this week after Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled June 9 that borrowing won't get cheaper."
Orange County Register - "Look who’s making subprime loans now" (6-11-08)
"National Mortgage News reported Tuesday that Federal Housing Administration-insured loans have gained a market share greater than 10 percent, a big jump for an agency overshadowed during the housing boom."
The Wall Street Journal - "Some Buy a New Home to Bail on the Old" (6-11-08)
"In markets hit hardest by falling home prices and rising foreclosures, lenders and brokers are discovering a new phenomenon: the 'buy and bail,' in which borrowers with good credit buy a new home -- often at a much lower price -- then bail out of the "upside down" mortgage on their first home."
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending June 6. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 557.1, an increase of 10.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 502.3 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 23 percent compared with the previous week and was down 16.5 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
NAHB - "Builders Offer Congress Recommendations On Making Affordable Housing Green" (6-11-08)
"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today testified before Congress on ways to improve sustainability and energy efficiency in housing while simultaneously supporting housing affordability."
Los Angeles Times - "Ambassador campus development in Pasadena foreclosed" (6-11-08)
"An ambitious development project that included hundreds of condominiums, apartments and a senior housing complex on the former Ambassador College campus has been foreclosed, Pasadena officials said Tuesday."
CNN - "For this broker, foreclosures spell boom" (6-11-08)
"These trends are forcing people out of the business. The number of National Association of Realtors members dropped in May to 1.25 million, down 6.4% from the end of 2007. Agents specializing in bank-owned property, however, often have more work than they can handle. More than 1 million homes are in foreclosure, the highest number ever recorded, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week. Agents are signing up in droves to join the National REO Brokers Association, which focuses on real-estate owned properties, as foreclosed homes are known. The Henderson, Nev.-based group used to receive about 100 applications a month. Now it's averaging 400 a month."
CNN - "FHA chief balks at taking on more bad loans" (6-11-08)
"A Bush administration official warned Monday that a proposal to have the government back more bad loans would hurt taxpayers and could make the housing crisis even worse. Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery told the National Press Club that Congress legislation proposing that the FHA back up to $300 billion worth of troubled mortgages - or about two million loans - would weaken the agency."
Bloomberg - "Auction Rates Fall to Two-Year Low, Redemptions Slow" (6-11-08)
"U.S. state and local governments exiting auction-rate bonds are slowing the pace of refinancing as yields on the debt fall to the lowest in at least two years. Borrowers redeemed or announced plans to refinance about $2 billion of the bonds last week, down 64 percent from an average of $5.5 billion a week in April and May, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. They have already replaced or said they would convert about $78 billion of the debt, or 47 percent of the total, since investors and brokers abandoned the market in February, triggering penalty rates as high as 20 percent. "
Bloomberg - "Washington Mutual Leads Home Lenders Down on Rates" (6-11-08)
"Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan by assets, slid 9.3 percent, leading mortgage-related stocks lower on concern rising interest rates will hurt home values, increasing foreclosures. Bets in futures markets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will end its series of rate cuts and lift the target rate for overnight loans doubled this week after Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled June 9 that borrowing won't get cheaper."
Orange County Register - "Look who’s making subprime loans now" (6-11-08)
"National Mortgage News reported Tuesday that Federal Housing Administration-insured loans have gained a market share greater than 10 percent, a big jump for an agency overshadowed during the housing boom."
The Wall Street Journal - "Some Buy a New Home to Bail on the Old" (6-11-08)
"In markets hit hardest by falling home prices and rising foreclosures, lenders and brokers are discovering a new phenomenon: the 'buy and bail,' in which borrowers with good credit buy a new home -- often at a much lower price -- then bail out of the "upside down" mortgage on their first home."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Bloomberg - "Schwab May Pay Half-a-Quarter Profit on Fund Losses" (6-10-08)
"Charles Schwab Corp., the largest U.S. online brokerage, may pay the equivalent of half a quarter's profit, or about $260 million, to win public-relations points by settling investors' claims over losses in a bond fund with subprime holdings. The San Francisco-based company is accused in eight proposed class-action suits of misleading investors by describing its YieldPlus mutual fund in prospectuses as only 'marginally' riskier than cash. From last July 1 through April 30, investors lost about $1.3 billion, said Boston-based Financial Research Corp., which tracks investment flows for 35,000 funds."
Realty Times - "Interest Rate Update" (6-10-08)
"Inflationary fears have rates on the rise. Wall Street is keeping a close eye on any hint of rising prices and that’s going to translate into higher rates. If you like today’s rates you might think about locking in."
Realty Times - "Home Equity Stakes Stumped" (6-10-08)
"The equity stake in Americans' most important asset has dropped to its lowest level since the end of the second World War. Home owners' home equity slipped to 46.2 percent in the first quarter this year, the fifth consecutive quarter the rate was below the 50 percent market, according to the Federal Reserve's first quarter Flow of Funds report."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Good News Cautiously Follows Rocky Week" (6-10-08)
"Rocked by four dollar per gallon gas, rising unemployment to 5.5 percent and a steep stock market decline, the nation is ready for some good news, and it just might come from the housing sector. The National Association of Realtors April Pending Home Sales Index stopped its nearly three-month slide, and rose 6.3 percent to a reading of 88.2. That's still well off the 101.5 reading in April 2006, but significantly better than the March 2008 index of 83."
Orange County Register - "Rents seen falling 3.1% at big O.C. complexes" (6-10-08)
"Preliminary numbers for this April and May show average rents in the second quarter at $1,657. Although that was up 1.5% from the second quarter of 2007, rents were down sequentially for the last two quarters. The second quarter dropped 0.7% from first quarter and the first quarter was off 0.8% from the fourth quarter of last year."
Orange County Register - "O.C. mortgage delinquency rate climbs faster than state, nation" (6-10-08)
"the bad news: O.C.’s delinquency rate increased more dramatically quarter-to-quarter, rising 32 percent, vs. California’s rate rising 25 percent and the nation’s rising just 8 percent. It seems delinquencies are leveling off across the country, while still climbing in the Golden State."
Orange County Register - "O.C. to cut property taxes for 116,000" (6-10-08)
"The Orange County Assessor’s Office has announced that about 100,000 houses and condos and about 16,000 timeshares will see their property taxes go down next year because of declining home values. But the majority of the 570,000 homeowners in Orange County won’t get a tax break next year, even though home values have fallen on average 20 percent in the past 12 months."
"Charles Schwab Corp., the largest U.S. online brokerage, may pay the equivalent of half a quarter's profit, or about $260 million, to win public-relations points by settling investors' claims over losses in a bond fund with subprime holdings. The San Francisco-based company is accused in eight proposed class-action suits of misleading investors by describing its YieldPlus mutual fund in prospectuses as only 'marginally' riskier than cash. From last July 1 through April 30, investors lost about $1.3 billion, said Boston-based Financial Research Corp., which tracks investment flows for 35,000 funds."
Realty Times - "Interest Rate Update" (6-10-08)
"Inflationary fears have rates on the rise. Wall Street is keeping a close eye on any hint of rising prices and that’s going to translate into higher rates. If you like today’s rates you might think about locking in."
Realty Times - "Home Equity Stakes Stumped" (6-10-08)
"The equity stake in Americans' most important asset has dropped to its lowest level since the end of the second World War. Home owners' home equity slipped to 46.2 percent in the first quarter this year, the fifth consecutive quarter the rate was below the 50 percent market, according to the Federal Reserve's first quarter Flow of Funds report."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Good News Cautiously Follows Rocky Week" (6-10-08)
"Rocked by four dollar per gallon gas, rising unemployment to 5.5 percent and a steep stock market decline, the nation is ready for some good news, and it just might come from the housing sector. The National Association of Realtors April Pending Home Sales Index stopped its nearly three-month slide, and rose 6.3 percent to a reading of 88.2. That's still well off the 101.5 reading in April 2006, but significantly better than the March 2008 index of 83."
Orange County Register - "Rents seen falling 3.1% at big O.C. complexes" (6-10-08)
"Preliminary numbers for this April and May show average rents in the second quarter at $1,657. Although that was up 1.5% from the second quarter of 2007, rents were down sequentially for the last two quarters. The second quarter dropped 0.7% from first quarter and the first quarter was off 0.8% from the fourth quarter of last year."
Orange County Register - "O.C. mortgage delinquency rate climbs faster than state, nation" (6-10-08)
"the bad news: O.C.’s delinquency rate increased more dramatically quarter-to-quarter, rising 32 percent, vs. California’s rate rising 25 percent and the nation’s rising just 8 percent. It seems delinquencies are leveling off across the country, while still climbing in the Golden State."
Orange County Register - "O.C. to cut property taxes for 116,000" (6-10-08)
"The Orange County Assessor’s Office has announced that about 100,000 houses and condos and about 16,000 timeshares will see their property taxes go down next year because of declining home values. But the majority of the 570,000 homeowners in Orange County won’t get a tax break next year, even though home values have fallen on average 20 percent in the past 12 months."
Monday, June 09, 2008
NAR - "Home Sales May Rise Modestly Before Broader Upturn in Second Half Of 2008" (6-9-08)
"The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.3 percent to 88.2 from a reading of 83.0 in March. It’s the highest index since last October, but remains 13.1 percent lower than April 2007 when it stood at 101.5."
Market Watch - "Lehman to post $2.8 billion quarterly loss" (6-9-08)
"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said Monday it will report a quarterly loss of nearly $3 billion, its first since going public, and set forth plans to raise $6 billion to offset damage inflicted by the persistent credit crunch that has wreaked havoc on Wall Street and the U.S. economy."
Bloomberg - "SEC May Ban Moody's, S&P From Structured Consulting" (6-9-08)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may recommend this week that Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings be prohibited from advising investment banks on how to earn top rankings for asset- backed securities, according to people familiar with the matter."
Yahoo - "Is $1 Million Enough to Retire On?" (6-9-08)
"Becoming a millionaire once conjured up images of wealth and luxury, or at the very least financial security. But is a million bucks enough to retire comfortably on anymore? Many baby boomer millionaires don't think so, at least for the lifestyle they want to lead."
Bloomberg - "Wealth Evaporates as Gas Prices Clobber McMansions" (6-9-08)
"Sky-high gasoline prices aren't just raising the cost of Eugene Marino's 120-mile (193-kilometer) round-trip to his job in the Washington area. They're reducing his wealth, too. House prices in his rural subdivision beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charles Town, West Virginia, have plunged as commuting expenses have soared. A four-bedroom home down the street from his is listed for $239,000, after selling new for $360,000 five years ago."
Yahoo - "Giant Calif. land partnership files for Chapter 11" (6-9-08)
"LandSource Communities Development LLC issued a news release late Sunday to announce the bankruptcy filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The partnership's assets include 15,000 acres of undeveloped land north of Los Angeles in the Santa Clarita Valley, making it one of the largest land deals to falter amid the national housing glut."
Bloomberg - "Fed Not in It to Back a `Strong Dollar' Policy" (6-9-08)
"Let's get one thing straight: The Federal Reserve isn't going to raise interest rates to back a 'strong dollar' policy. The dollar's value isn't a central consideration in the Fed's interest-rate policy deliberations. Only on rare occasions has it ever been, such as in the late 1970s when the country was having difficulty financing its current account deficit."
Orange County Register - "Big Calif. land bankruptcy won’t hit Lennar’s O.C. plans" (6-9-08)
"Lennar’s Aliso Viejo office, home to the Miami-based builder’s West Coast operations, played a role in arranging the bankruptcy filing of major California land owner LandSource. But LandSource’s woes should not impact Lennar’s plans for El Toro and Tustin airbases in O.C."
Realty Times - "Washington Report: Mortgage Crisis Relief Bill" (6-9-08)
"Funding for a special $300 billion FHA program aimed at borrowers who are delinquent and also may be underwater on their loans. In a compromise last month, Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to tap Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's operating revenues to pay for losses expected to be generated by the special FHA program. But that hasn't gone over well with House Democrats and top executives of Fannie and Freddie."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: Housing Mother Lode Drained In Golden State" (6-9-08)
"California home builders have long held that the state needs 250,000 new homes every year to keep homes affordable. This year, however, they plan to produce a paltry 79,000 new homes -- fewer starts than in any year since 1954, according to the California Building Industry Association."
"The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.3 percent to 88.2 from a reading of 83.0 in March. It’s the highest index since last October, but remains 13.1 percent lower than April 2007 when it stood at 101.5."
Market Watch - "Lehman to post $2.8 billion quarterly loss" (6-9-08)
"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said Monday it will report a quarterly loss of nearly $3 billion, its first since going public, and set forth plans to raise $6 billion to offset damage inflicted by the persistent credit crunch that has wreaked havoc on Wall Street and the U.S. economy."
Bloomberg - "SEC May Ban Moody's, S&P From Structured Consulting" (6-9-08)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may recommend this week that Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings be prohibited from advising investment banks on how to earn top rankings for asset- backed securities, according to people familiar with the matter."
Yahoo - "Is $1 Million Enough to Retire On?" (6-9-08)
"Becoming a millionaire once conjured up images of wealth and luxury, or at the very least financial security. But is a million bucks enough to retire comfortably on anymore? Many baby boomer millionaires don't think so, at least for the lifestyle they want to lead."
Bloomberg - "Wealth Evaporates as Gas Prices Clobber McMansions" (6-9-08)
"Sky-high gasoline prices aren't just raising the cost of Eugene Marino's 120-mile (193-kilometer) round-trip to his job in the Washington area. They're reducing his wealth, too. House prices in his rural subdivision beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charles Town, West Virginia, have plunged as commuting expenses have soared. A four-bedroom home down the street from his is listed for $239,000, after selling new for $360,000 five years ago."
Yahoo - "Giant Calif. land partnership files for Chapter 11" (6-9-08)
"LandSource Communities Development LLC issued a news release late Sunday to announce the bankruptcy filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The partnership's assets include 15,000 acres of undeveloped land north of Los Angeles in the Santa Clarita Valley, making it one of the largest land deals to falter amid the national housing glut."
Bloomberg - "Fed Not in It to Back a `Strong Dollar' Policy" (6-9-08)
"Let's get one thing straight: The Federal Reserve isn't going to raise interest rates to back a 'strong dollar' policy. The dollar's value isn't a central consideration in the Fed's interest-rate policy deliberations. Only on rare occasions has it ever been, such as in the late 1970s when the country was having difficulty financing its current account deficit."
Orange County Register - "Big Calif. land bankruptcy won’t hit Lennar’s O.C. plans" (6-9-08)
"Lennar’s Aliso Viejo office, home to the Miami-based builder’s West Coast operations, played a role in arranging the bankruptcy filing of major California land owner LandSource. But LandSource’s woes should not impact Lennar’s plans for El Toro and Tustin airbases in O.C."
Realty Times - "Washington Report: Mortgage Crisis Relief Bill" (6-9-08)
"Funding for a special $300 billion FHA program aimed at borrowers who are delinquent and also may be underwater on their loans. In a compromise last month, Senate Democrats and Republicans agreed to tap Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's operating revenues to pay for losses expected to be generated by the special FHA program. But that hasn't gone over well with House Democrats and top executives of Fannie and Freddie."
Realty Times - "Wild, Wild West: Housing Mother Lode Drained In Golden State" (6-9-08)
"California home builders have long held that the state needs 250,000 new homes every year to keep homes affordable. This year, however, they plan to produce a paltry 79,000 new homes -- fewer starts than in any year since 1954, according to the California Building Industry Association."
CNN - "The trick to getting a mortgage fixed" (6-7-08)
"what's best for a borrower isn't always best for the lenders, who weigh the cost of every workout against the cost of foreclosure. Whether or not a homeowner gets help boils down to the numbers. If keeping an at-risk borrower in their home is going to cost the lender more than a foreclosure will, that homeowner is usually out of luck. The good news is that foreclosures are expensive - at least $50,000 according to the Center for Responsible Lending."
Orange County Register - "Insider QA hears housing to be ‘healthy’ by ’09’s end" (6-7-08)
"I foresee that by Q1 2009, the market will have improved a good deal. It will still be somewhat rocky in various areas, but it will be healthier overall. By the end of 2009 we will have a truly healthy market — no longer rocky; it will be fully stable and equitable for both buyers and sellers."
Orange County Register - "Psst… Want to sell your home equity? Ex-Lending Tree exec will buy." (6-7-08)
"Hsieh said his new plan is a revolution in the mortgage business. He is offering to give a homeowner cash up to 15 percent of the home’s appraised value today — the home must be worth at least $500,000 and the owner must live in the home. Hsieh gets nothing back until the home is sold. His investment is sort of like a second mortgage, expect without those annoying monthly payments."
Los Angeles Times - "Santa Barbara County home prices" (6-8-08)
-this article provides sales information for housing in Santa Barbara
Orange County Register - "Big Calif. landowner seeks bankruptcy" (6-8-08)
"LandSource Communities Development — major owner of housing sites north of L.A. that’s funded in part with state pension dollars — late Sunday announced that it is seeking bankruptcy protection"
Orange County Register - "Tustin company hopes to lead lenders down the right path, this time" (6-8-08)
"In 2006, a study by the Mortgage Brokers Association for Responsible Lending compared a sample of 100 stated-income mortgage applications to IRS records, and found that 90 percent of the sampled loans had overstated their income by more than 5 percent. Almost 60 percent exaggerated their income by more than 50 percent!"
"what's best for a borrower isn't always best for the lenders, who weigh the cost of every workout against the cost of foreclosure. Whether or not a homeowner gets help boils down to the numbers. If keeping an at-risk borrower in their home is going to cost the lender more than a foreclosure will, that homeowner is usually out of luck. The good news is that foreclosures are expensive - at least $50,000 according to the Center for Responsible Lending."
Orange County Register - "Insider QA hears housing to be ‘healthy’ by ’09’s end" (6-7-08)
"I foresee that by Q1 2009, the market will have improved a good deal. It will still be somewhat rocky in various areas, but it will be healthier overall. By the end of 2009 we will have a truly healthy market — no longer rocky; it will be fully stable and equitable for both buyers and sellers."
Orange County Register - "Psst… Want to sell your home equity? Ex-Lending Tree exec will buy." (6-7-08)
"Hsieh said his new plan is a revolution in the mortgage business. He is offering to give a homeowner cash up to 15 percent of the home’s appraised value today — the home must be worth at least $500,000 and the owner must live in the home. Hsieh gets nothing back until the home is sold. His investment is sort of like a second mortgage, expect without those annoying monthly payments."
Los Angeles Times - "Santa Barbara County home prices" (6-8-08)
-this article provides sales information for housing in Santa Barbara
Orange County Register - "Big Calif. landowner seeks bankruptcy" (6-8-08)
"LandSource Communities Development — major owner of housing sites north of L.A. that’s funded in part with state pension dollars — late Sunday announced that it is seeking bankruptcy protection"
Orange County Register - "Tustin company hopes to lead lenders down the right path, this time" (6-8-08)
"In 2006, a study by the Mortgage Brokers Association for Responsible Lending compared a sample of 100 stated-income mortgage applications to IRS records, and found that 90 percent of the sampled loans had overstated their income by more than 5 percent. Almost 60 percent exaggerated their income by more than 50 percent!"
Friday, June 06, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle - "Bay Area cities issue fewer housing permits" (6-6-08)
"Amid the worst housing downturn since the Depression, fewer units are being built, exacerbating the Bay Area's critical need for places to live, a government group said Thursday. Cities in the nine Bay Area counties issued 22,843 permits in 2007, down 24 percent from an annual average of 29,978 issued from 1999 through 2006, according to the Association of Bay Area Governments. Particularly striking was that most of the permits were for housing designed for affluent populations."
Inside Bay Area - "Bank of America wins approval to buy Countrywide" (6-6-08)
"In its order, the Fed board said that after the proposed deal Bank of America would remain the largest depository institution in the country, controlling approximately $773.4 billion in deposits, which represent 10.9 percent of total insured bank deposits in the country."
Bloomberg - "AIG Declines as U.S Regulators Probe Swaps Accounting" (6-6-08)
"American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, led the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower as regulators examine the firm's accounting before it booked record losses on derivatives tied to subprime mortgages."
Bloomberg - "Frank-Dodd Rescue Prolongs Housing Crisis by Deferring Defaults" (6-6-08)
"Proposals advancing in the Senate and House of Representatives would call for the federal government to insure as much as $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, potentially saving up to 2 million borrowers from foreclosure, according to one of the sponsors, Representative Barney Frank. Declining home prices will mean that one-third of those borrowers will default again, prolonging the deepest housing crisis since the 1930s, said Michael Carliner, former economist at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington."
Bloomberg - "GE Money Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan for Wizard Sale" (6-6-08)
"General Electric Co. hired Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to advise on the sale of its Wizard mortgage unit in Australia as part of a broader plan to pull back in consumer finance. The banks will assess a sale, joint venture or partnership for Wizard, which GE Money bought in 2004, according to Geoff Lynch, a GE Money spokesman in Melbourne. A sale may fetch more than A$500 million ($479 million) for Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, two people with knowledge of the matter said."
Bloomberg - "Hint of Housing Recovery Finding Fidelity National" (6-6-08)
"Fidelity National Financial Inc. has beaten every stock in the KBW Insurance Index this year by attracting investors who want to bet on a U.S. housing recovery without owning assets tainted by subprime mortgages."
Orange County Register - "O.C. houses off $199,000 from peak in mid-May" (6-6-08)
"Latest homebuying stats from DataQuick, for the 22 business days ended May 20, show modest sales strength, with O.C. deals closed still running above 2,000 residences — a level not seen from September to March. (Psst! That’s still not great. The 1988-2007 monthly average is 3,793!)"
Realty Times - "Long-Term Rates Nearly Unchanged in Freddie Mac Weekly Survey" (6-6-08)
"Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending June 5, 2008, up very slightly from last week when it averaged 6.08 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.53 percent."
"Amid the worst housing downturn since the Depression, fewer units are being built, exacerbating the Bay Area's critical need for places to live, a government group said Thursday. Cities in the nine Bay Area counties issued 22,843 permits in 2007, down 24 percent from an annual average of 29,978 issued from 1999 through 2006, according to the Association of Bay Area Governments. Particularly striking was that most of the permits were for housing designed for affluent populations."
Inside Bay Area - "Bank of America wins approval to buy Countrywide" (6-6-08)
"In its order, the Fed board said that after the proposed deal Bank of America would remain the largest depository institution in the country, controlling approximately $773.4 billion in deposits, which represent 10.9 percent of total insured bank deposits in the country."
Bloomberg - "AIG Declines as U.S Regulators Probe Swaps Accounting" (6-6-08)
"American International Group Inc., the world's largest insurer, led the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower as regulators examine the firm's accounting before it booked record losses on derivatives tied to subprime mortgages."
Bloomberg - "Frank-Dodd Rescue Prolongs Housing Crisis by Deferring Defaults" (6-6-08)
"Proposals advancing in the Senate and House of Representatives would call for the federal government to insure as much as $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, potentially saving up to 2 million borrowers from foreclosure, according to one of the sponsors, Representative Barney Frank. Declining home prices will mean that one-third of those borrowers will default again, prolonging the deepest housing crisis since the 1930s, said Michael Carliner, former economist at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington."
Bloomberg - "GE Money Hires Citigroup, JPMorgan for Wizard Sale" (6-6-08)
"General Electric Co. hired Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. to advise on the sale of its Wizard mortgage unit in Australia as part of a broader plan to pull back in consumer finance. The banks will assess a sale, joint venture or partnership for Wizard, which GE Money bought in 2004, according to Geoff Lynch, a GE Money spokesman in Melbourne. A sale may fetch more than A$500 million ($479 million) for Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, two people with knowledge of the matter said."
Bloomberg - "Hint of Housing Recovery Finding Fidelity National" (6-6-08)
"Fidelity National Financial Inc. has beaten every stock in the KBW Insurance Index this year by attracting investors who want to bet on a U.S. housing recovery without owning assets tainted by subprime mortgages."
Orange County Register - "O.C. houses off $199,000 from peak in mid-May" (6-6-08)
"Latest homebuying stats from DataQuick, for the 22 business days ended May 20, show modest sales strength, with O.C. deals closed still running above 2,000 residences — a level not seen from September to March. (Psst! That’s still not great. The 1988-2007 monthly average is 3,793!)"
Realty Times - "Long-Term Rates Nearly Unchanged in Freddie Mac Weekly Survey" (6-6-08)
"Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.09 percent with an average 0.6 point for the week ending June 5, 2008, up very slightly from last week when it averaged 6.08 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.53 percent."
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Yahoo - "Senate confirms Preston as HUD secretary" (6-5-08)
"The Senate has confirmed President Bush's new housing secretary, elevating Small Business Administration Administrator Steven Preston to be the administration's point man on the slumping housing market and subprime lending crisis. Preston is likely to be lead negotiator as Congress and the White House work on legislation to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, including many in which the mortgages exceed the value of their homes.?
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Delinquencies and Foreclosures Increase in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey" (6-5-08)
"The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.35 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, up 53 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2007, and up 151 basis points from one year ago, according to MBA’s National Delinquency Survey."
CNN - "The trick to getting a mortgage fixed" (6-5-08)
"what's best for a borrower isn't always best for the lenders, who weigh the cost of every workout against the cost of foreclosure. Whether or not a homeowner gets help boils down to the numbers. If keeping an at-risk borrower in their home is going to cost the lender more than a foreclosure will, that homeowner is usually out of luck. The good news is that foreclosures are expensive - at least $50,000 according to the Center for Responsible Lending."
Orange County Register - "More O.C. homes for rent? HUD thinks so" (6-5-08)
"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest Orange County market housing analysis suggests the so-called 'shadow market' of homes and condos now being rented by individual owners — vs. big landlords’ complexes — is for real. During the early 2000s in North Orange County, the number of new single-family homes and condos being used as 'shadow' rentals was increasing at 100 units a year, says the report. That jumped to 700 units a year after 2005."
Orange County Register - "Loan delinquencies fall! Are government aid efforts working?" (6-5-08)
"The percentage of loans on which borrowers missed one payment dropped in March vs. a month earlier for people with good, bad or in-between credit, according to an industry report released last week that tracked loans which have been turned into securities and sold to investors."
The Wall Street Journal - "Housing Supply Declined in May" (6-5-08)
"The supply of homes available for sale in major metropolitan areas declined slightly in May. Total listings of homes in 29 metro areas at the end of May edged down 0.3% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover listings of single-family homes, condos and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas, where Zip operates."
Bloomberg - "MBIA, Ambac May Quit Aaa Battle on Moody's Likely Cut" (6-5-08)
"The world's largest bond insurers, which have raised $4.1 billion combined in the past six months, said they won't seek more capital after New York-based Moody's yesterday said the most likely result of its examination would be a downgrade of the companies' top insurance financial strength rankings."
Bloomberg - "MGIC, PMI Downgraded by Fitch on Poor Underwriting" (6-5-08)
"MGIC Investment Corp. and PMI Group Inc., the two largest U.S. mortgage insurers, had their financial strength grades cut by Fitch Ratings based on the sale of coverage for risky loans in 2007."
Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Positive GDP Growth Rate" (6-5-08)
"But last week's big economic number -- positive growth in the national gross domestic product for the second straight quarter -- is the latest sign that this economy still has some fight left in it."
"The Senate has confirmed President Bush's new housing secretary, elevating Small Business Administration Administrator Steven Preston to be the administration's point man on the slumping housing market and subprime lending crisis. Preston is likely to be lead negotiator as Congress and the White House work on legislation to allow the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in refinanced mortgages, including many in which the mortgages exceed the value of their homes.?
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Delinquencies and Foreclosures Increase in Latest MBA National Delinquency Survey" (6-5-08)
"The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.35 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, up 53 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2007, and up 151 basis points from one year ago, according to MBA’s National Delinquency Survey."
CNN - "The trick to getting a mortgage fixed" (6-5-08)
"what's best for a borrower isn't always best for the lenders, who weigh the cost of every workout against the cost of foreclosure. Whether or not a homeowner gets help boils down to the numbers. If keeping an at-risk borrower in their home is going to cost the lender more than a foreclosure will, that homeowner is usually out of luck. The good news is that foreclosures are expensive - at least $50,000 according to the Center for Responsible Lending."
Orange County Register - "More O.C. homes for rent? HUD thinks so" (6-5-08)
"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest Orange County market housing analysis suggests the so-called 'shadow market' of homes and condos now being rented by individual owners — vs. big landlords’ complexes — is for real. During the early 2000s in North Orange County, the number of new single-family homes and condos being used as 'shadow' rentals was increasing at 100 units a year, says the report. That jumped to 700 units a year after 2005."
Orange County Register - "Loan delinquencies fall! Are government aid efforts working?" (6-5-08)
"The percentage of loans on which borrowers missed one payment dropped in March vs. a month earlier for people with good, bad or in-between credit, according to an industry report released last week that tracked loans which have been turned into securities and sold to investors."
The Wall Street Journal - "Housing Supply Declined in May" (6-5-08)
"The supply of homes available for sale in major metropolitan areas declined slightly in May. Total listings of homes in 29 metro areas at the end of May edged down 0.3% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The data cover listings of single-family homes, condos and town houses on local multiple-listing services in those areas, where Zip operates."
Bloomberg - "MBIA, Ambac May Quit Aaa Battle on Moody's Likely Cut" (6-5-08)
"The world's largest bond insurers, which have raised $4.1 billion combined in the past six months, said they won't seek more capital after New York-based Moody's yesterday said the most likely result of its examination would be a downgrade of the companies' top insurance financial strength rankings."
Bloomberg - "MGIC, PMI Downgraded by Fitch on Poor Underwriting" (6-5-08)
"MGIC Investment Corp. and PMI Group Inc., the two largest U.S. mortgage insurers, had their financial strength grades cut by Fitch Ratings based on the sale of coverage for risky loans in 2007."
Realty Times - "Real Estate Outlook: Positive GDP Growth Rate" (6-5-08)
"But last week's big economic number -- positive growth in the national gross domestic product for the second straight quarter -- is the latest sign that this economy still has some fight left in it."
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (6-4-08)
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 30, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 502.3, a decrease of 15.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 593.3 one week earlier. This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the Memorial Day holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 24.2 percent compared with the previous week and was down 20.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
CNN - "Downsizing the American home" (6-4-08)
"During the bubble Bruce Karatz, a flamboyant marketer, believed that the public's hunger for McMansions would keep the good times rolling for years to come. It was his successor, Jeff Mezger, a hammer-and-studs operator, who recognized that the world had gone mad and steered KB back to first-time buyers. That strategy shift may prove to be a primer on how the housing market rejuvenates itself after a boom and a bust. "
Bloomberg - "MBIA, Ambac Credit Ratings Under Threat at Moody's" (6-4-08)
"Moody's Investors Service placed the Aaa insurance ratings of MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Corp. under review for a downgrade for the second time this year after the two largest bond insurers reported wider losses from the mortgage-market slump. "
Bloomberg - "Hovnanian Falls as Quarterly Loss Exceeds Estimates" (6-4-08)
"The stock declined 42 cents to $7.92 at 11:56 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Red Bank, New Jersey- based Hovnanian yesterday said its fiscal second-quarter net loss widened to $340.7 million, or $5.29 a share. Eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a loss of $2.86 a share."
Bloomberg - "Cuomo Nears Settlement With Moody's, S&P, People Say" (6-4-08)
"The companies won't admit wrongdoing and will have six months to implement policies such as a new fee structure and increased disclosure about the deals they rate, said the people, who declined to be identified before a public announcement that might come as early as this week. "
Bloomberg - "Metlife Buys Mortgage Business From First Horizon" (6-4-08)
"MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, agreed to buy a residential mortgage business from First Horizon National Corp., expanding its bet on the U.S. housing market. The purchase includes the home loan unit of First Horizon's Tennessee Bank National Association outside of that state, with 230 offices in the U.S., the New York-based insurer said today in a statement. MetLife said it isn't acquiring any subprime or Alt- A mortgages in the purchase. Terms weren't disclosed. "
Orange County Register - "Forget ‘08 and ‘09! Housing’s recovery seen far off" (6-4-08)
"The chief executive of Toll Brothers Inc., the nation’s largest luxury-home builder, said Wednesday the housing industry is in a 'depression' and any recovery could be two or three years away."
Orange County Register - "A week of foreclosure auctions to kick off in Anaheim" (6-4-08)
"Hudson & Marshall is holding a week-long series of foreclosure auctions in Southern California, beginning in Anaheim. At the Anaheim Marriott, the company will auction more than 300 homes on Saturday and Sunday. It plans to sell more than 800 homes during the week."
Realty Times - "Condo Trends: Keeping the Dues Flowing" (6-4-08)
"In the face of record number foreclosures, one of the residual points of concern is when condo owners dues begin to suffer. When a condominium goes into foreclosure, more than likely the dues for that unit have not been paid for months – long before the property went into foreclosure."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: How To Make The Short Sale" (6-4-08)
"The seller must realize by reading and signing the short sale addendum to the sales contract that the short sale doesn't absolve them of all responsibility for the debt. Short sales may affect their credit scores, and some lenders may not forgive the entire debt, requiring the seller to pay the difference as a personal debt. FHA or VA loans may also require repayment in full. There may also be tax consequences -- the IRS requires a 1099 from the forgiving bank so the amount will be on record and must be declared by the seller at tax time."
"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 30, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 502.3, a decrease of 15.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 593.3 one week earlier. This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the Memorial Day holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 24.2 percent compared with the previous week and was down 20.3 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."
CNN - "Downsizing the American home" (6-4-08)
"During the bubble Bruce Karatz, a flamboyant marketer, believed that the public's hunger for McMansions would keep the good times rolling for years to come. It was his successor, Jeff Mezger, a hammer-and-studs operator, who recognized that the world had gone mad and steered KB back to first-time buyers. That strategy shift may prove to be a primer on how the housing market rejuvenates itself after a boom and a bust. "
Bloomberg - "MBIA, Ambac Credit Ratings Under Threat at Moody's" (6-4-08)
"Moody's Investors Service placed the Aaa insurance ratings of MBIA Inc. and Ambac Financial Corp. under review for a downgrade for the second time this year after the two largest bond insurers reported wider losses from the mortgage-market slump. "
Bloomberg - "Hovnanian Falls as Quarterly Loss Exceeds Estimates" (6-4-08)
"The stock declined 42 cents to $7.92 at 11:56 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Red Bank, New Jersey- based Hovnanian yesterday said its fiscal second-quarter net loss widened to $340.7 million, or $5.29 a share. Eight analysts surveyed by Bloomberg forecast a loss of $2.86 a share."
Bloomberg - "Cuomo Nears Settlement With Moody's, S&P, People Say" (6-4-08)
"The companies won't admit wrongdoing and will have six months to implement policies such as a new fee structure and increased disclosure about the deals they rate, said the people, who declined to be identified before a public announcement that might come as early as this week. "
Bloomberg - "Metlife Buys Mortgage Business From First Horizon" (6-4-08)
"MetLife Inc., the largest U.S. life insurer, agreed to buy a residential mortgage business from First Horizon National Corp., expanding its bet on the U.S. housing market. The purchase includes the home loan unit of First Horizon's Tennessee Bank National Association outside of that state, with 230 offices in the U.S., the New York-based insurer said today in a statement. MetLife said it isn't acquiring any subprime or Alt- A mortgages in the purchase. Terms weren't disclosed. "
Orange County Register - "Forget ‘08 and ‘09! Housing’s recovery seen far off" (6-4-08)
"The chief executive of Toll Brothers Inc., the nation’s largest luxury-home builder, said Wednesday the housing industry is in a 'depression' and any recovery could be two or three years away."
Orange County Register - "A week of foreclosure auctions to kick off in Anaheim" (6-4-08)
"Hudson & Marshall is holding a week-long series of foreclosure auctions in Southern California, beginning in Anaheim. At the Anaheim Marriott, the company will auction more than 300 homes on Saturday and Sunday. It plans to sell more than 800 homes during the week."
Realty Times - "Condo Trends: Keeping the Dues Flowing" (6-4-08)
"In the face of record number foreclosures, one of the residual points of concern is when condo owners dues begin to suffer. When a condominium goes into foreclosure, more than likely the dues for that unit have not been paid for months – long before the property went into foreclosure."
Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: How To Make The Short Sale" (6-4-08)
"The seller must realize by reading and signing the short sale addendum to the sales contract that the short sale doesn't absolve them of all responsibility for the debt. Short sales may affect their credit scores, and some lenders may not forgive the entire debt, requiring the seller to pay the difference as a personal debt. FHA or VA loans may also require repayment in full. There may also be tax consequences -- the IRS requires a 1099 from the forgiving bank so the amount will be on record and must be declared by the seller at tax time."
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Mortgage Bankers Association - "Commercial/Multifamily Originations Lowest Since 2004, Originations for CMBS Show Biggest Drop" (6-3-08)
"Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers' loan originations fell on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. First quarter originations were fifty-three percent lower than during the same period last year. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all property types and most investor groups."
Yahoo - "Don't Raid Retirement Savings to Pay the Mortgage" (6-3-08)
"Before you dip into your retirement, try to prioritize your spending. After health care, keeping your home should be your first priority, says Jacob Benaroya, president of Biltmore Capital Group, a company which buys nonperforming mortgages and tries to get borrowers back on the straight and narrow. So make your house payments before your pay on your credit cards or other unsecured debts. Visa can't take your house away from you, but your mortgage holder can."
Bloomberg - "Toll Reports Third Straight Loss on Land Writedown" (6-3-08)
"Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, reported its third straight quarterly loss as tumbling demand forced the company to write down land values. The net loss for the fiscal second quarter ended April 30 was $93.7 million, or 59 cents a share. In the year-earlier second quarter, Toll had net income of $36.7 million, or 22 cents a share. The shares rose 3.1 percent after Toll recorded its lowest cancellation rate in a year and the loss was smaller than analysts' estimates."
CNN - "Fat pensions spell doom for many cities" (6-3-08)
"The jig is up. For years, politicians have been playing what amounts to a multi-trillion-dollar shell game with state and local pensions. They've doled out lush retiree benefits to their heavily unionized workforces, knowing that they could shove the cost for those benefits onto future generations of taxpayers. But a recent financial bombshell dropped by a San Francisco suburb shows why that shell game is now starting to unravel in a nasty way. And it's a cautionary tale that you can't afford to ignore."
Yahoo - "Lehman shares plunge on capital raising concern" (6-3-08)
"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shares plunged as much as 14 percent on Tuesday to their lowest level since the meltdown of Bear Stearns on concern that Wall Street's smallest surviving major brokerage could need to raise more capital."
Bloomberg - "ResCap Gets GMAC, Cerberus Funding to Avoid Default" (6-3-08)
"Cerberus Capital Management LP and GMAC LLC will prop up Residential Capital LLC with at least $2.88 billion in funding after previous rescue plans for the mortgage unit failed. GMAC, the owner of ResCap, and Cerberus, which controls GMAC, stepped in after the home-loan unit fell $2 billion short of meeting its debt obligations this month -- more than triple the gap disclosed last month, according to a regulatory filing today. ResCap's original plan to sell $1.3 billion in assets collapsed, the filing said."
Yahoo - "Inflation moves up on Bernanke's worry list" (6-3-08)
"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has moved inflation up on his list of worries, suggesting more pointedly than ever that the time for cutting interest rates is over in view of soaring oil and commodity prices and a weakened dollar."
Bloomberg - "Wachovia's Thompson Joins Prince, O'Neal Toppled by Subprime" (6-3-08)
"Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kennedy Thompson sounded like a gambler who'd spotted a sure thing in 2006 when he paid $24.6 billion for Golden West, a California lender specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages."
Bloomberg - "Moody's, McGraw-Hill Shares Rise on Cuomo Pact Report" (6-3-08)
"Moody's Corp. and McGraw-Cos. rose in New York trading on speculation they reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo without agreeing to any harsh penalties. Moody's Investors Service, McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, the three largest bond-rating companies, agreed to change the way they collect fees as part of the agreement with Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reported today."
Bloomberg - "Vornado Seeks Retail Acquisitions With $1.4 Billion in Cash" (6-3-08)
"Vornado Realty Trust, the fourth- biggest U.S. real estate investment trust, is looking for retail properties to buy with the $1.4 billion of cash on its balance sheet, company executives said."
"Commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers' loan originations fell on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. First quarter originations were fifty-three percent lower than during the same period last year. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all property types and most investor groups."
Yahoo - "Don't Raid Retirement Savings to Pay the Mortgage" (6-3-08)
"Before you dip into your retirement, try to prioritize your spending. After health care, keeping your home should be your first priority, says Jacob Benaroya, president of Biltmore Capital Group, a company which buys nonperforming mortgages and tries to get borrowers back on the straight and narrow. So make your house payments before your pay on your credit cards or other unsecured debts. Visa can't take your house away from you, but your mortgage holder can."
Bloomberg - "Toll Reports Third Straight Loss on Land Writedown" (6-3-08)
"Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury-home builder, reported its third straight quarterly loss as tumbling demand forced the company to write down land values. The net loss for the fiscal second quarter ended April 30 was $93.7 million, or 59 cents a share. In the year-earlier second quarter, Toll had net income of $36.7 million, or 22 cents a share. The shares rose 3.1 percent after Toll recorded its lowest cancellation rate in a year and the loss was smaller than analysts' estimates."
CNN - "Fat pensions spell doom for many cities" (6-3-08)
"The jig is up. For years, politicians have been playing what amounts to a multi-trillion-dollar shell game with state and local pensions. They've doled out lush retiree benefits to their heavily unionized workforces, knowing that they could shove the cost for those benefits onto future generations of taxpayers. But a recent financial bombshell dropped by a San Francisco suburb shows why that shell game is now starting to unravel in a nasty way. And it's a cautionary tale that you can't afford to ignore."
Yahoo - "Lehman shares plunge on capital raising concern" (6-3-08)
"Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc shares plunged as much as 14 percent on Tuesday to their lowest level since the meltdown of Bear Stearns on concern that Wall Street's smallest surviving major brokerage could need to raise more capital."
Bloomberg - "ResCap Gets GMAC, Cerberus Funding to Avoid Default" (6-3-08)
"Cerberus Capital Management LP and GMAC LLC will prop up Residential Capital LLC with at least $2.88 billion in funding after previous rescue plans for the mortgage unit failed. GMAC, the owner of ResCap, and Cerberus, which controls GMAC, stepped in after the home-loan unit fell $2 billion short of meeting its debt obligations this month -- more than triple the gap disclosed last month, according to a regulatory filing today. ResCap's original plan to sell $1.3 billion in assets collapsed, the filing said."
Yahoo - "Inflation moves up on Bernanke's worry list" (6-3-08)
"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has moved inflation up on his list of worries, suggesting more pointedly than ever that the time for cutting interest rates is over in view of soaring oil and commodity prices and a weakened dollar."
Bloomberg - "Wachovia's Thompson Joins Prince, O'Neal Toppled by Subprime" (6-3-08)
"Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kennedy Thompson sounded like a gambler who'd spotted a sure thing in 2006 when he paid $24.6 billion for Golden West, a California lender specializing in adjustable-rate mortgages."
Bloomberg - "Moody's, McGraw-Hill Shares Rise on Cuomo Pact Report" (6-3-08)
"Moody's Corp. and McGraw-Cos. rose in New York trading on speculation they reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo without agreeing to any harsh penalties. Moody's Investors Service, McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, the three largest bond-rating companies, agreed to change the way they collect fees as part of the agreement with Cuomo, the Wall Street Journal reported today."
Bloomberg - "Vornado Seeks Retail Acquisitions With $1.4 Billion in Cash" (6-3-08)
"Vornado Realty Trust, the fourth- biggest U.S. real estate investment trust, is looking for retail properties to buy with the $1.4 billion of cash on its balance sheet, company executives said."
Monday, June 02, 2008
NAR - "REALTORS® Under 30 Reflect Real Estate Market Trends" (6-2-08)
"in today’s real estate market, more and more home sellers are turning to auctions. The real estate auction market rose 39 percent between 2003 and 2007, according to the National Auctioneers Association, and Realtors® work with both buyers and sellers in auction sales. Realtor® Julie First, a 30 Under 30 winner from Chicago, is an Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate designee and has sold everything from condos to mineral rights to land. 'I really like the fast pace of auctions,' said First."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Stocks Drop, Led by Financials; Wachovia, Lehman Retreat" (6-2-08)
"U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days after Wachovia Corp. ousted its chief executive officer and Standard & Poor's lowered its debt ratings on three of Wall Street's biggest securities firms. Wachovia slid to the lowest level since 1995 after saying Kennedy Thompson will step down, reigniting concern that subprime losses will deepen. Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. tumbled after S&P said the firms will be forced to report more writedowns. Marriott International Inc. spurred declines in consumer shares as the largest hotel chain said lower U.S. demand is hurting revenue growth."
Yahoo - "Manufacturing, construction, founder; prices rise" (6-2-08)
"Dark clouds continue to hang over the economy: The manufacturing sector shrank for the fourth consecutive month, construction spending has been falling for more than two years, future orders are down and prices are skyrocketing."
Bloomberg - "Wall Street Says -2 + -2 = 4 as Liabilities Get New Bond Math" (6-2-08)
"Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and four other U.S. financial companies have used an accounting rule adopted last year to book almost $12 billion of revenue after a decline in prices of their own bonds. The rule, intended to expand the 'mark-to- market' accounting that banks use to record profits or losses on trading assets, allows them to report gains when market prices for their liabilities fall."
MSN Money - "The Fed embraces inflation" (6-2-08)
"A top Fed official warns of the hazards of printing money to solve economic problems. He's right -- and yet the nation's central bank keeps running the press at top speed."
Bloomberg - "Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Lehman Ratings Cut by S&P" (6-2-08)
"Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. declined in New York trading after Standard & Poor's lowered credit ratings for the investment banks, saying they may have to book more writedowns on devalued assets."
Bloomberg - "Home Prices Fall in 23 U.S. Cities as Defaults Rise" (6-2-08)
"The price per square foot in Sacramento, California's capital, dropped 31 percent to $160 from a year earlier, according to a report released today by New York-based Radar Logic Inc., a real estate data company. Prices in San Diego declined 27 percent to $251 a square foot. New York area prices fell compared with a year earlier for the first time since Radar Logic began publishing in 2000, the report said."
Bloomberg - "Starwood's Sternlicht Says Banking in `Dire Straits'" (6-2-08)
"Banks around the world have lost or written down $379 billion since the beginning of 2007 on the collapse of U.S. subprime residential mortgages, which were available to borrowers with bad or incomplete credit."
Bloomberg - "Centro Wins Fifth Debt Reprieve on A$6.6 Billion" (6-2-08)
"Centro Properties Group, the Australian owner of more than 650 U.S. malls, reached agreements confirming extensions on as much as A$6.6 billion ($6.3 billion) of debt while it works to sell assets. The agreements allow the deadline on A$2.3 billion owed to Australian creditors and $450 million owed to U.S. bondholders to be extended to Dec. 15, Centro said today in a statement."
Orange County Register - "Distressed homes 63% of O.C.’s cheaper supply" (6-2-08)
"Home market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo reports that the number of O.C. distressed properties (homes listed by agents as foreclosures or short sales) was 5,905 last week, up 227 vs. two weeks earlier or a +4% change."
Orange County Register - "O.C. homes seen undervalued, 1st time since ‘03" (6-2-08)
"Economists at Global Insight and National City Bank say Orange County housing is now 5.2% undervalued — yes, undervalued. That’s the first time this math shows local homes as relative bargains to broad economics since the second quarter of 2003. It’s also the largest undervaluation since the final three months of 2002."
"in today’s real estate market, more and more home sellers are turning to auctions. The real estate auction market rose 39 percent between 2003 and 2007, according to the National Auctioneers Association, and Realtors® work with both buyers and sellers in auction sales. Realtor® Julie First, a 30 Under 30 winner from Chicago, is an Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate designee and has sold everything from condos to mineral rights to land. 'I really like the fast pace of auctions,' said First."
Bloomberg - "U.S. Stocks Drop, Led by Financials; Wachovia, Lehman Retreat" (6-2-08)
"U.S. stocks fell for the first time in five days after Wachovia Corp. ousted its chief executive officer and Standard & Poor's lowered its debt ratings on three of Wall Street's biggest securities firms. Wachovia slid to the lowest level since 1995 after saying Kennedy Thompson will step down, reigniting concern that subprime losses will deepen. Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. tumbled after S&P said the firms will be forced to report more writedowns. Marriott International Inc. spurred declines in consumer shares as the largest hotel chain said lower U.S. demand is hurting revenue growth."
Yahoo - "Manufacturing, construction, founder; prices rise" (6-2-08)
"Dark clouds continue to hang over the economy: The manufacturing sector shrank for the fourth consecutive month, construction spending has been falling for more than two years, future orders are down and prices are skyrocketing."
Bloomberg - "Wall Street Says -2 + -2 = 4 as Liabilities Get New Bond Math" (6-2-08)
"Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and four other U.S. financial companies have used an accounting rule adopted last year to book almost $12 billion of revenue after a decline in prices of their own bonds. The rule, intended to expand the 'mark-to- market' accounting that banks use to record profits or losses on trading assets, allows them to report gains when market prices for their liabilities fall."
MSN Money - "The Fed embraces inflation" (6-2-08)
"A top Fed official warns of the hazards of printing money to solve economic problems. He's right -- and yet the nation's central bank keeps running the press at top speed."
Bloomberg - "Morgan Stanley, Merrill, Lehman Ratings Cut by S&P" (6-2-08)
"Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. declined in New York trading after Standard & Poor's lowered credit ratings for the investment banks, saying they may have to book more writedowns on devalued assets."
Bloomberg - "Home Prices Fall in 23 U.S. Cities as Defaults Rise" (6-2-08)
"The price per square foot in Sacramento, California's capital, dropped 31 percent to $160 from a year earlier, according to a report released today by New York-based Radar Logic Inc., a real estate data company. Prices in San Diego declined 27 percent to $251 a square foot. New York area prices fell compared with a year earlier for the first time since Radar Logic began publishing in 2000, the report said."
Bloomberg - "Starwood's Sternlicht Says Banking in `Dire Straits'" (6-2-08)
"Banks around the world have lost or written down $379 billion since the beginning of 2007 on the collapse of U.S. subprime residential mortgages, which were available to borrowers with bad or incomplete credit."
Bloomberg - "Centro Wins Fifth Debt Reprieve on A$6.6 Billion" (6-2-08)
"Centro Properties Group, the Australian owner of more than 650 U.S. malls, reached agreements confirming extensions on as much as A$6.6 billion ($6.3 billion) of debt while it works to sell assets. The agreements allow the deadline on A$2.3 billion owed to Australian creditors and $450 million owed to U.S. bondholders to be extended to Dec. 15, Centro said today in a statement."
Orange County Register - "Distressed homes 63% of O.C.’s cheaper supply" (6-2-08)
"Home market watcher Steve Thomas at Re/Max Real Estate Services in Aliso Viejo reports that the number of O.C. distressed properties (homes listed by agents as foreclosures or short sales) was 5,905 last week, up 227 vs. two weeks earlier or a +4% change."
Orange County Register - "O.C. homes seen undervalued, 1st time since ‘03" (6-2-08)
"Economists at Global Insight and National City Bank say Orange County housing is now 5.2% undervalued — yes, undervalued. That’s the first time this math shows local homes as relative bargains to broad economics since the second quarter of 2003. It’s also the largest undervaluation since the final three months of 2002."
MSN Money - "JPMorgan completes takeover of Bear Stearns" (5-31-08)
"JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Saturday it completed its $1.4 billion Bear Stearns Cos takeover, capping the demise of a Wall Street firm that survived the Depression and numerous slumps in its 85 years but could not navigate the mortgage crisis."
Orange County Register - "Insider Q&A told O.C. sellers ‘not accepting reality’" (5-31-08)
"It will take over a year to get to get to a vacancy of less than 10%. Landlords can get aggressive because they have deeper pockets during this downturn as they are more institutional than they were before."
Orange County Register - "Benefiting from the mortgage bust" (5-31-08)
"It can take six months right now to get FHA approval for your brokerage shop if you don’t already have it. Many brokers aren’t approved, and if you do want to put in for approval there is a backlog. Not all brokers can qualify. You have to put up $62,000 to $250.000."
Los Angeles Times - "In Escondido: Buy one (house), get one free. " (6-1-08)
"In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes."
"JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Saturday it completed its $1.4 billion Bear Stearns Cos takeover, capping the demise of a Wall Street firm that survived the Depression and numerous slumps in its 85 years but could not navigate the mortgage crisis."
Orange County Register - "Insider Q&A told O.C. sellers ‘not accepting reality’" (5-31-08)
"It will take over a year to get to get to a vacancy of less than 10%. Landlords can get aggressive because they have deeper pockets during this downturn as they are more institutional than they were before."
Orange County Register - "Benefiting from the mortgage bust" (5-31-08)
"It can take six months right now to get FHA approval for your brokerage shop if you don’t already have it. Many brokers aren’t approved, and if you do want to put in for approval there is a backlog. Not all brokers can qualify. You have to put up $62,000 to $250.000."
Los Angeles Times - "In Escondido: Buy one (house), get one free. " (6-1-08)
"In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
