NAR - "NAR Launches $5 Million Grant Program for Workforce Housing" (1-22-09)

"In today's challenging economy, the National Association of Realtors^® is taking action to make workforce housing more available. Through the Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants, NAR will award as much as $5.23 million to state Realtor^® associations or their housing foundations to support workforce housing initiatives in their states. One-time grants will be awarded on a sliding scale to state Realtor^® programs that promote safe, decent housing for people with low and moderate incomes who cannot afford to live in the communities where they work. The grants are named in honor of Ira Gribin, a former NAR president who was a tireless advocate for fair and affordable housing for diverse populations."

DQNews - "California December 2009 Home Sales" (1-22-09)

"An estimated 37,836 new and resale houses and condos were sold in California last month. That was up 17.6 percent from 32,163 in November and up 47.9 percent from 25,585 for December 2007. Sales have increased on a year-over-year basis for the last six months. California sales for the month of December have varied from last year's low to a peak of 66,503 in 2003, while the average is 44,844. MDA DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (1-22-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 16, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1195.3, a decrease of 9.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1324.8 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 10.3 percent compared with the previous week and increased 23.1 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Yahoo - "Housing starts post larger than expected drop" (1-22-09)

"New-home construction plunged to an all-time low in December, capping the worst year for builders on records dating back to 1959. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that construction of new homes and apartments fell 15.5 percent to an annual rate of 550,000 units last month. That shattered the previous low set in November."

Bloomberg - "Freddie Mac Says Fixed Mortgages Rose to 5.12 Percent" (1-22-09)

"The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose this week as government data showed the housing recession intensified. The rate rose to 5.12 percent from 4.96 percent a week earlier, Freddie Mac said in a report today. Last week's number was the lowest since the McLean, Virginia-based mortgage buyer began keeping records in 1971. The average rate for a 15-year mortgage rose to 4.8 percent from 4.65 percent."

Bloomberg - "Apartment Rents, Occupancies Drop in U.S. as Job Losses Mount" (1-22-09)

"The average monthly rent dropped to $993 in the three months ended Dec. 31 from $1,002 in the previous quarter, Novato, California-based RealFacts said in a survey of 60 metropolitan areas. The occupancy rate fell to 92.2 percent from 92.9 percent"

Orange County Register - "Will banks offer foreclosures for rent?" (1-22-09)

"Fannie Mae, the mortgage giant now owned by taxpayers, said earlier this month it would allow renters to stay in their homes, if the owner lost it to foreclosure by the company. 'Renters in foreclosed properties have often been a casualty of the foreclosure crisis the country is facing,' said Michael Williams, chief operating officer of Fannie Mae. 'This policy will allow qualified renters to remain in Fannie Mae-owned properties should they choose to do so, mitigate the disruption of personal lives that foreclosures can cause, and help bring a measure of stability to communities impacted by high foreclosure rates.'"

Realty Times - "Builders Using Real Estate Auctions to Stimulate Business" (1-22-08)

"Out West, online real estate auction marketing firm, LFC Group of Companies, recently launched a new auction campaign of brand new homes in Denver, Colorado. The auction, a builder closeout of high-end properties in the master-planned community of Stapleton and the charming town of Golden, features four boutique townhomes and four large estate homes. They are the last remaining inventory of a well-respected local developer, and is further evidence that online auctions are becoming popular again as an alternative for healthy builders and developers eager to accelerate sales. The LFC Group of Companies also launched another new auction for Brava, 16 luxury condominiums located in the heart of Palm Desert, California, where Patrick Veiling, president and founder of Brea-based Real Data Strategies Inc., said, '2009 will be the absolute best purchase opportunity in the desert that we have seen for a long time.'"

Realty Times - "Where's Your Pooled 1031 Exchange Account Invested?" (1-22-08)

"If your exchange account isn't in a separate account, do you know what it's invested in? Recently one of the largest title companies in the United States filed for bankruptcy; a $1.5 billion (with a B!) publicly held company brought down by its 1031 exchange operation. I'm adamantly against pooling, yet most intermediaries pool their client's money. By pooling, I mean the placing of all the client's exchange funds into one account. The reason they pool is that by investing a larger amount of money, they're able to obtain a greater return. Of course the intermediary is going to keep most of the interest, which is the whole point of pooling to begin with. In fact, the more the account earns, the more they earn."