NAHB - "Home Buyer Tax Credit Will Create 255,000 Jobs, NAHB Study Shows" (2-10-09)

"The $15,000 home buyer tax credit, which is an integral part of the economic stimulus legislation adopted today by the Senate, will result in nearly 500,000 additional home sales and create 255,000 new jobs in the year ahead, according to research conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."

NAR - "Senate Stimulus Bill, Treasury Stability Plan Good Start, Says NAR" (2-10-09)

"The National Association of Realtors^® hailed the Senate for passing its stimulus bill that expands the homebuyer tax credit, an important housing component that will help shrink housing inventory, bring stability to home values and move the country closer to an economic recovery."

NAHB - "$15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit Will Get U.S. Economy Back On Track" (2-10-09)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today applauded Senate passage of economic stimulus legislation that would help boost employment and tackle the housing and economic crisis head-on by expanding the home buyer tax credit."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Originations Down 80% from Q4 2007 in MBA Survey" (2-10-09)

"Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations dropped in the fourth quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. Fourth quarter originations were 80 percent lower than during the same period last year. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all property types and investor groups."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Larger mortgages still carry higher rates" (2-10-09)

"'If you have a mortgage between $417,000 and $625,500 (the range for jumbo conforming loans), you can't get a decent rate on it except for approximately one-half day out of every three weeks,' said Dick Lepre, a loan agent at San Francisco's Residential Pacific Mortgage. 'The problem is that we see extreme volatility, where the rate on these jumbo conformings changes massively, by almost a full percent, from one day to the next.'"

Chicago Tribune - "Wholesale inventories plunge 1.4 percent in December, steepest drop in nearly 17 years" (2-10-09)

"Wholesalers cut back on their inventories in December by the largest amount in nearly 17 years, and economists say more reductions are likely amid the deepening recession."

Bloomberg - "Geithner Says Bank-Rescue Plans May Reach $2 Trillion" (2-10-09)

"Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged government financing for as much as $2 trillion of efforts to spur new lending and address banks’ toxic assets, seeking to end the credit crunch hobbling the economy."

Bloomberg - "Selling AIG to Scarce Buyers Is Mission Impossible for Reynolds " (2-10-09)

"Today, Reynolds, 52, is AIG’s chief restructuring officer and U.S. taxpayers’ best hope for recovering some of the $150 billion the government pumped into the company last fall in the biggest corporate bailout ever. Charged with dismantling as much as two-thirds of what was once the world’s largest insurer, she’s running simultaneous auctions of dozens of units around the world, including insurance companies, consumer lenders, asset managers and an aircraft-leasing business."

Bloomberg - "Property Investment to Fall Further as Buyers Search for Credit" (2-10-09)

"Global real estate spending on office buildings, stores and apartments may fall another 5.3 percent this year to $412 billion as lenders keep a tight rein on credit, property broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said. Lack of credit pushed commercial property acquisitions down 59 percent to $435 billion last year, the lowest since 2004, New York-based Cushman said."

Orange County Register - "Laing Homes lays off 72 O.C. workers" (2-10-09)

"More evidence surfaced this week that all is not well with Newport Beach-based homebuilder John Laing Homes, which apparently has been all-but mothballed by its Dubai-based owner. Laing reported that it laid off 72 employees in Orange County on Jan. 15, according to a state Employment Development Department notice published Monday."