NAHB - "Builder Sentiment Unchanged In March" (3-16-09)

"Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes remained unchanged in March as economic woes continued to take their toll on potential buyers, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI held steady at 9 in March, marking a fifth consecutive month of single-digit readings."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Property taxes to increase despite falling home values" (3-16-09)

"The county assessor's office predicts that property taxes will increase this year for 75 percent of homes and other properties. That would produce a projected $91 million in additional revenue to the county, cities, school districts and other jurisdictions."

Inman News - "Real estate's February report card" (3-16-09)

"Since we began tracking the data for the major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in 1981, there has never been a better time to buy a home. The median-income household needs only 27 percent of their income (an all-time low) to qualify for the median-priced home, and that household is also only paying 3.3 times their income for the house (3.1 is the all-time low)."

CNN - "Mortgage fraud at an all-time high" (3-16-09)

"The number of reported incidents of mortgage fraud has reached an all-time high even as the number of home loans being issued has shrunk, according to a report released Monday. Cases of reported fraud surged 26% from 2007 to 2008, according to the Mortgage Asset Research Institute (MARI), a LexisNexis Service, which compiled the report for the Mortgage Banker's Association"

Bloomberg - "Retail REITs Have Further to Fall as Stores Struggle" (3-16-09)

"There’s little relief in store for investors in U.S. shopping center and mall landlords even after the shares plummeted 80 percent from their February 2007 highs. 'REITs are cheap but they’re going to continue to be cheap,' said Marc Halle, managing director of Prudential Real Estate Investors in Parsippany, New Jersey, whose firm manages about $32.5 billion in real estate assets. 'We’re going to see increased corporate bankruptcies and continued unemployment for the next few months'"

Orange County Register - "10,000 more O.C. real estate/finance jobs gone" (3-16-09)

"Initially, we thought that real estate and finance bosses trimmed 30,000 jobs between 2006 and 2008 — a 11% drop. But now we learn the two-year drop was 10,000 bodies worse than first feared — making it a 14% tumble."

The Wall Street Journal - "U.S. to Toughen Finance Rules" (3-16-09)

"The Obama administration, moving with increasing speed, has inked the main contours of its plan to revamp financial-market oversight -- changes that will ripple through the economy, affecting everything from the operations of international banks to consumer protection. The principles include giving the Federal Reserve new powers that include authority to monitor and address broad risks across the economy, say people familiar with the matter. The proposals are expected to include tougher capital requirements for big banks and authority for regulators to take over a large financial firm that is failing."

Inman - "Search for bottom offers peek into abyss" (3-16-09)

"The Treasury this week effortlessly raked in $64 billion by selling long-term debt, and mortgage markets stayed about the same, just under 5 percent. The outside world may choke on our paper someday, but not when its economies are failing faster than ours. German orders for manufactured goods in January fell 38 percent from the prior year, its exports down 21 percent. China is trying domestic stimulus but lives on exports, which are dropping at a 40 percent annual pace, its trade surplus down 87 percent."

Realty Times - "How Much Does a Foreclosure Cost?" (3-16-09)

"According to a report by the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, the average foreclosure cost amount to about $151,000, with several parties picking up the tab"

Realty Times - "Five Ways to Wow Buyers" (3-16-09)

"Crown molding and wider baseboards. Some homeowners are shy to experiment with this, especially if they live in a small home, but it can be very attractive in any size home. Wider baseboard. The measly baseboard that builders often use in tract homes doesn’t draw attention. Adding a wider baseboard and a fresh coat of paint makes the room come to life. Also, framing windows and doors helps complete the look of a room."