NAR - "NAR Warns of Rental Property Scam" (3-27-09)

"The National Association of Realtors^®’ name is being used as part of a property rental scam in which rental property is offered to consumers, who are led to believe that NAR is functioning as an intermediary to receive rental deposits from prospective tenants. The scam claims that on receipt of a deposit, NAR will deliver the keys to the property to the tenant. Prospective tenants are instructed to send money via Western Union to NAR’s purported agent in the United Kingdom."

Inman - "First-timers worry about jobs, credit" (3-27-09)

"Most prospective first-time homebuyers know interest rates are low and believe that homes are affordable. But nearly half don't know about the $8,000 tax credit available to first-time homebuyers through the end of November, and three in four say it's hard to get a loan. Those are some of the key findings of a survey of 1,000 prospective first-time homebuyers conducted in early March for Century 21 Real Estate LLC."

Bloomberg - "KB Home Jumps After First Rise in Orders Since 2005" (3-27-09)

"KB Home, the third-best performing U.S. building stock this year, rose in New York trading after reporting a narrower first-quarter loss as orders increased for the first time in three years. The loss fell to $58.1 million, or 75 cents a share, and was the smallest for the Los Angeles-based company in six quarters. Net new-home orders rose 26 percent from a year earlier to 1,827, the first gain since the fourth quarter of 2005. The shares gained 6.3 percent."

Bloomberg - "Repayment Risk Shifts Back to Mortgage Lenders Under House Bill" (3-27-09)

"The legislation would prohibit lenders from 'directly or indirectly' hedging or transferring a minimum retained credit risk on most nontraditional mortgages, including some loans that have adjustable interest rates or require little documentation of a borrower’s income."

Bloomberg - "Subprime Swindlers Reconnect to Homeowners in Scams" (3-27-09)

"Rescue scams are springing up across the U.S., says California Deputy Attorney General Angela Rosenau, exacerbating a housing crisis in its third year. The predators are persuading troubled borrowers they can intervene with their lenders and negotiate lower payments on their mortgages, law enforcement officials say. Instead, the players, often out-of-work real estate professionals who peddled subprime mortgages during the boom, pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in advance fees and disappear or bleed their victims by charging monthly payments"

Bloomberg - "Mortgage Originations May Double to $3.1 Trillion" (3-27-09)

"Mortgage originations may double to $3.1 trillion this year as historically low interest rates and looser financing standards at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lure more borrowers, Bank of America Corp. analysts said."

Real Estate Journal - "Thirty-Year Mortgage Hits a Low of 4.85%" (3-27-09)

"The average rate on 30-year fixed-rate home mortgages hit a record low this week, after the Federal Reserve announced it would purchase Treasury securities over the next six months, Freddie Mac's chief economist said on Thursday. The 30-year mortgage averaged 4.85% in the week ended March 26, the lowest point since Freddie Mac's weekly survey began in 1971. Last week, the mortgage averaged 4.98%; the mortgage averaged 5.85% a year ago."

Orange County Register - "O.C. banker sees bottom come November" (3-27-09)

"Ray Dellerba, chief executive of Pacific Mercantile Bank in Coast Mesa, is feeling better than many folks about the economic future. When I recently asked him if he saw an economic bottom, he didn’t flinch: 'November,' was uttered without hesitation."