Los Angeles Times - "Mortgage industry changes throw new hurdles in borrowers' way" (4-18-09)

"Take Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's add-on fees for loans purchased after April 1. In some cases, applicants are being hit with extra fees of 3% to 5% because of the type of property they want to buy or refinance, their credit scores or the size of their down payment."

Orange County Register - "U-Haul shows moves back to California" (4-21-09)

"For 2008, 1.8% more U-Haul customers moved out of this state than in. But in the first 15 weeks of this year — 0.2% more California moves were inbound vs. outbound."

NAHB - "First-Time Home Buyers Who Want New Construction, Tax Credit Must Act Now" (4-22-09)

"Mike Dishberger of Sandcastle Homes, Inc., in Houston, Texas, said that building a home from scratch can take anywhere from four to six months depending on the floor plan and location. 'Builders are ready and willing to work with potential home buyers to get them into the new home of their dreams, but time is running out to make those dreams a reality while also benefiting from the $8,000 tax credit.'"

DQNews - "Golden State Mortgage Defaults Jump to Record High" (4-22-09)

"A total of 135,431 default notices were sent out during the January- to-March period. That was up 80.0 percent from 75,230 for the prior quarter and up 19.0 percent from 113,809 in first quarter 2008, according to MDA DataQuick."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (4-22-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 17, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1172.2, an increase of 5.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1113.2 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 5.3 percent compared with the previous week and increased 76.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Yahoo - "GE exec says economic crisis resetting capitalism" (4-22-09)

"The top executive of General Electric Co. said Wednesday he couldn't predict when the recession would end or how bad it will be, but said the global economic crisis has 'fundamentally reset' the way companies do business and capitalism itself."