NAHB - "With Affordability Up, Home Buyers are Starting to Return to the Market" (4-7-09)

"Thanks to record low mortgage rates and declining home prices, 55 million families – or half of all U.S. households -- can afford today’s $200,000 median-priced new home, according to figures released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)"

CAR - "Foreclosure-related sales double in select metros" (4-7-09)

"Radar Logic noted that the growth of motivated sales as a share of total transactions contributed to a 23 percent year-over-year decline in a composite price-per-square-foot index (the RPX index) for the 25 metro areas tracked from January 2008 to January 2009."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Banks aren't reselling many foreclosed homes" (4-7-09)

"In a recent study, RealtyTrac compared its database of bank-repossessed homes to MLS listings of for-sale homes in four states, including California. It found a significant disparity - only 30 percent of the foreclosures were listed for sale in the Multiple Listing Service. The remainder is known in the industry as 'shadow inventory.'"

Reuters - "Mortgage delinquencies soar in the U.S." (4-7-09)

"More U.S. consumers are falling behind on their mortgages, an indication that the housing market has yet to hit bottom, a top credit bureau executive told Reuters. Dann Adams, president of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc, reported that 7 percent of homeowners with mortgages were at least 30 days late on their loans in February, an increase of more than 50 percent from a year earlier."

CNN - "Recovery hopes begin to blossom" (4-7-09)

"Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of Economic Cycle Research Institute, said the economy could be as close to four months away from a recovery. He says his firms' readings on long-term and short-term economic indicators give him significantly more hope that the economy is closer to a turnaround than he had thought even a month ago. Among the more than dozen different things his firm looks at are home prices, the jobs picture and stock prices."

Bloomberg - "AIG’s Bank Payments Probed by TARP Inspector General" (4-7-09)

"The Treasury’s chief watchdog for the U.S. financial rescue program is probing whether American International Group Inc. paid more than necessary to banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. after the insurer’s bailout. Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, began an audit last week into whether there were attempts by New York-based AIG or the government to reduce the payments, according to an April 3 letter to Representative Elijah Cummings. The Maryland Democrat requested the probe last month along with 26 other members of Congress."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (4-8-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 3, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1250.6, an increase of 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1194.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.9 percent compared with the previous week and 67.6 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Bloomberg - "Pulte to Buy Centex for $1.3 Billion in Survival Bid" (4-8-09)

"Pulte Homes Inc. agreed to buy Centex Corp. for $1.3 billion in an all-stock deal that creates the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue and throws each of them a lifeline in the worst housing decline since the 1930s."

CNN - "High yield REITs come with a warning" (4-8-09)

"Typically, investors seek out REITS for their stable, predictable cash flows and above-average dividend yields. Under REIT rules, companies avoid paying most corporate taxes as long as they distribute at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends. And with the past year's market selloff, those dividends, which are typically paid quarterly, have become even more attractive."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Apartment Rents Decline as Vacancies Hit Five-Year High" (4-8-09)

"U.S. apartment rents fell in the first quarter and the vacancy rate rose to a five-year high as job losses and falling incomes reduced demand, said Reis Inc. Vacancies climbed to 7.2 percent from 6 percent a year earlier and 6.6 percent in the fourth quarter, according to the New York-based research firm. Vacancies were at the same level as the first quarter of 2004, matching the highest since Reis began conducting its survey in 1999."

Bloomberg - "Credit-Default Swaps’ ‘Big Bang’ Loosens Banks’ Grip" (4-8-09)

"JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the eight other banks that have dominated the credit-default swaps market for a decade are now ceding some power to their clients as regulators push for transparency."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America Needs $36.6 Billion, Oppenheimer Says" (4-8-09)

"Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. bank, needs to raise $36.6 billion in equity to bring capital ratios in line with its peers, according to Oppenheimer & Co."