NAR - "Realtors® Push Mortgage Reform" (5-5-09)

"Home buyers must be protected against mortgage lending abuses while being assured of access to affordable mortgages. Toward this end, the National Association of Realtors^® today expressed its support of H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2009."

Inman News - "Home sales boom in 'busted' markets" (5-5-09)

"In California, for example, the median price of a home in March 2009 was $253,000, which was 39 percent lower than March 2008. So the market there doesn't appear to have stabilized. However, if one turns to sales statistics, there is a reversal of fortune: Sales of California single-family homes in March 2009 were up 64 percent from March 2008."

Yahoo - "U.S. test banks need capital but face manageable losses" (5-5-09)

"U.S. regulators are working with the top 19 banks on Tuesday to put the final touches on the results of regulatory stress tests, which are expected to reveal about half the banks need more capital but face manageable losses."

Yahoo - "Bernanke more optimistic, sees growth in 2009" (5-5-09)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his most optimistic prediction yet Tuesday about the end of the recession, saying he expects the economy to start growing again this year -- although the comeback could be weak and more jobs will disappear even after a recovery takes hold."

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Warns of Danger of Credit Market ‘Relapse’" (5-5-09)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke warned that another shock to the financial system would undercut the central bank’s forecast that the U.S. recession will give way this year to a slow recovery."

Bloomberg - "General Growth Overreached in Bankruptcy Case, Lenders Say" (5-5-09)

"A group of lenders said General Growth Properties Inc., which filed the biggest real-estate bankruptcy in U.S. history, included in its reorganization shopping malls that don’t face any imminent financial problems."

Bloomberg - "GMAC Reports $675 Million Loss as Loan Defaults Rise" (5-5-09)

"GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender that received a $6 billion government bailout, reported a first- quarter loss of $675 million on surging loan defaults and the elimination of a one-time gain from extinguishing debt. The loss widened from $589 million a year earlier, the Detroit-based company said today in a statement. Auto loans more than 30 days past due rose to 3.1 percent in the quarter from 2.4 percent in the same period a year earlier."

Orange County Register - "Mortgage exec settles with SEC, runs loan mod shop" (5-5-09)

"Michael Strauss, founder and former CEO of American Home Mortgage Investment Corp., has agreed to pay nearly $2.5 million to settle federal civil charges of accounting fraud and concealing the company’s deteriorating finances as the subprime mortgage crisis hit in 2007, the Associated Press reported last week."

Orange County Register - "More homes selling for less in Coto" (5-5-09)

"Reporter Mark Eades reports that home sales in Coto de Caza and the surrounding Trabuco Canyon area increased in the first quarter of 2009, but the prices of the homes that are selling are lower. Real estate agents think this could lead to increased sales for higher priced homes in the gated community."

Orange County Register - "Luxury rents tumble in Anaheim" (5-5-09)

"Orange County and Los Angeles remain the weakest of all Avalon Bay markets with year over year rental revenue change of approximately negative 4% and negative 5% respectively. Both markets have been hard hit by the recession with job losses for 2009 projected to exceed 300,000 or greater than 5%."