Reuters - "Mortgage rates erase Fed's handiwork" (6-11-09)

"Mortgage rates leaped with bond yields in the past week to the highest since November, erasing strides made by a massive government program to help revive U.S. housing. In late November, the government announced Federal Reserve programs to buy enormous amounts of mortgage-related debt to reduce loan rates and stabilize the hardest-hit housing market since the Great Depression."

Inman - "Requests for refis tumble again" (6-11-09)

"Applications for refinancings accounted for 59.4 percent of all mortgage applications for the week ending June 5 -- the lowest share for refinancings since November, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. With interest rates on the rise, applications for refinancings were down 11.8 percent from the previous week, with purchase loans increasing by 1.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis."

Bloomberg - "Option ARMs Threaten Housing Rebound as Resets Peak" (6-11-09)

"About 1 million option ARMs are estimated to reset higher in the next four years, according to real estate data firm First American CoreLogic of Santa Ana, California. About three quarters of those loans will adjust next year and in 2011, with the peak coming in August 2011 when about 54,000 loans recast, the data show."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Foreclosure Filings Top 300,000 as Bank Seizures Loom" (6-11-09)

"U.S. foreclosure filings surpassed 300,000 for the third straight month in May and may hit a record 1.8 million by the first half of the year, RealtyTrac Inc. said. A total of 321,480 properties received a default or auction notice or were repossessed last month, up 18 percent from a year earlier, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a statement. One in 398 U.S. households received a filing last month."

Bloomberg - "Peltz, Kurland Seek Stock Sales to Buy Mortgages" (6-11-09)

"Billionaire Nelson Peltz and former Countrywide Financial Corp. President Stanford Kurland are among at least six investors turning to the public markets to finance purchases of distressed home loans and corporate debt. The investors, most of whom previously relied on private partnerships for funding, have proposed since May 1 to raise $2.6 billion through public stock sales. They plan to use the money, along with government financing in some cases, to acquire mortgages and below-investment grade loans to companies that fell in value amid the collapse of the real estate and credit markets starting in mid-2007."

Orange County Register - "Is tax credit giving builders a boost?" (6-11-09)

"Kristine Thalman, CEO of the Orange County Building Industry Association, says that an 85% jump in new home sales since February shows that a homebuyer tax credit is reviving the new-home market, even though sales are lower than they were a year ago."

Orange County Register - "O.C. home sellers up prices to 8-month high" (6-11-09)

"HT also tracked the 25th percentile, the median of the lower half of the price spectrum. Sellers of more 'affordable' homes pushed their median asking price to $299,000 — that’s 0.4% from end of 2008 and the highest since November."

Inman - "Bill would boost tax credit to $15,000" (6-11-09)

"Sen. Johnny Isakson -- the Georgia Republican whose previous attempt to boost the first-time homebuyer tax credit to $15,000 was shot down in the House -- hasn't given up on the idea. Isakson, the former president of Northside Realty, has introduced a bill that would not only raise the tax credit's current $8,000 cap but make it available on any purchase of a primary residence -- not just to first-time homebuyers. The bill, S.1230, would also eliminate the current income ceilings of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples."

Reuters - "US mayors urge states to require mortgage mediation (6-11-09)

"Mayors from five U.S. cities called on Thursday for states to pass laws that would require mortgage lenders to negotiate with borrowers who are threatened with foreclosure."

Wall Street Journal - "US Sen Offers Bill To Expand Home Buyer Tax Credit" (6-11-09)

"A tax credit currently limited to certain first-time home buyers would expand dramatically under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. Under the legislation, any buyer of a home - not just first-time home buyers (paid content)"