DQNews - "California June Home Sales" (7-16-09)

"An estimated 44,167 new and resale houses and condos were sold statewide last month. That was up 13.1 percent from 39,051 in May, and up 25.5 percent from 35,202 for June 2008. Sales have increased on a year-over-year basis the last twelve months. California sales for the month of June have varied from a low of 35,202 in 2008 to a peak of 76,669 in 2004, the average is 50,698. MDA DataQuick's statistics go back to 1988."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Increase to Seven-Month High" (7-17-09)

"Housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in June as construction of single-family dwellings jumped by the most since 2004, signaling the market is stabilizing even as unemployment worsens. The 3.6 percent increase brought starts to an annual rate of 582,000, the highest level since November and followed a 562,000 pace in May that was higher than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. A report from the Labor Department showed Georgia and Alabama became the latest states where joblessness topped 10 percent"

Bloomberg - "Cheaper Mortgages Spark Lower FICO Scores for Payers" (7-17-09)

"Banks, including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., report the loan modifications to credit bureaus. The adjustments can lower credit scores because of the way the FICO formula, the most widely used by U.S. lenders, works."

Orange County Register - "Is it harder to get loan aid from some lenders?" (7-17-09)

"I do not want to cast aspersions on Wells Fargo, a fine institution. I don’t think that they are any better or any worse than the other gigantic lenders right now. I hear stories almost exactly like yours from people who have loans with other mega-lenders like BofA/Countrywide, Chase/WaMu, Citicorp, and GMAC. Wells Fargo is the second largest mortgage loan servicer and they handle a portfolio of $1.78 trillion in loans, perhaps 10 million borrowers. If you assume that only 10 percent want a loan modification, that is a million people. How do you deal with that many requests? Not well, it seems."

Orange County Register - "1-in-6 O.C. offices are vacant" (7-17-09)

"Voit Real Estate Services reported that office vacancies increased to 16.3% in the April-May period, up from 14.5% the year before. Grubb & Ellis Co. reported that office vacancies were even higher in the second quarter: 18%, compared to 15.2% a year ago."

Orange County Register - "How fast homes sell along the mid/north O.C. coast" (7-17-09)

"Huntington Beach housing is still in a deep seller’s market (NOT a buyer’s market, which is what I originally said!), according to the latest report by Steve Thomas of Altera Realty, who does a biweekly analysis of Orange County cities."

Washington Post - "Administration Weighs More Foreclosure Aid" (7-17-09)

"A top Treasury Department official told a Senate panel yesterday that the government is considering a proposal to allow homeowners to stay in their home as renters after a foreclosure. If enacted, the plan would attempt to address the glut of vacant properties in neighborhoods across the country, helping drag down home values. It would be yet another acknowledgment by the Obama administration that some borrowers cannot be saved from foreclosure despite government and industry efforts"

Reuters - "Bank of America credit losses soar, profit falls" (7-17-09)

"Bank of America Corp, the largest U.S. bank, posted a quarterly profit that topped Wall Street forecasts but warned of a fresh surge in soured loans to credit card, mortgage and business customers."