Inman News - "Bankers to new HUD chief: Axe RESPA changes" (2-13-09)

"Eight groups representing the banking and financial services industry are asking newly appointed Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan to scrap the Bush administration's changes to rules governing loan disclosures and the provision of settlement services like title insurance."

Yahoo - "Why This Recession Seems Worse Than '70s and '80s" (2-13-09)

"If you think this recession is the worst since World War II, chances are you weren't born or working during the downturns of the 1970s and '80s, you're listening to President Obama too much or you're a white-collar worker in financial services."

Yahoo - "JPMorgan, Citigroup halting foreclosures" (2-13-09)

"JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are expanding their efforts to halt home foreclosures while the Obama administration develops its plans to help the U.S. housing market. JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said the New York company plans to halt new foreclosures for owner-occupied home loans through March 6. Dimon made the pledge in a letter to Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who released it on Friday."

Bloomberg - "State Farm Gets Approval to Leave Florida Home Market" (2-13-09)

"State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the largest U.S. home insurer, received permission to withdraw from Florida’s residential market after agreeing to transfer policyholders to other private companies."

Orange County Register - "Insurer cuts mortgage brokers loose" (2-13-09)

"More bad news for mortgage brokers: National Mortgage News reports the PMI Group of San Francisco will no longer insure mortgages brought to them by 'third-party originators' unless they have a warehouse line of credit. In other words, no brokers, but mortgage banks are OK."

Orange County Register - "O.C. condo prices at Dec. 2002 level" (2-13-09)

"Single family homes sell for 44% less than their peak pricing (June ‘07) while condos sell 45% below their peak in March 2006. Builder prices for new homes are 45% below their February ‘05 top."

Realty Times - "What's Ahead for Real Estate in 2009" (2-13-09)

"Mortgage rates will drop, then rise, and finally stabilize. Investors will come back into the market in 2009. Buyers will jump off the fence and come back into the market. Sellers will become creative with alternative ways to add value to their home sale with incentives."

Realty Times - "Investor Report: Four Unit Limit" (2-13-09)

"Starting March first, Fannie Mae will abandon its controversial policy of refusing to finance investor mortgages where the borrower already owns more than three other income properties that have mortgages on them. The National Association of Realtors complained about the four-unit limit last year -- and it looks like Fannie's top executives finally got the message: That prudent investors can play a big role in buying up some of the wreckage left after the boom - the excess inventory of foreclosures and bank R-E-O - BUT they've got to have financing to do so."

Realty Times - "Lower Mortgage Rates Translate into Large Volume of Refinancing" (2-13-09)

"Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.16 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 12, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 5.25 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.72 percent."

Realty Times - "Why to Buy a Home Now" (2-13-09)

"The longer you rent, the longer it may take you to eventually get into homeownership. If the market conditions have scared you, perhaps you're not looking at the other side of the coin. Owning a home becomes part of your investment portfolio, provides tax benefits, allows you to build equity (it still exists), and, if you buy now, you may get an excellent deal."

Fannie Mae - "Updates to Multiple Mortgages to the Same Borrower Policy, Reserve
Requirements, Reserves Definition, and Form 3170" (2-12-09)

"Fannie Mae is updating the policy that pertains to multiple mortgages to the same borrower.
Fannie Mae’s current policy limits the number of one- to four-unit financed properties in which the borrower may have an individual or joint ownership interest to four financed properties when the mortgage being delivered to Fannie Mae is secured by an investment property or second home. The limitation on the number of mortgages currently being financed applies to the total number of properties financed, not just the number of mortgages sold to Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae is modifying this policy to allow investor and second home borrowers to own five to ten financed properties if they meet certain eligibility and underwriting and delivery requirements as outlined in this Announcement."

NAR - "Housing Stimulus and Stabilization Will Help Economic Recovery" (2-12-09)

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is important for the U.S. economy and contains some important housing provisions. Eliminating the repayment provision in the $7,500 first-time home buyer tax credit will help bring buyers to the market and reduce housing inventory. NAR has been advocating that this provision be improved – the change will stimulate more than 200,000 additional home sales, which will help stabilize home values"

NAR - "4th Quarter Metro Area Home Prices Down as Buyers Purchase Distressed Property" (2-12-09)

"In the fourth quarter, 134 out of 153 metropolitan statistical areas ¹ showed declines in median existing single-family home prices from the same period in 2007, pulled down by active sales at the lower end that were driven by foreclosures. One area was unchanged and 18 metros reported price gains. NAR’s track of metro area home prices dates back to 1979."

Inman News - "Homes.com: Detroit gets big boost in searches" (2-12-09)

"Homes.com, a real estate search site operated by Dominion Enterprises, this week launched a top-10 list of market areas with the largest growth in search activity at the site from January 2008 to January 2009. Search traffic grew the most in Detroit (up 52 percent); followed by Naples, Fla. (44.7 percent); Greensboro, N.C. (41.6 percent); Tulsa, Okla. (41 percent); El Paso, Texas (38.4 percent); Oceanside, Calif. (37 percent); Fort Myers, Fla. (34.7 percent); Columbia, S.C. (33.9 percent); and Murrieta, Calif. (33.3 percent)."

Yahoo - "Fed: Americans' net worth hammered by recession" (2-12-09)

"The recession has cut many Americans' net worth by about 20 percent as the value of homes, stock portfolios and businesses have plummeted, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. The Fed said the average net worth of American households plunged 22.7 percent since the recession began in December 2007 through October, when the report was prepared. The median net worth, or the midpoint between the wealthiest and poorest, fell 17.8 percent."

Yahoo - "Obama eyes home loan subsidies in rescue plan: sources" (2-12-09)

"The Obama administration is hammering out a program to subsidize mortgage payments for troubled homeowners who have gone through a standardized re-appraisal and affordability test, sources familiar with the plan said on Thursday. The program would be a major break from existing aid programs, which are triggered once homeowners fall into arrears."

Yah00 - "Mortgage rates slide on uncertainty" (2-12-09)

"Mortgage rates fell during the past week, pushed lower from the uncertainty stemming from the bank bailout plan unveiled Tuesday. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.34% from 5.70% for the week ended Feb. 11, according to Bankrate.com."

Bloomberg - "Obama’s Stimulus Not Enough to Avert Biggest GDP Drop Since 1946" (2-12-09)

"President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan will be insufficient to avert the biggest U.S. economic decline since 1946 as consumer spending posts its longest slide on record, according to a monthly Bloomberg News survey. The world’s largest economy will contract 2 percent this year, half a percentage point more than last month’s forecast, according to the median of 50 projections in the survey taken Feb. 2 to Feb. 10. Even as Obama aims to create 3.5 million jobs with a stimulus plan, economists foresee an unemployment rate exceeding 8 percent through next year."

NAHB - "Builder Confidence In Multifamily Market Remains Low" (2-11-09)

"The component of the MRMI that gauges supply conditions sank dramatically in the fourth quarter of 2008, down to 22.4 for affordable apartments and 18.6 for market rate apartments, compared to 45.3 and 40.00, respectively, from the same time a year ago. On condo side, the supply component fell 11 points from the fourth quarter of 2007, to hit a new record low of 7.8."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Decrease in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (2-11-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 6, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 600.6, a decrease of 24.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 795.4 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 23.5 percent compared with the previous week and 43.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

The Sacramento Bee - "Budget proposal raises income, sales, gas taxes, and car fees" (2-11-09)

"Californians' pocketbooks would be hit in at least four ways under a wide-ranging budget proposal that is being pushed toward a floor vote within days in the Senate and Assembly. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass declined to comment on the measure Tuesday, and they noted that they had yet to strike a final deal with Republicans. The plan remains in flux, but both leaders said they would hold floor votes this week."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Homeowners emerge from denial on falling values" (2-11-09)

"More than half (57 percent) of 1,573 homeowners surveyed now believe that their home lost value in 2008. That still lags the reality that 76 percent of all U.S. homes declined in value in 2008, according to Zillow's figures. A full quarter of homeowners had the sunny view that their home's value had increased; in reality, 20 percent of homes did increase in value during the year, according to Zillow's reckoning. Another 18 percent insisted their homes' value was the same, while only 4 percent of homes actually kept their value, Zillow said."

Bloomberg - "Congress Tells Bank Chiefs to Lend, Ease Public Anger" (2-11-09)

"U.S. lawmakers prodded chief executive officers of Citigroup Inc. and seven banks that got government aid to increase the flow of credit and ease public anger over how the lenders used taxpayer funds."

Bloomberg - "Fannie to Expand Mortgage Rules for Realty Investors" (2-11-09)

"Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under U.S. government control, will no longer bar real- estate investors from qualifying for its loans if they already own four properties as it seeks to increase housing demand. The company will expand its limit for investor and second- home loans to as many as 10 properties per borrower, according to a Feb. 6 notice to lenders on Washington-based Fannie’s Web site."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America’s Bernstein Says Bank-Rescue Plan Won’t Work" (2-11-09)

"The U.S. Treasury’s bank-rescue plan won’t repair the financial system or revive credit markets, Bank of America Corp. strategist Richard Bernstein said as he recommended avoiding the industry’s shares. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged up to $2 trillion in government financing yesterday for programs aimed at spurring new lending and addressing mortgage assets that are difficult to value. The government’s prior measures to prop up financial institutions included backing $118 billion of Bank of America securities and injecting $45 billion into the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank after it bought Merrill Lynch & Co."

Bloomberg - "Property Investment to Fall Further as Buyers Search for Credit" (2-11-09)

"Global real estate spending on office buildings, stores and apartments may fall another 5.3 percent this year to $412 billion as lenders keep a tight rein on credit, property broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said. Lack of credit pushed commercial property acquisitions down 59 percent to $435 billion last year, the lowest since 2004, New York-based Cushman said."

NAHB - "Home Buyer Tax Credit Will Create 255,000 Jobs, NAHB Study Shows" (2-10-09)

"The $15,000 home buyer tax credit, which is an integral part of the economic stimulus legislation adopted today by the Senate, will result in nearly 500,000 additional home sales and create 255,000 new jobs in the year ahead, according to research conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."

NAR - "Senate Stimulus Bill, Treasury Stability Plan Good Start, Says NAR" (2-10-09)

"The National Association of Realtors^® hailed the Senate for passing its stimulus bill that expands the homebuyer tax credit, an important housing component that will help shrink housing inventory, bring stability to home values and move the country closer to an economic recovery."

NAHB - "$15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit Will Get U.S. Economy Back On Track" (2-10-09)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today applauded Senate passage of economic stimulus legislation that would help boost employment and tackle the housing and economic crisis head-on by expanding the home buyer tax credit."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Originations Down 80% from Q4 2007 in MBA Survey" (2-10-09)

"Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations dropped in the fourth quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations. Fourth quarter originations were 80 percent lower than during the same period last year. The year-over-year decrease was seen across all property types and investor groups."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Larger mortgages still carry higher rates" (2-10-09)

"'If you have a mortgage between $417,000 and $625,500 (the range for jumbo conforming loans), you can't get a decent rate on it except for approximately one-half day out of every three weeks,' said Dick Lepre, a loan agent at San Francisco's Residential Pacific Mortgage. 'The problem is that we see extreme volatility, where the rate on these jumbo conformings changes massively, by almost a full percent, from one day to the next.'"

Chicago Tribune - "Wholesale inventories plunge 1.4 percent in December, steepest drop in nearly 17 years" (2-10-09)

"Wholesalers cut back on their inventories in December by the largest amount in nearly 17 years, and economists say more reductions are likely amid the deepening recession."

Bloomberg - "Geithner Says Bank-Rescue Plans May Reach $2 Trillion" (2-10-09)

"Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged government financing for as much as $2 trillion of efforts to spur new lending and address banks’ toxic assets, seeking to end the credit crunch hobbling the economy."

Bloomberg - "Selling AIG to Scarce Buyers Is Mission Impossible for Reynolds " (2-10-09)

"Today, Reynolds, 52, is AIG’s chief restructuring officer and U.S. taxpayers’ best hope for recovering some of the $150 billion the government pumped into the company last fall in the biggest corporate bailout ever. Charged with dismantling as much as two-thirds of what was once the world’s largest insurer, she’s running simultaneous auctions of dozens of units around the world, including insurance companies, consumer lenders, asset managers and an aircraft-leasing business."

Bloomberg - "Property Investment to Fall Further as Buyers Search for Credit" (2-10-09)

"Global real estate spending on office buildings, stores and apartments may fall another 5.3 percent this year to $412 billion as lenders keep a tight rein on credit, property broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc. said. Lack of credit pushed commercial property acquisitions down 59 percent to $435 billion last year, the lowest since 2004, New York-based Cushman said."

Orange County Register - "Laing Homes lays off 72 O.C. workers" (2-10-09)

"More evidence surfaced this week that all is not well with Newport Beach-based homebuilder John Laing Homes, which apparently has been all-but mothballed by its Dubai-based owner. Laing reported that it laid off 72 employees in Orange County on Jan. 15, according to a state Employment Development Department notice published Monday."

NAHB - "Two Out of Three Americans Support $15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit, New Poll Finds" (2-9-09)

"Two-thirds of Americans support a $15,000 home buyer tax credit now being considered by Congress as part of its economic stimulus package and believe it will be effective in stimulating home sales, according to results from a new nationwide survey."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "$171 Billion of Non-bank Commercial/Multifamily Mortgages Maturing in 2009; Significant Differences by Investor Group" (2-9-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released the results of its new Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Survey of Loan Maturity Volumes that reports $171 billion of commercial/multifamily mortgages held by non-bank lenders and investors will mature in 2009. According to the survey, the volume of loans maturing varies considerably by the type of investor holding the loan."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Wachovia, PNC/Midland, Capmark and Wells Fargo Lead National Rankings of Commercial/Multifamily Servicing Volumes" (2-8-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its annual ranking of commercial and multifamily loan servicers as of the end of 2008 during MBA’s Commercial Real Estate (CREF) Convention. On top of the list of firms is Wachovia Securities with $412.9 billion in U.S. master and primary servicing, followed by PNC Real Estate/Midland Loan Services with $310.3 billion, Capmark Finance, Inc. with $260.9 billion and Wells Fargo with $182.6 billion."

Bloomberg - "Geithner to Tell Democrats Banks Must Modify Loans" (2-8-09)

"Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has told Democratic lawmakers that banks tapping a U.S. rescue fund will be required to modify mortgages and help borrowers avoid foreclosure, according to a person at a briefing"

Yahoo - "Mortgage Rates Likely Headed to 4.5%: Pimco's Gross" (2-9-09)

"Government action to shore up the economy and improve the housing climate probably will send mortgage rates to 4.5 percent, Bill Gross, co-CEO at the Pimco bond fund, said Monday. In addition to driving down mortgage rates and stimulating home-buying, the government's efforts also could include a move to cap Treasurys rates to encourage investors to take more risk, Gross said during a live interview on CNBC."

Yahoo - "Official: Plan will buy some of banks' bad assets" (2-9-09)

"An administration official said Monday the overhaul of the government's $700 billion financial rescue program is likely to include a partnership with the private sector to buy troubled assets. The official said the plan would use government money to support private sector purchases of bad assets that are weighing on banks' balance sheets and keeping them from resuming more normal lending."

Reuters - "Fannie, Freddie to channel mortgage rescue: sources" (2-8-09)

"The Obama administration is crafting a mortgage-rescue program that would see Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ease payments for hundreds of thousands of borrowers and offer a model for Wall Street to do the same, sources familiar with the plan said. Late last week, officials from the Treasury Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development worked with the companies' regulator to agree on standards for who could get relief and how they might coax other finance companies to follow their lead, said two industry sources familiar with the deliberations."

Bloomberg - "Three U.S. Banks Shut by Regulators as Financial Crisis Deepens" (2-7-09)

"Three banks, two in California and one in Georgia, were seized by regulators, bringing this year’s tally of closings to nine as a recession and record foreclosures extend the biggest financial crisis in more than 70 years."

Bloomberg - "Senate’s Tax Credit Favors Higher-Income Homebuyers" (2-7-09)

"The U.S. Senate is working to boost home purchases among six-figure-income households, turning away from Bush administration policies that helped fuel a property bubble. By replacing a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers earning less than $150,000 with a $15,000 break for all income groups as part of the economic stimulus package, senators are encouraging purchases by higher-income households with a reduced risk of default."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Jobless Rate Soared in January and Payrolls Kept Plunging" (2-7-09)

"The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.2 percent in December, the Labor Department reported yesterday in Washington. Payrolls fell by 598,000, the biggest monthly drop since December 1974. Losses spanned almost all industries, from construction and manufacturing to retailing, trucking, media and finance. "

Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing Market May Bottom in 2009, Zandi Says" (2-9-09)

"U.S. home prices will reach bottom by the end of the year, concluding a slide that will have cut values 36 percent, Moody’s Economy.com said today."

Bloomberg - "JPMorgan Analysts Double Jumbo-Mortgage Loss Forecast" (2-9-09)

"JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts almost doubled their projections for losses on some prime-jumbo mortgages underlying securities, created at the start of the U.S. housing slump, because of soaring defaults."

Bloomberg - "Bank Failures May Reach 1,000 on Bad Loans, RBC Says" (2-9-09)

"As many as 1,000 U.S. banks may fail in the next three to five years, almost double the one-year tally at the height of the saving-and-loan collapse, as losses mount on commercial real-estate loans, RBC Capital Markets analysts said."

NAR - "More Liquidity Needed to Avoid Crisis in Commercial Real Estate" (2-6-09)

"A severe lack of credit threatens commercial real estate and poses significant risks for the whole economy, according to a National Association of Realtors^® work group."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Aid will turn renters into owners" (2-6-09)

"As many as 300 low-and middle-income households in San Diego County will be the beneficiaries of more than $17 million in federal aid designed to clean up neighborhoods hard hit by foreclosures and to provide affordable housing opportunities."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Nearly 600K jobs lost in Jan.; more pain ahead" (2-6-09)

"The nation lost nearly 600,000 jobs last month, the worst showing in a third of a century, as a vicious cycle of cutbacks by consumers forced ever more layoffs by beleaguered employers. The unemployment rate catapulted to 7.6 percent, the highest in 16 years, and seems headed for double digits."

Reuters - "U.S. housing market bottom within sight" (2-6-09)

"U.S. housing markets from Florida to California have suffered price drops of 50 percent or more from their peak, but now, at long last, a bottom is within sight, likely in the fourth quarter nationally, according to a report from Moody's Economy.com. By the end of the housing downturn, nearly 62 percent of the nation's 381 metropolitan areas will have experienced double-digit-percent declines in house prices, peak-to-trough, says the report by chief economist Mark Zandi and a team that includes Celia Chen, senior director of housing economics."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Housing Slump Has ‘Just Begun,’ Says Forecaster Talbott" (2-6-09)

"Let’s say you own a $1 million home in Santa Barbara, California. The house seemed like a steal when you bought it with that adjustable-rate mortgage in 2005. You still love the white beaches and those yachts bobbing up and down in the harbor. Then you awaken early one morning, troubled that your monthly payments will soon double. You go out to pick up your newspaper and see for-sale signs on five houses on the street. One identical to yours just sold for $500,000."

CNN - "Ross to pay Citi $1.5B to service loans" (2-6-09)

"American Home Mortgage Servicing Inc., owned by vulture investor Wilbur Ross, will pay Citigroup $1.5 billion for the rights to service 185,000 home loans, Ross said Thursday."

Bloomberg - "Wells Fargo May Cut Loans for Some Wachovia Customers" (2-6-09)

"Wells Fargo & Co., the second-biggest U.S. home lender, offered to cut mortgage balances for some Wachovia Corp. customers by 20 percent as defaults rise and officials pressure banks to modify loans to avoid foreclosures."

Bloomberg - "Mortgage Prepayments Rise as Rates Spur Refinancing" (2-6-09)

"Prepayments on mortgages backing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae securities jumped last month as tumbling home-loan rates spurred refinancing. The speeds were slower than some analysts expected. The one-month constant prepayment rate for 30-year, fixed- rate securities rose 107 percent to 17 for Fannie Mae bonds, 108 percent to 18 for Freddie Mac securities and 45 percent to 23 for Ginnie Mae I debt, according to an FTN Financial Capital Markets report today. The report is based on data released yesterday."

Bloomberg - "General Growth, Macerich Lower Rents as Anchors Close" (2-6-09)

"U.S. mall owners General Growth Properties Inc., Kite Realty Group Trust and Macerich Co., faced with rising vacancy rates in the recession, are being forced to accept lower rents from their remaining tenants. Real estate investment trusts that own retail properties are getting snagged by co-tenancy clauses that allow merchants to pay less when anchors such as department stores shut down, according to Real Point LLC data based on loan-servicer reports."

Orange County Register - "Bank with O.C. office seized, $1 billion deposits sold" (2-6-09)

"Culver City-based Alliance Bank, which has an Irvine office, was seized by state and federal regulators today. The FDIC said California Bank & Trust in San Diego will assume Alliance’s nearly $1 billion in deposits."

Realty Times - "Market Conditions" (2-6-09)

"Zillow.com, the online real estate marketplace, reported this week that home values fell 11.6 percent in 2008. This adds up to a painful $1.4 Trillion loss. Adding to this number, foreclosures made up 19.9 percent of all transactions last year. This was especially prevalent in hard hit areas, such as California."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Increase in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (2-4-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 30, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 795.4, an increase of 8.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 732.1 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 28.1 percent compared with the previous week and decreased 26.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Washington Post - "Service sector declines less than expected in Jan." (2-4-09)

"The nation's service sector shrank for the fourth straight month in January, a trade group said Wednesday, but at a slower pace than the previous month. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade association of purchasing executives, said its service sector index rose to 42.9 last month, from December's downwardly revised reading of 40.1."

Bloomberg - "Mortgage Refinancing Change Faces Hurdles, FHFA Says" (2-4-09)

"Homeowners with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages bigger than their property’s worth must wait for the companies and their regulator to assess the possible 'unintended consequences' of allowing them to refinance into lower payments and related 'hurdles,' Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart said."

Bloomberg - "Citigroup Expands Use of FDIC Mortgage-Relief Program" (2-4-09)

"Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank forced to curb executive pay and slash stock dividends as a condition of its $346 billion bailout, now has to expand the use of a government mortgage-relief program to meet regulators’ demands."

Bloomberg - "Pulte Homes Reports Quarterly Loss as Prices Slump" (2-4-09)

"Pulte Homes Inc., the largest U.S. homebuilder, reported its ninth consecutive quarterly loss as the recession and falling house prices drove away buyers. The fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $338.2 million, or $1.33 a share, from $874.7 million, or $3.46, a year earlier, the Bloomfield Hills, Michigan-based company said today in a statement. Revenue fell 43 percent to $1.65 billion and new orders plunged 61 percent to 1,763."

Bloomberg - "House Panel Approves Bill Retooling Lending Program" (2-4-09)

"A House of Representatives panel approved legislation today that eases some requirements for the $300 billion HOPE for Homeowners lending program that has refinanced just 25 loans since it began in October."

NAR - "Realtors® Urge Congress to Help 'HOPE For Homeowners'" (2-3-09)

"The National Association of Realtors^® today announced its support for new legislation introduced by House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., that is designed to ease loan modifications and improve refinancing options for America’s troubled homeowners by revamping the HOPE for Homeowners program."

NAR - "Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain" (2-3-09)

"The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in December, rose 6.3 percent to 87.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 82.5 in November, and is 2.1 percent higher than December 2007 when it was 85.9"

NAR - "Realtors® Welcome Renewed Efforts Toward Housing Stabilization" (2-3-09)

"Congress and the U.S. Department of the Treasury must enact legislative and regulatory priorities to stabilize the housing market and help stop the U.S. financial market’s rapid deterioration, and on Friday, five freshman U.S. senators took decisive action toward this goal."

DQNews - "Million-dollar home sales plummet in Golden State" (2-3-09)

"A total of 24,436 Golden State homes sold for a million dollars or more last year. That was down 42.5 percent from 42,506 in 2007. It was the lowest sales count since 20,595 were sold in 2003. In 2006 the $1 million-plus total was 50,010, in 2005 it was 54,773, and in 2004 it was 36,990, according to MDA DataQuick."

CBIA - "California Homebuilding Depression Expected to Deepen in 2009, CBIA Announces" (2-3-09)

"The Association is forecasting just 63,400 units will be produced in 2009, a 3 percent decrease from the record-low 65,380 units produced in 2008. In comparison, the low point of the homebuilding recession in the early 1990s was 84,656 units in 1993, while the worst year during the recession of the early 1980s was 85,656 in 1982. To meet the need for new housing generated by population growth, the state estimates builders should produce about 220,000 new homes and apartments annually."

Bloomberg - "U.S. Property Owners Lost $3.3 Trillion in Home Value" (2-3-09)

"The U.S. housing market lost $3.3 trillion in value last year and almost one in six owners with mortgages owed more than their homes were worth as the economy went into recession, Zillow.com said. The median estimated home price declined 11.6 percent in 2008 to $192,119 and homeowners lost $1.4 trillion in value in the fourth quarter alone, the Seattle-based real estate data service said in a report today."

Bloomberg - "Fed Extends Emergency-Loan Programs, Swaps to Oct. 30" (2-3-09)

"The Federal Reserve extended its emergency-lending programs and foreign currency-swap lines by six months through Oct. 30, citing 'continuing substantial strains in many financial markets.'"

Bloomberg - "Obama’s Foreclosure Plan May Back Rewritten Loans" (2-3-09)

"The Obama administration is considering government guarantees for home loans modified by their servicers, seeking to stem the record surge of foreclosures that’s hammering U.S. property values. The proposal, which may also have the taxpayer share in the cost of reducing mortgage payments, is aimed at shielding lenders from default after they loosen loan terms for struggling borrowers. Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, who regulates national banks, said yesterday that 'working out the details of it is still something that’s ongoing.'"

Bloomberg - "D.R. Horton Leads Homebuilders Higher as Loss Narrows" (2-3-09)

"D.R. Horton Inc., the third-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, rose 21 percent after reporting its smallest loss in five quarters. The net loss for the fiscal first-quarter narrowed to $62.6 million, or 20 cents a share, from $128.8 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier, the Fort Worth, Texas-based company said today in a statement. The company beat the average analyst forecast for a net loss of 56 cents, according to 12 estimates in a Bloomberg survey."

Bloomberg - "Record 19 Million U.S. Homes Stood Vacant in 2008" (2-3-09)

"A record 19 million U.S. homes stood empty at the end of 2008 and homeownership fell to an eight-year low as banks seized homes faster than they could sell them. The number of vacant homes climbed 6.7 percent in the fourth quarter from the same period a year ago, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The share of empty homes that are for sale rose to 2.9 percent, the most in data that goes back to 1956. The homeownership rate fell to 67.5 percent, matching the rate in the first quarter of 2001."

Bloomberg - "CMBS Loans at Risk as U.S. Rents Decline, Reis Says" (2-3-09)

"Securitized loans on U.S. offices, apartments and commercial properties are at greater risk of default after rents fell in 43 percent of buildings of all types in the fourth quarter, up from an average 25 percent in the first nine months of 2008, research firm Reis Inc. said."

Yahoo - "Even Once-Strong Housing Markets Stumble" (1-30-09)

"Home prices in 20 major metro areas nationwide fell 18.2% in November -- a record annual pace -- as the deteriorating economy pulled down previously resilient markets, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Jan. 27"

San Francisco Chronicle - "Average rate on 30-year mortgages falls" (2-1-09)

"The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to 5.1 percent last week from 5.12 percent the previous week. At this time last year, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.68 percent. Mortgage rates have been declining since the Federal Reserve said in late November it would buy up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities to get banks to lend more money in hopes of bolstering the troubled housing market."

Bloomberg - "Treasury Real Yield at 16-Month High on Inflation Bet" (2-2-09)

"For the first time since 2007, Treasury investors are betting that inflation will accelerate. The yield on 10-year notes exceeds the consumer price index by 2.72 percentage points, the most since December 2006. The gap between two- and 10-year rates widened at the fastest pace in a year last month as traders demanded more compensation for longer-term debt. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities that signaled falling prices as recently as Nov. 20 show they will increase in the U.S. this year."

Bloomberg - "Obama to Require Banks Receiving Aid to Boost Lending" (2-2-09)

"President Barack Obama will require banks to boost lending to consumers and companies in return for taxpayer aid from the $700 billion bailout fund, in a departure from Bush administration policy, a key lawmaker said."

Bloomberg - "Asset Valuation ‘Key Issue’ in Bank Plan, Dugan Says" (2-2-09)

"Valuing toxic assets on bank balance sheets is among 'real key issues' as the Obama administration devises a plan to mend the financial system and steady credit markets, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan said. The biggest challenge is how to 'pick and choose which assets to take from open institutions and how much you pay for them,' Dugan, the supervisor of U.S. national banks, said in an interview in his Washington office today."

Bloomberg - "San Francisco’s Tallest Condo Cuts Prices 15% as Glut Increases" (2-2-09)

"The cost of a Golden Gate Bridge view from the top of San Francisco’s tallest residential building just got 15 percent cheaper. Prices of all condominiums in the downtown Millennium Tower will be cut amid the city’s biggest housing glut since the dot-com crash in 2001, according to city planning data. The offer includes apartments already sold in the 60-story, 419- unit high-rise being built in the South of Market area."

Bloomberg - "Rise in Central Banks’ Agency Holdings ‘Noteworthy’" (2-2-09)

"The first increase in four months in foreign central banks’ holdings of so-called U.S. agency debt and mortgage bonds was 'extremely noteworthy,' showing those investors can be wooed back to the market, according to a Morgan Stanley analyst. Foreign central banks’ investments in the debt, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities, climbed $5 billion to $811.3 billion in the week ended Jan. 28, according to Federal Reserve data. That was the first rise since the week of Oct. 1."

Ventura County Star - "Consumer spending and incomes fall; savings rise" (2-2-09)

"The Commerce Department reported Monday that personal consumption spending dropped by 1 percent in December. That was slightly worse than the 0.9 percent decline economists expected. The government also revised its November estimate lower to show spending fell 0.8 percent rather than 0.6 percent in that month."

Orange County Register - "House stimulus plan offers little for O.C. housing" (2-2-09)

"The only thing that may help is the NOL provision (net operating loss). This is for ALL businesses, not just real estate. It allows companies to claim losses up to 5 years. The House version also includes an extension of the $7,500 tax credit to Sept 1, 2009. It does not require a pay back now. Not sure if $7,500 is enough to get Californians to start buying homes again."

Orange County Register - "Buena Park has hottest-selling new homes in O.C." (2-2-09)

"Lennar Corp.’s Laurel Gate development in Buena Park had the most sales in the fourth quarter of 2008, with 47 contracts signed during the final three months of the year. According to Lennar’s Web site and MarketPoint, the project consists of 122 single-family homes selling from $603,000 to $734,000. MarketPoint CEO Russ Valone said the site’s popularity may have something to do with the price range, which is below the $845,000 average for newly built single-family homes in the fourth quarter."

Daily News - "U.S. economy shrinks 3.8 in 4th quarter" (1-30-09)

"The economy shrank at a 3.8 percent pace at the end of 2008, the worst showing in a quarter-century, as the deepening recession forced consumers and businesses to throttle back spending. Although the initial result was better than economists expected, the figure is likely to be revised even lower in the months ahead and some believe the economy is contracting in the current quarter at a pace of around 5 percent. The current January-March period, they said, will probably turn out to be the worst quarter for the recession."


The San Diego Union Tribune - "Freddie Mac to rent foreclosed properties" (1-30-09)

"Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said it will allow some borrowers to rent out their homes after losing them to foreclosure. The goal of the new policy, announced Friday, is to prevent properties from becoming vacant so they won't fall into disrepair. Freddie Mac also said it will allow renters to remain in their homes even if their landlord enters foreclosure. The McLean, Va.-based company currently has about 8,500 properties in the foreclosure process, but many of those are vacant."

Bloomberg - "Wells Fargo, Others Tighten Government-Mortgage Rules" (1-30-09)

"Wells Fargo & Co., the second-largest U.S. home lender, and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., the biggest privately held mortgage company, are raising credit score requirements and other standards for government-insured loans."

Bloomberg - "Home Prices Fell in 24 U.S. Metro Areas as Foreclosures Rose" (1-30-09)

"Home prices fell in 24 of 25 U.S. metropolitan areas in November from a year earlier as the recession and tighter lending spurred record foreclosures.The San Francisco area saw the biggest drop, with the average price per square foot falling 36.8 percent, New York- based Radar Logic Inc. said in a report today. Phoenix had the next biggest decline, falling 34.6 percent, and Las Vegas slumped 32.4 percent. Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the only area where prices rose, gaining 2.4 percent, Radar Logic said."

Bloomberg - "Simon Falls on Plan to Pay Part of Dividend in Stock" (1-30-09)

"Simon Property Group Inc., the biggest U.S. shopping mall owner, fell in New York trading after announcing it will pay 90 percent of its quarterly dividend in stock to save money."

Orange County Register - "O.C. home pricing falls $250,000 from top" (1-30-09)

"How painful has it been? O.C. home losses — as measured by the median selling price — are now down a quarter-million bucks from the peak! $395,000 median selling price that is -29.0% vs. a year ago and $250,000 (-39%) below June 2007’s peak of $645,000. Single family homes sell for 42% less than their peak pricing (June ‘07) while condos sell 44% below their peak in March 2006. Builder prices for new homes are 43% below their February ‘05 top."

Orange County Register - "A call for 3% mortgages rates" (1-30-09)

"Lennar Corp. Chief Investment Officer Emile Haddad told a business breakfast in Irvine Thursday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should buy 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at prices that allow banks to offer consumers a 3% interest rate. He said doing that for six months would help stimulate homebuying and help stabilize the U.S. economy."


Realty Times - "Investor Report: Self-Storage Facilities" (1-30-09)

"It's not a high-glamour, high profile niche in real estate investing, but it could be one of the safer, cash-flow producers in tough economic times: We're talking about self-storage facilities for small-scale investors. Yes, there are lots of them out there -- more than 52,000 nationwide. But the industry racks up $20 billion a year in sales, according to Self Storage Association, the major trade group in the field, and people always need a place to keep their extra 'stuff.'"

Realty Times - "How to Add Over Six Figures to Your Income Prospecting FSBO's" (1-30-09)

"In working FSBOs, I subscribe to the three P's theory: Picky, Patience, and Persistence. You must work these three P's in some combination to be successful in FSBOs. The first, and I believe the most important, P is being picky. You must be highly selective when working FSBOs. One of the first mistakes I made early in my career was trying to work too many FSBOs at a time. FSBOs must be screened very carefully and completely. "

Realty Times - "100 Stable Housing Markets" (1-30-09)

"Chances are, these towns don't ring a bell, but perhaps they should. They are among a list of 100 metro areas across the nation that have housing markets worth serious consideration. Over the past year, housing dollars spent in these towns have faced little if any risk, according to San Juan Capistrano, CA-based HomeSmartReports.com, a number-crunching company that examines property values and housing market risks."

CBIA - "2008 Housing Production in California Was the Lowest on Record, CBIA Announces" (1-29-09)

"CBIA said just 65,380 permits were issued statewide last year for new homes, condominiums, townhomes and apartments, down 42 percent from 2007 and down a staggering 69 percent - 147,580 units – compared to 2004, the peak of the current cycle."

Wall Street Journal - "New-Home Sales Tumbled in December" (1-29-09)

"Sales of single-family homes decreased by 14.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 331,000, the Commerce Department said Thursday. November new-home sales fell 4.4% to an annual rate to 388,000; originally, the government said November sales dropped 2.9% to 407,000. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires forecast a 2.9% decrease in December sales to a 395,000 annual rate. The drop was the fifth in a row."

Luce Forward - "SEC Rules Sale of Tenant in Common (TIC) Interests Must Comply With Securities Law" (1-29-09)

"A TIC is an ownership structure where two or more persons own undivided interests in a single piece of real property, such as an office or retail building. Through the modern TIC model, small real estate investors have the ability to purchase fractional interests in institutional quality property allowing them to take advantage of the tax free exchange rules under IRC Section 1031 by exchanging currently held real estate for their TIC interests."

Los Angeles Times - "Record number of Americans getting jobless benefits" (1-29-09)

"The number of Americans receiving jobless benefits set a record, the federal government announced today, even as more companies said they would dial back their workforces. The grim labor market numbers came during a week when tens of thousands of employees received pink slips and the House of Representatives approved a $819-billion stimulus package that now heads to the Senate."

Yahoo - "'No bad bank please,' says analyst Whitney" (1-29-09)

"The idea of creating a 'bad bank' is unlikely to address the root problem of contracting system capital as simply removing 'toxic' assets from bank balance sheets would not cause banks to increase lending, veteran banking analyst Meredith Whitney said. President Barack Obama's administration is increasingly focused on the possible creation of a 'bad bank' that would let U.S. financial institutions move toxic assets off their books and could potentially take trillions of dollars of assets off banks' balance sheets."

Yahoo - "30-year mortgage rates fall this week" (1-29-09)

"The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dipped to 5.10 percent this week from 5.12 percent last week. At this time last year, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.68 percent. Mortgage rates have been declining since the Federal Reserve said in late November it would buy up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities to get banks to lend more money in hopes of bolstering the troubled housing market. Rates hit 4.96 percent two weeks ago, the lowest level since Freddie Mac started its survey in April 1971."

Bloomberg - "Starwood Says ‘Significant’ Dividend Cut Likely on Forecast" (1-29-09)

"Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., the third-largest U.S. lodging company, said it will probably have to cut its dividend this year after projecting that 2009 earnings will decline."

Bloomberg - "Fed Buys Mortgage Bonds, Confronts Treasury Yields" (1-29-09)

"The Federal Reserve bought $16.8 billion of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae mortgage bonds, as the central bank’s program aimed at keeping home-loan rates low confronts rising Treasury yields. "

Bloomberg - "Wells Fargo Boosts Loans as Rivals Struggle in Crisis" (1-29-09)

"Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, is using the year-old U.S. recession and deepening financial crisis as a chance to boost lending and take customers from troubled competitors. While JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. reduced lending in the fourth quarter by a combined $86.4 billion, Wells Fargo said yesterday that loans increased $9.7 billion in the period, not including assets acquired in the purchase of Wachovia Corp"

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Mortgage Applications Fall In Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (1-28-09)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 23, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 732.1, a decrease of 38.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1195.3 one week earlier. This week’s results included an adjustment to account for the shortened week due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 46.5 percent compared with the previous week and 40.4 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Washington Post - "Fed Adopts Program To Stem Foreclosures" (1-28-09)

"With its bailouts of Bear Stearns and American International Group, the Federal Reserve took a vast portfolio of mortgages onto its books. Now, it is trying to use its control of billions of dollars worth of home loans to help prevent foreclosures. The Fed will seek to renegotiate mortgages it owns that might otherwise enter foreclosure, Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told congressional leaders in a letter yesterday. The decision won praise from congressional Democrats, who took it as a sign that the central bank's leaders are cooperating with efforts to use government power to try to stem the number of foreclosures."

CNN - "Snag a great deal on a short sale" (1-28-09)

"If you're in the market for a home today, you're almost guaranteed to be looking at some short sales. Nationwide, 14% of homeowners are currently underwater on their mortgages, calculates real estate website Zillow.com. And in many areas, it's far more: In the Gavitts' zip code, for example, over half of homeowners would owe more than their home is worth if they sold today, calculates Dee Schwindt, the Gavitts' realtor."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae Foreclosure Sale at 50 Cents on $1 Shows Price Reset" (1-28-09)

"Auctions are the best way to determine the true value of real estate, says Dean Williams, 47, the owner of the auction house that bears his name. Sales through agents promote the owners’ asking prices, while lenders emphasize the affordability of monthly payments, he says, during an interview in Tulsa"

Bloomberg - "Fed Keeps Rate Near Zero, Is Ready to Buy Treasuries" (1-28-09)

"The Federal Reserve left the benchmark interest rate as low as zero, said it’s prepared to purchase Treasury securities to resuscitate lending and warned inflation may recede too quickly."

Bloomberg - "FDIC May Run ‘Bad Bank’ in Plan to Purge Toxic Assets" (1-28-09)

"FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair is pushing to run the operation, which would buy the toxic assets clogging banks’ balance sheets, one of the people said. Bair is arguing that her agency has expertise and could help finance the effort by issuing bonds guaranteed by the FDIC, a second person said. President Barack Obama’s team may announce the outlines of its financial-rescue plan as early as next week, an administration official said."

Bloomberg - "Homebuilder in Worst Markets Wins Favored Rating" (1-28-09)

"M.D.C. Holdings Inc. is unique among homebuilders: most analysts recommend buying the stock. The builder is the top-rated stock in the industry not for the double ovens it puts in its gourmet kitchens or the Spanish tile roofs but for the $1.4 billion in cash and investments it holds. Six of eight analysts advise buying M.D.C., giving it a 75 percent positive rating. Toll Brothers Inc. ranks second with a 44 percent favorable outlook."

Bloomberg - "REITs in U.S. Consider Paying Dividends in Stock to Save Cash" (1-28-09)

"U.S. real estate investment trusts may pay more of their dividends in 2009 in stock rather than cash to save $10 billion a year in the credit crisis"

DQNews - "Temporary Drop in California Foreclosure Activity" (1-27-09)

"Lending institutions sent homeowners 75,230 default notices during the October-through-December period. That was down 20.2 percent from 94,240 for the prior three months, and down 7.7 percent from 81,550 for fourth-quarter 2007, according to MDA DataQuick."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Consumer confidence darkens further in January" (1-27-09)

"The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index edged down to 37.7 from a revised 38.6 in December, lower than the reading of 39 that economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected. In recent months the index has hit its lowest troughs since it began in 1967, and is hovering at less than half its level of January 2007, when it was 87.3."

Yahoo - "Home prices plunge record 18.2 percent" (1-27-09)

"Home prices plunged a record 18.2 percent in November from a year earlier as the country's housing market remains in the throes of a deep recession, according to an index from Standard & Poor's. Prices in 20 metropolitan areas tracked by S&P fell 2.2 percent from October as housing continues to suffer from a huge supply of unsold homes, tighter lending standards and record foreclosures."

Orange County Register - "O.C. home sales up 66%" (1-27-09)

"Orange County home sales shot up a whopping 66 percent in December, while the median price for existing single-family homes dropped 32 percent, to $442,640, the California Association of Realtors reported today. The median price was down 2 percent from November. Home sales in the county were up 13.5% from that month."

Bloomberg - "Wells Fargo Says Mortgage Demand Slows Fall in Rates" (1-27-09)

"Wells Fargo & Co., the second-biggest U.S. home lender, has been prevented from lowering mortgage rates faster because it can’t keep up with demand and the costs of making home loans are rising, an executive said."

Orange County Register - "Countrywide asking $1.25 million for H.B. foreclosure" (1-27-09)

"According to a recent report from Steven Thomas, president of Altera Real Estate, there are about 870 houses and condos for sale in Orange County in the range of $1 million to $1.5 million. He estimates it would take nearly 18 months to sell them all at the current pace of sales, a sign of a slow market."

Orange County Register - "Homebuilders told housing bottom to be in late 2011" (1-27-09)

"Forecasters from Beacon Economics told homebuilders last night that the median price of an Orange County house will hit bottom in the third quarter of 2011, dropping to $323,000 in just under three years."

Orange County Register - "O.C. real estate jobs at 5-year low" (1-27-09)

"O.C. real estate and finance companies have trimmed 36,000 jobs — or 1-in-7 of the workers — since falling off its 2006 peak. Employment in real estate/finance industries — from brokers to lenders to construction workers — to lumberyard employees to janitors — at 225,000 in December. The last time real estate/finance employment was this low in O.C. was in January 2004. Employment in these property-related niches topped out at 261,000 jobs in September 2006."

Orange County Register - "Bank’s job cuts skip O.C., mostly" (1-27-09)

"FirstFed Financial, parent of First Federal Bank of California, is cutting 10% of its workforce, or 62 jobs, but only two are in Orange County. The Los Angeles-based thrift will stop nearly all lending under a cease-and-desist order revealed Monday by the company and the Office of Thrift Supervision. Babette Heimbuch, CEO of FirstFed, said there will be no changes at bank branches, included the five in Orange County (Anaheim, Buena Park, Irvine, Laguna Hills, and Mission Viejo)."

NAR - "Existing-Home Sales Show Strong Gain In December" (1-26-09)

"Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.74 million units in December from a downwardly revised pace of 4.45 million units in November, but are 3.5 percent below the 4.91 million-unit pace in December 2007."

Bloomberg - "House Prices Dropped in 70% of U.S. States in 2008, Report Says" (1-26-09)

"Home prices fell in 34 U.S. states in 2008 as it became harder to get a mortgage and foreclosures hammered property values, First American CoreLogic said. Prices for single-family detached houses fell a record 10.6 percent nationally, the biggest annual decline in data that goes back to 1976, Santa Ana, California-based First American said today in its year-end report."

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Risks ‘Very Unstable’ Market as He Weighs Buying Bonds" (1-26-09)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues may try once again to cure the aftermath of a bubble in one kind of asset by overheating the market for another. Fed policy makers meeting tomorrow and the day after are exploring the purchase of longer-dated Treasury securities in an effort to push up their price and bring down their yield. Behind the potential move: a desire to reduce long-term borrowing costs at a time when the Fed can’t lower short-term interest rates any further because they are effectively at zero."

Bloomberg - "Caterpillar, Sprint, Pfizer Slash Jobs as Sales Fall" (1-26-09)

"Caterpillar Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp., Home Depot Inc. and ING Groep NV led companies today announcing at least 74,000 job cuts as sales withered and construction slowed amid a global economic recession that may persist through 2009."

Bloomberg - "Banks Sell Bad Residential Project Debt, DebtX Says" (1-26-09)

"Banks are selling troubled loans on land and residential construction debt at a faster pace as property prices plummet, according to Debt Exchange Inc. Chief Executive Officer Kingsley Greenland. Banks and other sellers used the Boston-based company’s online marketplace to dispose of more than $1 billion of U.S. debt last quarter, triple the amount from a year earlier, including 'hundreds of millions' of dollars of land loans and housing construction and development debt, Greenland said. Buyers pay at least 50 percent less than the face amount, he said."

Bloomberg - "Geithner to Press Mortgage, Bank Relief in Growing Rescue Plan" (1-26-09)

"President Barack Obama’s financial rescue plan will be unveiled soon and is likely to be larger and more ambitious than originally planned as the economy and banking system worsen. The last procedural roadblock is set to be removed today, congressional Democrats said, when the Senate confirms Obama’s choice for Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, who will speed the rescue program out the door as soon as this week. Administration officials and members of Congress said yesterday the second $350 billion of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released by Congress earlier this month, may not be enough to shore up lenders and pull the economy out of recession."

Orange County Register - "9 keys to housing’s bottom" (1-26-09)

"In 2007-2008, DataQuick found 54,000 Orange County homes were sold — roughly what was sold in 2004 alone. Homebuying in the last six months, best since mid-2007, was still 30 percent below the average pace since 1988. Banks took back 11,500 Orange County homes in 2008, more than double ‘07. Can we, at least, hold at this pace?"

Orange County Register - "Half of SoCal homes for sale are distressed" (1-26-09)

"As a percent of all listed homes for sale, distressed properties were 44.2% of the O.C. market last week vs. 50% for the 5-county SoCal region. Other So Cal counties: LA (41% distressed); San Diego (46%); San Bernardino (60%); and Riverside (68%). "

San Francisco Chronicle - "State jobless rates leaps to 9.3%" (2-24-09)

"California's unemployment rate surged to 9.3 percent in December as employers cut 78,200 jobs, pushing joblessness to a level not seen since 1994, the state Employment Development Department said Friday."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Property tax revenue plummets with home values" (2-25-09)

"California could pay the price for the foreclosure crisis for years to come, thanks to Proposition 13, the 1978 voter initiative that caps property taxes. As banks feverishly dump foreclosed homes at cut-rate prices, and as neighboring homes change hands at similar bargain-basement rates, those amounts are enshrined as the new basis for determining property tax until the homes are sold again. Under Prop. 13, that basis can rise a maximum of just 2 percent a year, even if the home is worth significantly more. The consequence is likely to be a revenue crunch for the public services funded by property tax revenues."

Mr Mortgage - "Mortgage Rates Soar - Fed Better Buy More" (2-24-09)

"Rates have shot up considerably in the past week and a half from roughly 5% at 1 point to 5.5%-5.625% at 1 point to the borrower. This was despite the Fed in the market buying $19 billion in Agency MBS last week. In the months leading up to the Fed announcing their QE plans, rates got under 6% several times — the mid’s 5%’s really is not that great. One would hope that with the Fed in there buying Agency MBS at the pace it is, rates could hold — but they have not been able to. This spike in rates will have a serious impact on the weekly MBA mortgage applications data that come out each Wednesday. My guess is that they are down this Wed and plunge the Wed after next."

Yahoo - "Fed expected to keep rates at record lows" (2-24-09)

"With the country stuck in a painful recession, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its key interest rate at an all-time low this week and examine other unconventional ways to lift the economy."

NAHB - "Inability To Sell Existing Homes And Employment And Economy Concerns Keeping Buyers Out Of Market " (1-23-09)

"Prospective home buyers are staying out of the market primarily because they cannot sell their existing homes and because of concerns about employment and the economy, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Condo developers in S.F. hurting for buyers" (1-23-09)

"Most developers unlucky enough to be marketing San Francisco condominiums today are scrambling for customers, dropping prices, boosting concessions or putting up 'for rent' signs in an effort to fill their buildings. Condos in the city have outperformed the real estate market as a whole throughout the downturn, especially on the luxury end, but tight lending and relentless economic gloom have spread the pain across the region and price spectrum."

CNN - "More homeowners see prices fall" (1-23-09)

"Nearly two of every three U.S. households said their house price fell in 2008, double the number who said that a year earlier and up five times from 2006, and they expect prices to fall faster this year, according a Reuters/University of Michigan survey on Friday. Homeowners expected an annual average 2.2% drop in the year ahead, twice the rate of decline they expected in a survey conducted in the fourth quarter, the survey found."

Bloomberg - "Small Banks Move Into Mortgages as JPMorgan Retreats" (1-23-09)

"Small banks with little or no exposure to the toxic debt that crippled Wall Street have money to lend as U.S. homebuyers struggle to find credit. While the largest lenders retrenched in the third quarter, loan volume for institutions with less than $1 billion in assets rose 6.8 percent, according to Pacific Coast Bankers’ Bank, a San Francisco-based trade group. Barry James, chief executive officer of James Investment Research Inc. in Xenia, Ohio, says that trend will continue."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Cuts Hundreds of Jobs in Washington Office" (1-23-09)

"Fannie Mae, the mortgage-finance company under federal control, cut several hundred jobs today at its Washington headquarters as it adds workers elsewhere to combat rising foreclosures. Brian Faith, a spokesman, didn’t immediately have a precise figure for the cuts. Fannie, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, will add about as many employees to its loss-mitigation team in Dallas. The company has about 5,500 employees. "

Bloomberg - "Fannie, Freddie, FHLBs Face New Requirements, Lockhart Says" (1-23-09)

"The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to propose new financial requirements next week for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. The regulatory agency may place new restrictions on Fannie and Freddie’s investments and will revamp capital requirements for the home loan banks, director James Lockhart said in an interview."

Orange County Register - "Beach homes were O.C.’s slowest sellers in 2008" (1-23-09)

"4,257 homes selling in beach cities’ ZIP codes last year, off 17% from 2007. In these 17 ZIPs, last year’s median price change was -14.0% vs. ‘07."

Orange County Register - "Is it time to buy a rental property?" (1-23-09)

"I would certainly consider buying an investment property in this market. We may not have reached the bottom yet, but you won’t be able to tell where the bottom was until well after things are on the upswing. If you find a property that appeals to you at an attractive price, I would move now rather than wait. The good news is that you will be more likely to get a good cash flow as rents haven’t fallen as much as property values. On another note, the pricing structure for non-owner occupied loans has worsened. The best pricing is for buyers putting down more than 30% and with your $25,000 CD, you are a bit away from that."