Sign On San Diego - "County unemployment hits a six-month high" (3-3-07)

"Construction and real estate layoffs helped push San Diego County's unemployment rate to its highest point since last July, according to data released yesterday by the California Employment Development Department. The county lost 23,400 jobs from December to January, but most of the losses were caused by seasonal reductions at retail shops and restaurants related to the end of the holiday shopping season. More significant were the cuts in the real estate industry, continuing a five-month decline. January's job cutbacks included 2,500 construction workers, 700 real estate workers and 1,100 workers at furniture and home-improvement stores."

Sign On San Diego - "North County housing problems cause buzz at forum" (3-3-07)

"A session focusing on North County's housing ills brought calls yesterday to turn renters into buyers through builder-subsidized homes, to require lenders to offer mortgages their clients can afford and to rezone neighborhoods to make room for the young and old."

North County Times - "Prominent mortgage exec sees further dip in market" (3-3-07)

"We're all going to be struggling, struggling more than we are today," he said. "We're headed halfway down the mountain, and we've got a ways to go."

Sign On San Diego - "Lennar asks contractors for discounts on finished work" (3-3-07)

"Lennar Corp., San Diego County's top home builder last year, is asking its framers, plumbers and other contractors to reduce their bills by as much as 20 percent for work under way or already completed or face exclusion from bidding on future jobs for the next six months."

Palm Beach Post - "Ballooning foreclosures tax court clerks, judges" (3-3-07)

"For months, a ceaseless routine has gripped the St. Lucie clerk of court's civil office: New mortgage foreclosure lawsuits arrive in unprecedented numbers - huge stacks, some a foot or 2 tall. But as soon as one stack is processed and emptied from the in-box, another dozen or more foreclosures show up the next day."