CVBT - " California foreclosure sales near $2 Billion in March" (4-5-07)

"With the Central Valley leading the way, 5,316 homes were lost to foreclosure sales in March in California, according to figures compiled by Foreclosure Radar, a Discovery Bay-based foreclosure listings and software company. The homes sold at auction last month represented a 27 percent increase from February and a 264 percent increase in the last six months, the company says. Of the $2 billion worth of properties sold in March, 4,796 went back to the lender after receiving no bids, representing $1.82 billion, it says."

Times Daily - "UBS lawsuit claims New Century misappropriated mortgage payments" (4-5-07)

"UBS Real Estate Securities Inc. sued New Century Financial Corp. on Thursday, claiming the subprime lender misappropriated millions of dollars from mortgage payments made on loans owned by the investment firm. In the 14-page filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, UBS claims New Century breached the terms of a contract that called for the subprime lender to buy back home loans sold to UBS under certain conditions, such as when borrowers default soon after taking on the loans."

CAR - "Subprime's springtime surprise" (4-5-07)

"Upbeat housing data this week coupled with a renewed fighting spirit among survivors of this year's subprime saga may signal an unexpected spring comeback for the beleaguered sector."

"Supporting that upbeat assessment is news this week from the National Association of Realtors that pending sales of existing homes increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7 percent to 109.3 in February, from a reading of 108.5 in January. That's 8.5 percent below the level of a year earlier, but stronger than the market had been expecting."

CNN - "When credit is tight, getting the best loan" (4-5-07)

"Just as housing prices stall, lenders are making it tougher to borrow. A recent report from the Federal Reserve shows that 15 percent of U.S. banks began tightening credit standards at the end of 2006 - the most since the early 1990s."

Retuers - "Citigroup tightens mortgage lending standards" (4-5-07)

"Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the largest U.S. bank and one of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders, is telling brokers that on Monday it will stop making some riskier home loans, documents obtained by Reuters show."

NAHB - "NAACP and National Association of Home Builders Address Affordable Housing Need" (4-5-07)

"Effective deterrents to predatory lending, land banks that make lots available for housing, broad-based consumer education efforts and a revitalized Federal Housing Administration – are a few of the many ideas generated and refined in a recent roundtable discussion on housing affordability conducted in Washington, D.C."

CBIA - "California New Home Sales Fall by Just 1.5% in February While Median Prices Remain Unchanged, CBIA Reports" (4-5-07)

"Total new-home sales at California’s major new-home communities fell by just 1.5 percent in February compared to the previous month while asking prices remained steady, the California Building Industry Association reported today. The monthly CBIA/Hanley Wood Market Intelligence sales report found that 5,996 new single-family homes, condos and townhomes were sold in February, while median asking prices rose by a slight 0.2 percent to $464,990. While February’s total sales figure was 33.9 percent below that recorded in February 2006, median asking prices rose by 3.3 percent compared to the previous year."

Modesto Bee - "Home sales downturn can be a boon for renters" (4-5-07)

"Many people are trying to hold onto houses they bought as investments by becoming landlords. That has flooded the Northern San Joaquin Valley rental market with houses, pushing down rents and forcing landlords to compete for tenants."

Market Watch - "Lower home prices force Ryland write-downs" (4-5-07)

"Hopes for a housing rebound this spring selling season were further diminished Thursday, as Ryland Group Inc. said lower home prices will likely drive write-downs and a quarterly loss as subprime-mortgage fears weigh heavily on the market."

USA Today - "A foreclosure still requires you to determine if you have a capital gain" (4-5-07)

"I received a 1099-A from the lender on a foreclosure from 2006. Do I have to claim it on my 1040 as income? Balance was $108,000 and fair market value is $149,000. I was held responsible even though the lender sold the property for only $136,000."

Seeking Alpha - "Top 15 Creditors to New Century" (4-5-07)

"Goldman Sachs has emerged as the single biggest creditor of New Century, the American sub-prime mortgage lender, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last night, after writing $60 billion (£30.4 billion) of American home loans. Barclays, the British bank, is at No 15 in the list of top 50 creditors. HSBC, which is already directly exposed to turmoil in the sub-prime market through its US sub-prime lending subsidiary, is at No 22. Here's the top lenders to New Century, which prior to their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, had borrowed over $60 billion to underwrite sub-prime home loans."

Real Estate Jounral - "Housing Inventory Surges In March Across the U.S." (4-5-07)

"Large inventories have caused prices to level off or fall modestly in much of the country over the past year or so. The recent surge in defaults on subprime mortgages -- loans to people with blemished credit records -- has prompted lenders to tighten credit standards. That tightening is expected to put downward pressure on home prices by removing many potential buyers from the market."

LA Times - "L.A. plan could raise stakes for condo projects" (4-5-07)

"After hearing from a nearly packed chamber of feisty tenants and anxious landlords, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday voted to dramatically raise the relocation fees that condominium developers must pay before kicking out residents of rent-controlled apartments."


Bloomberg - "U.S. Apartment Vacancies Rose to 6% in First Quarter (Update2)" (4-5-07)

"The vacancy rate for U.S. apartments climbed to 6 percent in the first quarter, the highest in almost two years, as the number of available properties increased, real estate research firm Reis Inc. said."