NAR - "Statement by NAR President on Supreme Court Ruling on Preemption of State Banking Laws" (4-17-07)

"Pat Vredevoogd Combs, 2007 president of the National Association of Realtors® released the following statement, expressing disappointment with the opinion issued today by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Watters v. Wachovia:"

North County Times - "Foreclosure wave hits record levels" (4-17-07)

"A record number of Riverside County homes went into foreclosure in the first three months of the year, and people in the real estate industry said they expect the number to go higher, as rising debt obligations overtake thousands of people who bought houses with unconventional mortgages. Mortgage defaults numbered 5,750, a record, rising from 4,528 in the last three months of 2006 and nearly tripling from 2,148 in the first three months of 2006, DataQuick Information Systems said in a quarterly report Monday. Such foreclosure activity also rose sharply elsewhere in the region, but Riverside County recently had one default for every 270 households, one of the highest rates of default in the nation, according to RealtyTrac, another research firm."

Voice of San Diego - "Foreclosure Record Eclipsed in March" (4-17-07)

"The 433 homes lost in foreclosure represented a more-than six-fold increase over the previous March, when there were only 66 such repossessions, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems. The previous record was 389 homes in October 1996."

Yahoo! - "Regulators Call on Lenders to Help" (4-17-07)

"With foreclosures rising, federal bank regulators called on lenders Tuesday to work with distressed borrowers unable to meet payments on high-risk mortgages to help them keep their homes. The heads of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the mortgage finance giants are developing new types of loans to aid homeowners in avoiding default. Home-mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures have been surging in recent months, especially for people who took out subprime mortgages -- higher-priced loans for people with tarnished credit or low incomes who are considered greater risks. The distress has roiled financial markets and stoked anxiety that it could spill over into the broader economy."

Bloomberg - "Freddie Mac to Buy $20 Billion in Subprime Home Loans" (4-17-07)

"Freddie Mac, the second-largest source of money for U.S. home loans, plans to buy as much as $20 billion in subprime mortgages to help borrowers with poor credit histories avoid default and the loss of their homes."


Ventura County Star - "Homeowner default notices jump 123%" (4-17-07)

"California's slow housing market turned down a bleak path during the first quarter as thousands of homeowners fell months behind in their mortgage payments, leading to a surge of default notices. Lending institutions filed 46,760 defaults, the most in almost 10 years. The news was coupled by a wave of foreclosures statewide."

USA Today - "Subprime lenders' big gifts helped lawmakers" (4-17-07)

"The nation's top subprime lenders, including New Century Financial (NEWC), which has filed for Chapter 11, have lavished generous donations on homeownership programs sponsored by black or Hispanic members of Congress. The paid sponsorships give lenders an entree to lawmakers and their constituents. Along with New Century, backers include Countrywide Financial (CFC), which settled a New York fair-lending investigation in 2006 by agreeing to compensate black and Latino borrowers for improper loans and set up a $3 million consumer-education program. Another is Ameriquest Mortgage, which in 2006 agreed to a $295 million settlement with state attorneys general who charged it with improper lending practices. Minority homeownership rates rose in the past several years. But the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation today face an imploding market as subprime mortgages — higher-priced loans to consumers with impaired or scanty credit — go bad at an escalating rate. Federal regulators are tightening up on the lenders. The non-profit groups, founded by lawmakers, run education and outreach programs."

Bloomberg - "Housing Starts in U.S. Unexpectedly Rose in March (Update3)" (4-17-07)

"Housing starts in the U.S. unexpectedly rose for a second month in March, bolstering expectations the worst housing slump in 15 years may be easing. Builders broke ground on new homes at an annual rate of 1.518 million last month, an increase of 0.8 percent from February, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Building permits, a sign of future construction, also rose 0.8 percent. "

Retuers - "Wells Fargo not eyeing mortgage lender purchases" (4-17-07)

"Wells Fargo & Co. isn't likely to buy another mortgage lender as the market for subprime loans goes through an "adjustment," and is probably adding market share as weaker lenders pull back, Chief Financial Officer Howard Atkins said on Tuesday. The No. 2 U.S. mortgage lender has fared better than many lenders in the slowing U.S. housing market, saying it does not make some loans that have proved troublesome, and passes off the credit risks on some loans to investment banking partners. Last quarter, mortgage applications and new mortgages at Wells Fargo both rose from a year earlier."

Press Enterprise - "Inland region leads Southern California in mortgage defaults" (4-16-07)

" Mortgage defaults increased at a faster pace in the Inland region during the first quarter of this year than anywhere else in Southern California, reaching a record high in Riverside County, according to report released Monday. A notice of default is the first step a lender takes to foreclose on a property. In the first quarter, foreclosures soared to a near-record high of 1,460 in Riverside County, 10 times as many as a year ago when 144 homes were foreclosed on. Also, last quarter San Bernardino County had 909 foreclosures, a sharp increase from 111 foreclosures during the first quarter of 2006. "

Yahoo! - "WaMu tops lenders in some riskier loans : WSJ" (4-17-07)

"Washington Mutual Inc. topped the list of mortgage lenders in the percentage of loans it gave to investors or second-home buyers, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Tuesday.Of the loans that WaMu originated last year, 15 percent were backed by homes that were not the borrower's main residence, compared with 13 percent at Countrywide Financial Corp., 11 percent at Wells Fargo & Co., 9 percent at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and 5 percent at Citigroup, the paper said, citing its analysis of data filed with banking regulators."

Daily Bulletin - "Subprime losses showing up earlier than expected in bonds" (4-17-07)

"Losses are showing up in subprime mortgage bonds earlier than expected as the home foreclosure process becomes speedier, according to one research firm. Investors with exposure to the riskiest asset-backed securities had expected to see some losses as a result of the problems with subprime loans underwritten in 2006, but many reckoned the red ink would start flowing much later as foreclosures can take up to two years to complete. "

Retuers - "Limited options for subprime woes, lawmakers hear" (4-17-07)

"Federal lawmakers can take steps to protect consumers from bad mortgages in the future but have limited options in how to assist troubled borrowers today, a Congressional panel heard on Tuesday."

NAHB - "Midwest Rebound Edges National Housing Starts Up In March" (4-17-07)

"National housing starts edged up 0.8 percent in March as the Midwest region rebounded from a sharp decline in February and posted a 44.5 percent increase for the month, the Commerce Department reported today. The pace of housing starts for March was a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.518 million units, 23.0 percent below a year earlier. Construction of new single-family homes, boosted by a 35.9 percent surge in the Midwest, was up 2.0 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.218 million units. This was 24.6 percent below a year earlier. Multifamily housing construction decreased 3.8 percent for the month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units and was down 16.0 percent from a year earlier."

Inman - "Supreme Court decision upsets Realtors, pleases banks" (4-17-07)

"Mortgage lending subsidiaries of federally chartered banks are subject to federal oversight, not state regulations, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-3 decision today. Michigan regulators had sought to block the operations of Wachovia Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of Wachovia Bank, after the subsidiary surrendered its registration in Michigan. State law required bank subsidiaries to register with a state regulatory agency and submit to state supervision. Wachovia contested these regulations in a lawsuit, charging that the state requirements do not apply because its subsidiary is regulated by the National Bank Act and the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The lower courts had held that federal regulations preempted state regulations in the oversight of a federally chartered banking company's subsidiary. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the court's opinion in Watters v. Wachovia, and she was joined by Anthony Kennedy, David Hackett Souter, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito. Justices John Paul Stevens, John Roberts and Antonin Scalia dissented." Supremem Court Files

OC Register - "Blue Shield can cancel Realtor's coverage, judge rules" (4-17-07)

"A Los Angeles County superior court has denied the California Association of Realtors attempt to halt cancellation of health coverage offered to its members."