MBA - "MBA Chairman Robbins Responds to Call for Moratorium on Foreclosures" (4-4-07)

"Nobody wins when a home goes into foreclosure. Consumers lose their homes and suffer a ding on their credit rating, and lenders and investors lose significant amounts of money. The industry wants to take every possible step to avoid foreclosure which is why we have developed a number of loss mitigation tools in order to help those who are at risk of losing their homes. Lenders are already using a number of tools to help financially-stretched borrowers stay in their homes, including forbearance, payment plans and various other options."

Reuters - "Past due subprime mortgage payments at record high" (4-4-07)

"The percentage of home owners with subprime mortgages who are dangerously falling behind on monthly home loan payments rose to a record high in February, according to a First American LoanPerformance report provided on Wednesday to Reuters."

Chron.com - "Bankruptcy Filings Surged in Q1" (4-4-07)

"Spurred by a sputtering U.S. economy, bankruptcy filings are on the rise in 2007, an increase analysts predict will continue. In the first three months of 2007, business bankruptcy filings rose 60 percent and consumer filings increased by 70 percent, compared with the first three months of 2006, according to data collected by Jupiter eSources LLC, an Oklahoma City company that runs a bankruptcy database called Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, or AACER."

Yahoo! - "Buy-Backs: Keeping Lenders On The Hook" (4-4-07)

"In today's mortgage world a large percentage of all loans are routinely sold and resold. The buyers include insurance companies, pensions as well as purchasers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. To some extent selling a mortgage is a lot like selling a shirt. A purchaser has certain expectations and if the shirt is not up to par the buyer can bring it back for a refund. With mortgages, the same arrangement applies with each mortgage sale. If a loan is not up to snuff, the seller — meaning the lender who originated the loan in the first place — can be forced to buy back the mortgage. Clothing stores know that relatively few shirts will be returned and they also know something else: Paying for a few shirts will not bankrupt the company. The situation with mortgage loans is different because mortgages are big-ticket items. A conventional, everyday loan today can easily be worth more than $400,000. Return a few of these and you're out big money — perhaps more than $1 million. That's a problem because many of the businesses most people see as “lenders” do not actually fund mortgages with their own dollars. They're middlemen who obtain loans from the wholesale marketplace and then resell those loans at retail to borrowers. If there's an unacceptable loan default, our "lender" may not have enough capital to buy back one mortgage much less three or four. Rack up enough problem loans and lenders facing buy-backs — even big lenders — can quickly go broke. "

AP - "Mortgage Pros Scramble to Modify Loans" (4-4-07)

"As home foreclosures mount, mortgage companies are knocking on doors, sending letters and making phone calls with a simple message for struggling homeowners: They'd rather modify your loan than foreclose. EMC Mortgage Corp., which has a $78 billion loan portfolio that includes subprime loans made to homeowners with weak credit, this week launched a 50-person team it calls "the Mod Squad." Members will spend an unlimited time on the phone with troubled borrowers, sifting through their bills to compute a workable monthly payment. In an industry that often rewards workers for getting off the phone quickly, the team is preparing to speak to just three people a day."

CNN - "Activists want foreclosure moratorium" (4-4-07)

"Housing activists say families that have mortgages with questionable terms should be given six months to work out deals."

CNN - "Mortgage applications fall again" (4-4-07)

"Down for third straight week, industry group says; rate of average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.13%, highest mark since late February."

Voice of San Diego - "For Distressed Homeowners, Short Sales Stave Off Credit Ruin" (4-4-07)

"As a growing number of homeowners stare down the barrel of foreclosure, some are electing to negotiate with lenders to sell their homes at a loss, hoping to avoid the credit-marring implications of surrendering the home to the bank."

Real Estate Journal - "Home Buyers, Sellers Feel Fallout From Housing Market" (4-4-07)

"In Orange County, Calif., both home sales and the median price have dropped, the Orange County Register reports. Sales and prices were measured for the 22 business days ending March 9, the article says. Overall in the county, sales fell by 18.8%, while the median price decreased 0.8%, the newspaper says. The article includes a sortable chart that allows a look at the data by community, zip code, median price, change in median price, number of sales and change in the number of sales. Newport Beach saw the biggest decline in median price -- 44.2% to $910,000 -- while the Dana Point neighborhood saw only one sale, a percentage drop of 90% in home sales, the article says."

Merced Sun Star - "Merced homeowners flock to risky loans" (4-4-07)

"Merced homeowners are among the most likely in the country to have subprime mortgages -- the risky loans linked to skyrocketing foreclosure rates -- according to a survey published recently in the Wall Street Journal."

OC Register - "New Century's $150 million bankruptcy loan approved" (4-4-07)

"New Century Financial Corp. can borrow up to $150 million to stay open while it auctions off its assets, a judge ruled Tuesday."

OC Register - "Subprime trickles down to area businesses" (4-4-07)

"Hometown lenders including New Century, which filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, and Ameriquest Mortgage Co. already have fired more than 3,500 people, house and condominium prices are down 17 percent since June and office vacancy rates are poised to double this year, said John McDermott, regional manager for Orange County at commercial real estate broker Sperry Van Ness."

OC Register - "O.C. residential rents likely to increase" (4-4-07)

"With a funding crisis under way among subprime lenders and Orange County's home prices still high, more renters will find their home buying options limited, said Delores Conway, director of the USC Lusk Center's Casden Forecast. Fewer people will qualify for home loans, she said. The center sees apartment rents rising in Orange County by 4 percent to 5 percent this year. Still, that would be down a tad from last year's increase of 5.3 percent and 6.5 percent in 2005. The average monthly rent at the end of 2006 was $1,472."

Yahoo! - "Western real estate cools, with exceptions" (4-4-07)

"While the West is experiencing the same buyer's market as the rest of the country, it enjoys some special factors that set it apart. First, with a median home price of $355,100 at the end of 2006, home costs are higher than in any other region of the country, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR)."

LA Times - "Signs of vigor boost stocks" (4-4-07)

"An unexpected rise in home sales, a gain in consumer spending and falling oil prices give investors reason to rally."