Bloomberg - "GMAC Has $305 Million 1st-Quarter Loss on Home Loans" (5-3-07)

"GMAC LLC, the finance company partly owned by General Motors Corp., said it had a $305 million first- quarter loss and injected $1 billion into its home-lending unit amid a ``sharp downturn'' in the U.S. mortgage market. The results compared with year-earlier net income of $495 million, Detroit-based GMAC said today. GMAC's Residential Capital LLC lost $905 million compared with year-earlier earnings of $201 million."

Yahoo - "Six Ways to Avoid a Mortgage Mess" (5-3-07)

"With foreclosures on the rise, lenders have been blamed for aggressively qualifying consumers for mortgages they couldn't afford. While there's no doubt that lenders are partly responsible for the mess, there's plenty of blame to go around, and borrowers need only look in the mirror to find where to start."

CoStar Group - "Debt Volume Fuels Bubble Fears" (5-3-07)

"As has been true for most real estate booms, the widespread availability of debt financing under the most generous of terms has fueled this remarkable period in the U.S. commercial real estate market. Buildings continue to be traded at record prices and loan terms have become increasingly generous, with many buyers putting little or no equity into deals."

Press Release Newswire - "Real Estate Bubble Burst Favors Flexible Agents" (5-3-07)

"Now that the housing market has clearly shifted in the buyer's favor, home sellers are doing everything possible to squeeze every last nickel out of the sale of their home. In the past, this meant selling their home themselves, thereby avoiding the 6% commission that most real estate agents charge. However, putting a home on the market without an agent's guidance has left many sellers frustrated and without offers. Today, savvy home sellers are finding a new way to avoid high commissions while continuing to benefit from an agent's services. A new website, http://agentBOOST.com, allows home buyers and sellers to upload details about the property they wish to buy or sell and contact agents in their area who are interested in working with them for less than the standard commission."

Bethy's Ramblings - "Renting vs. Buying" (5-3-07)

"I have something un-American to confess: I rent an apartment despite having enough money to buy a house. I plan to keep renting for as long as I can. I'm not just holding out for better prices. Renting will make me richer. I normally write about stocks for SmartMoney.com, but the boss asked me to explain to readers my reason for renting. Here goes: Businesses are great investments while houses are poor ones, so I'd rather rent the latter and own the former. "

CNN - "The buyers: The Quams and the too-good-to-be-true mortgage" (5-3-07)

"Newlyweds Erik and Brandi Quam can't really afford their home. The monthly carrying costs on their two-bedroom condo in Arlington, Va. run about $2,500 a month, and they fear the bill could go higher still as their adjustable mortgage resets to higher interest rates. It's already a tight squeeze: They've taken in a roommate to help pay the bills. Unfortunately, they can't afford to sell either. Thanks to a falling housing market and a prepayment penalty of about $11,500, they'd owe the bank more than their place is worth. "It makes me want to cry every month," says Brandi, 26. The irony is that the Quams should be able to afford their place: It cost just $219,000 when a still-single Brandi, fresh out of the Air Force, bought it."

CNN - "The investors: How to get rich trading "idiot" loans" (5-3-07)

"The housing boom was good to John Devaney. Really good. He owns a Rolls-Royce, a Gulfstream Jet, a 12,000-square-foot mansion in Key Biscayne and a 143-foot yacht, as well as a few Renoirs and a valuable 1823 reproduction of the Declaration of Independence. Devaney's not a developer, and he's certainly not a flipper. The 36-year-old CEO of United Capital Markets is a bond trader. And one of his specialties is buying and selling bonds that are backed by the mortgage payments of ordinary homeowners."

Yahoo - "How the Subprime Mess Affects Your Portfolio" (5-3-07)

"So far this year, one of the big financial stories has been the meltdown of the subprime-mortgage market. Subprime mortgages--those made to borrowers with relatively weak credit--have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, helped by low interest rates and a buoyant housing market. But, starting in late 2006 and accelerating in the early months of this year, the number of subprime mortgages in default has spiked, as borrowers without much financial breathing room found themselves unable to make payments. This, in turn, has caused financial pain for a lot of companies involved in the subprime market and the housing market in general, from mortgage lenders to banks to homebuilders, with the potential for more problems down the road."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "HGTV Home Buying Host & Author Suzanne Whang To Promote National Homeownership Month And Home Loan Learning Center Website for MBA" (5-3-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced today that Suzanne Whang, HGTV television host and home-buying author, has agreed to promote MBA’s Home Loan Learning Center (www.homeloanlearningcenter.com) this June during National Homeownership Month. Ms. Whang will provide consumers with important tips and information about the home-buying process and will guide them through the tools and other critical information on homeloanlearningcenter.com, MBA’s unbiased consumer education website which arms consumers with the information they need to become informed home buyers."

Mortgage Bankers Association - "Press Release - Originations" (5-3-07)

"The commercial/multifamily originations market grew 10 percent in 2006, with mortgage bankers closing $406.1 billion in commercial/multifamily loans according the Mortgage Bankers Association 2006 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance: Annual Origination Volume Summation. Increases were seen across every property type and most investor groups, and were led by increases in loans for office buildings and loans intended for commercial bank and savings institution portfolios."