CNN - "WaMu clamps down on subprime lending" (4-30-07)

"Washington Mutual Inc. said it is making fewer subprime mortgages and emphasizing higher-quality loans to boost earnings and cut risk after its home loans unit lost $113 million from January to March. The largest U.S. savings and loan said Friday it is also significantly reducing loans that require little documentation of borrowers' income or assets and second mortgages that let borrowers buy homes with little or no money down."

CNN - "Homes: Big drop in speculation" (4-30-07)

"After years of big increases in the buying of real estate for investing, speculators fled many housing markets last year. Second-home sales dropped from 40 percent of all home sales to just 36 percent, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR)."

Bloomberg - "Treasuries Rise Most in Two Months Amid Stability in Inflation" (4-30-07)

"U.S. Treasury 10-year notes rose the most in more than two months as the measure of inflation favored by Federal Reserve policy makers showed consumer prices excluding food and energy were stable in March. The larger-than-forecast decline in inflation, as measured by the core personal consumption expenditures price index, bolstered the view that the Fed may cut interest rates this year after raising them 17 times between 2004 and 2006. Treasuries extended their gains after an industry report showed business activity slowed more than forecast this month."

Bloomberg "Housing? What Housing? I Don't See Any Housing" (4-30-07)

"Excluding housing, the U.S. economy is doing just fine. That's the latest rationalization of a select group of operators who think that the Bush administration's 4.6 percentage point cut in the top marginal tax rate and 5-point reduction in the top capital gains rate can protect the economy from any and all ills."

Houston Chronicle - "AHM 1Q Profit Shrinks 44 Percent" (4-30-07)

"American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. said Monday first-quarter profit shrank 44 percent because of mounting payment defaults and sagging home prices. The mortgage lender said net income fell to $30.7 million, or 54 cents per share, from $54.5 million, or $1.02 per share, in the first quarter of 2006."

Herald Tribune - "Moody's downgrades risky mortgage debt" (4-30-07)

"Moody's Investors Service, citing more subprime mortgage loan losses than forecast, has downgraded the ratings on 27 different pools of securities created over the past two years by Lehman Brothers Holdings. Bonds created through Lehman's Structured Asset Investment Loan Trust from 2005 and 2006 were cut because of "higher-than-anticipated rates of delinquency," Moody's said Friday."

Voices of San Diego - "In Acqua Vista, Some Owners Under Water" (4-30-07)

"New downtown condos were gold in 2004. Real estate countywide had exploded, giving decades-long homeowners some equity -- and a dangling carrot -- to invest in another property. Buyers rushed to deposit thousands of dollars to secure their spot and, in turn, their visions of a comfortable life, or perhaps retirement. But now, 14 of the building's 383 units are in foreclosure, according to RealtyTrac. Thirty-eight units are on the market, some listed at a loss. A few brightly colored "for sale by owner" and "for lease" signs stand out against the neutral beige and peach building. Some analysts and Realtors familiar with the project say its appeal is dimmed by its apartment-like qualities, such as white refrigerators instead of stainless steel and a flooring option called "marnoleum" instead of tile in many units floors eight and below."

Yahoo - "Jeremy Grantham: All the World's a Bubble" (4-30-07)

"How high will the Dow go? 15,000? 20,000? How about 36,000? While euphoria sweeps stock markets here and worldwide, there are at least a few voices of dissent. One, unsurprisingly, is legendary value investor Jeremy Grantham -- the man Dick Cheney, plus a lot of other rich people, trusts with his money. Grantham, chairman of Boston firm Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo, has been a voice of caution for years. But he has upped his concerns in his latest letter to shareholders. Grantham says we are now seeing the first worldwide bubble in history covering all asset classes."

The Market Oracle - "More Bad News on the US Housing Market" (4-30-07)

"First, total sales fell a sharp 8.4% to a seasonally-adjusted annual pace of 6.12 million. That was the single-biggest monthly decline in 18 years, and it left sales at their lowest level since June 2003. Second, prices fell again. While the year-over-year decline was just 0.3%, it was the eighth such drop in a row … the longest losing streak on record. Third, supply remains a major problem. The total number of homes for sale was just shy of 3.75 million units — 17% higher than a year ago."

Business Week - "Why This Slump Is Different" (4-30-07)

"As the housing downturn grinds on, that has become the mantra for everyone from homeowners and lenders to agents and investors. There have been previous busts, but this one is markedly different. Never before have home prices fallen so broadly: Median national home prices slipped 0.3% in March from a year earlier, and the National Association of Realtors predicts a fall of 0.7% for 2007, which would mark the first annual drop since the Great Depression era. And foreclosure filings are increasingly common, jumping 42% in 2006 to 1.2 million, calculates RealtyTrac. There's little relief in sight; in the first quarter, 2 million homeowners were at least 30 days late on their payments, an increase of 26% from last year, according to Moody's Economy.com Inc."

Realtor.org - "Vacation-Home Sales Rise to Record, Investment Sales Plummet in 2006" (4-30-07)

"Second-home sales were mixed in 2006, with the combined total of vacation- and investment-home sales accounting for 36 percent of all existing and new residential transactions – down from 40 percent of sales in 2005, according to the National Association of Realtors®. NAR’s annual Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey shows vacation-home sales rose 4.7 percent to a record 1.07 million in 2006 from 1.02 million in 2005, while investment-home sales fell sharply, down 28.9 percent to 1.65 million in 2006 from a record 2.32 million in 2005. By contrast, primary residence sales fell 4.1 percent to 4.82 million in 2006 from 5.02 million in 2005."

Real Estate Journal - "Taking Home Photos That Will Draw Buyers" (4-30-07)

"Selling a home used to be all about "curb appeal," or the first impression a property conveys to potential buyers as they pull up in front. A house that looks unattractive from the street won't sell, the mantra goes. These days, a property's "pix appeal," or attractiveness in photos posted in online listings, is equally as important. Eighty percent of home buyers used the Internet last year to search for a home, and nearly 25% reported that they first found the property they purchased on the Internet, according to a National Association of Realtors survey."