NAHB - "NAHB Remodelers Offer Green Kitchen Guide" (5-14-07)

"No matter what color you plan to paint your kitchen, you can 'green it up' with energy efficient and sustainable products. To celebrate May is Remodeling Month, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers offers this guide of products and appliances and their lifespans so you can make smart choices for that next kitchen project. 'With a few simple steps, homeowners can turn a kitchen renovation into a green renovation,' said NAHB Remodelers Chair Mike Nagel, CGR, CAPS, a remodeler from Chicago. 'These upgrades can significantly reduce utility bills while looking great for years to come.'"

NAR - "Who are Office Tenants of the Future? NAR Report Highlights Hot Sectors" (5-14-07)

"A new study by the National Association of Realtors® predicts employment related to office-based occupations will rise by 6.5 percent nationally through 2009 and grow nearly the same amount from 2010-2014. The study, 'Who are Your Future Tenants? Office Employment in the United States: 2004-2014,' demonstrates why the shift to the service sector in the U.S. economy has made the need for office space an important economic indicator."

NAR - "NAR Partners With the Center for Responsible Lending and Neighborworks America to Keep Families in Their Homes" (5-14-07)

"The National Association of Realtors®, in partnership with the Center for Responsible Lending and NeighborWorks America, introduced a new brochure today at NAR’s 2007 Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. 'Learn How to Avoid Foreclosure and Keep Your Home' is the fifth mortgage-related brochure in NAR’s consumer education series."

Real Estate Journal - "At Hip Condos, Animal House Meets the Empty Nest" (5-14-07)

"Mr. Schaefer's Bristol Development Group is pitching the project, Velocity, to twenty- and thirtysomething professionals willing to trade space (as little as 535 square feet) for affordability (as low as $165,000) and a chance to live in a hot urban neighborhood. Developers across the country are appealing to young buyers -- many of them single, almost all without children -- with buildings that promise not just an affordable first home but also a great social life. The amenities tell the story: videogame lounges and outdoor fire pits, rooftop soaking tubs, on-site bars and poolside drinks. But it's not so easy to control demographics in the open market. Some of the buildings are drawing unexpected buyers: people old enough to be the parents of the kids down the hall. And that's leading to territorial conflicts, social snubs -- even planned boardroom coups."

Orlando Sentinel - "Real estate pros say publicity can shape market's psychology" (5-14-07)

"Fact or fiction: The media decide whether you buy or sell a home. Sounds ridiculous, even insulting. But many real estate professionals insist there is a psychological component to buying a house -- and that a lot of negative publicity about the housing market can have an effect on whether consumers will buy, sell or sit."

Reuters - "Accredited Home dips as "significant" loss seen" (5-14-07)

"Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (LEND.O: Quote, Profile , Research) shares dipped on Monday after the struggling subprime mortgage lender projected a "significant" first-quarter loss and cut 1,300 jobs, but said it ended March with more than $350 million of available cash. In a filing late Friday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, San Diego-based Accredited Home said it cut its work force to 2,900 as of March 31 from 4,200 at year end, to slash costs amid a 'turbulent mortgage industry.'"

Market Watch - "Weak spring may drive home prices lower" (5-14-07)

"A spring home-selling season that's looking like a bust and pressure from growing inventories of houses in the resale market should intensify home-price declines in the second half of 2007, Wall Street analysts say."

Advertising Age - "The Housing Market's Great! (Or So Say Ads From Realtors)" (5-14-07)

"'It's a great time to buy or sell a home,' declared a print ad that ran in dozens of major national newspapers late last year from the National Association of Realtors. Six months later, though, that rosy, upbeat message contrasts starkly with the facts: 2006 was the worst real-estate market in five years. Sales dropped 8.4%, and home prices rose a meager 1.1%, according to data from the association's own research arm."

MSN - "Middle class living on the edge?" (5-14-07)

"The middle class today is less prepared for an economic emergency, such as losing a job or visiting an emergency room, than at any time since the late 1970s, concludes a new study from a political think tank in Washington, D.C., that's funded by Democrats."

Yahoo - "Homebuilders in a Hole" (5-14-07)

"When Kara Homes began building Horizons at Birch Hill, a community for active seniors, the plans were ambitious: 228 spacious residences that weren't typical cookie-cutter McMansions. But four years later, the project in Old Bridge, N.J., has been abandoned by Kara, which is now in Chapter 11. A dozen or so homes stand unfinished, the front doors swinging in the wind, and the half-built clubhouse bears a large 'Unsafe for Human Occupancy' sign."

Washington Post - "Edwards Says He Didn't Know About Subprime Push" (5-14-07)

"The hedge fund that employed John Edwards markedly expanded its subprime lending business while he worked there, becoming a major player in the high-risk mortgage sector Edwards has pilloried in his presidential campaign. Edwards said yesterday that he was unaware of the push by the firm, Fortress Investment Group, into subprime lending and that he wishes he had asked more questions before taking the job. The former senator from North Carolina said he had asked Fortress officials whether it was involved in predatory lending practices before taking the job in 2005 and was assured it was not."

Market Watch - "CPI, housing weakness seen weighing on stocks" (5-14-07)

"U.S. stocks will lose ground next week, pressured by a series of economic reports and corporate financial results that are expected to show the impact of a rise in consumer inflation and further weakening in the housing sector, market strategists said. The reports, including the consumer price index, housing starts and building permits are expected to add to recent economic data showing higher prices and slowing economic growth."

freeERISA.com - "Bottom-up Insights from the Bubble Bloggers" (5-14-07)

"For the 'dismal science' of economic forecasting, April 24 was one of the most dismal days in memory. Before that day, the consensus forecast among 60 leading economists for March existing homes sales was 6.45 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate), with none of them predicting a rate below 6.2 million. On that day, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released data reporting sales of 6.12 million, for a 13% year-over-year (YOY) decline."