Orange County Register - "Lending's next tsunami?" (5-13-07)

"Michael Perry, chief executive of IndyMac Bancorp, is stubborn when it comes to delinquent loans. He refuses to ditch them, even as they expand rapidly on the books of Pasadena-based IndyMac, which has two units based in Irvine and is the largest U.S. lender in a credit category dubbed "Alt-A," which is one level above the risky subprime niche. It turned in a company record of $90 billion in loans last year."

The Union Tribune - "No surprising development" (5-13-07)

"Near the peak of San Diego's housing boom, home builder D.R. Horton purchased a steep, nine-acre hillside along Friars Road across from Fashion Valley mall for $22 million. The land was earmarked for Fashion Walk, a trendy, 161-unit condo project. D.R. Horton spent $1.5 million on a 46-foot-high retaining wall to hold back the slope. The company graded a flat shelf for the condos, hauling away tons of dirt. It poured concrete foundations for elevator shafts."

The Union Tribune - "Foreclosure frenzy" (5-13-07)

"The bidding on foreclosed homes was so fast and furious that Candace and Curtis Friedman were still feeling an adrenaline rush as they were escorted out of the auction to sign a purchase agreement. 'You don't have a lot of time to think,' said Curtis, a stay-at-home dad from El Cajon. 'It's the fastest $200,000 we ever spent. It's over before you know what happened.'"

Orange County Register - "O.C. mortgage layoffs begin to add up" (5-13-07)

"The turmoil in the mortgage industry is beginning to take its toll on local jobs. It's hard to get a handle on the actual number because the companies are notoriously tight-lipped about job cuts. Many don't report layoffs, even though state law requires employers with more than 75 workers to notify the Employment Development Department if they lay off more than 50 people in a 30-day period (that's the so-called WARN notice)."

Orange County Register - "46% say latest median price is 'totally off'" (5-13-07)

"Recent mid-month home-price reports from DataQuick shows the median resale price at what would be a new record high for a full month. The current record, $705,000, was set in April 2006. We asked visitors to the Lansner on Real Estate blog if this was a solid statistic, or just a statistical quirk? The 844 votes cast online, in what's an unscientific sample of public sentiment, said the recent median is ..."

LA Times - "Midcentury style, but wired for today" (5-13-07)

"Selected as Metropolitan Home magazine's design house of 2007 and Westweek's featured house this year, this home is reminiscent of Midcentury Modern models. The Hollywood Hills house has white terrazzo floors, 12-foot-high Douglas fir ceilings, a free-flowing floor plan and exterior walls of glass."

LA Times - "Call for simplifying rules over home loans still goes unheeded" (5-13-07)

"For decades, both government and industry have been calling for updated and simplified rules governing the home-loan process. But they have been unable to agree on anything that would modernize two key consumer-protection laws. Those would be the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act and the Truth in Lending Act. RESPA is designed to help consumers be better shoppers in the home-buying process; TILA requires clear disclosure of key lending terms and all costs."

LA Times - "Holding mortgage is risky for seller" (5-13-07)

"Most sellers who take back second mortgages for buyers view them as investments that can yield an attractive rate of return. However, I don't view them as very good investments unless a seller can obtain a higher price on the sale. Although the promised rate may be high, second mortgages are riskier than first mortgages, and few sellers are qualified to assess the risk. Borrowers who get into payment trouble sometimes stop paying on the second while continuing to pay on the first mortgage, gambling that the second mortgage lender won't do anything about it. Forcing a borrower into foreclosure is costly, and because the second mortgage lender gets paid only after the first mortgage lender has been paid in full, there may be nothing left."