Sign On San Diego - "As mortgage lending tightens, house hunters with weak credit get shut out" (5-8-07)

"With a second child on the way, Chris Shields and his wife, Michelle, wanted to move from their two-bedroom apartment in Southern California to a house with more space. But because their timing coincided with a shakeout in the mortgage market earlier this year, their credit now isn't good enough to get a loan to purchase the house they wanted with no money down."

CNN - "Home-price forecast: First ever decline" (5-8-07)

"Home prices are expected to finish down for the year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Tuesday, which would mark the first drop since the group started tracking values in 1968. NAR projects a 1 percent decline in the median price of an existing single-family home, to $219,800. The group, in a forecast made a month ago, had previously been expecting a 0.7 percent decline. Prior to that, it had expected a gain of 1.2 percent."

Yahoo - "Frenzy of risky mortgages leaves path of destruction" (5-8-07)

"On September 15, 2004, the clock was ticking on Lelon DeWitt's life and his subprime loan. When the transmission repairman underwent open-heart surgery, he told his mortgage broker he didn't want a housing loan that was in the works."

NAHB - "NAHB Headquarters Garners Third Energy Star" (5-8-07)

"The National Association of Home Builders has earned its third ENERGY STAR designation for the National Housing Center, the downtown Washington, D.C. office building that serves as the association’s headquarters. The designation recognizes buildings that conserve natural resources while providing a comfortable and healthy environment for employees and visitors."

Bloomberg - "April Foreclosure Filings More Than Double Over 2006" (5-8-07)

"U.S. homeowners entered the foreclosure process in April at more than double the rate of a year ago as tightening credit made it more difficult to refinance and a swelling supply of unsold homes made it tough to sell. The number of homeowners in all three phases of foreclosure rose last month over the same period a year ago, according to Sacramento-based Foreclosures.com, which gathers data from county courthouses nationwide. Those receiving their first notice of foreclosure from a bank climbed 127 percent, those with homes going up for sale by auction jumped 164 percent and those whose homes were repossessed by banks went up 40 percent."

Reuters - "Home market took a costly subprime advance" (5-8-07)

"The subprime mortgage industry rushed so many buyers into the housing market that it opened an ownership gap, pulling in people who likely would have bought a home only years later, and that gap will stall a recovery in the sector. The relaxed standards of subprime loans coaxed many borrowers with damaged credit to hurry a purchase during a five-year run-up in home values. Many buyers in that stretch were also relative youngsters who would have otherwise delayed buying a home."

The Enquirer - "House hunters with weak credit get shut out" (5-8-07)

"With a second child on the way, Chris Shields and his wife, Michelle, wanted to move from their two-bedroom apartment in Southern California to a house with more space. But because their timing coincided with a shakeout in the mortgage market earlier this year, their credit now isn't good enough to get a loan to purchase the house they wanted with no money down."

Inside Bay Area - "Broker backs subprime, mortgage oversight" (5-8-07)

"It's no surprise that consumer groups are blaming themortgage industry for a spike in foreclosures made to high-risk borrowers. And while the industry is defending itself against claims that the high-risk subprime loans were irresponsibly made to borrowers who shouldn't have gotten them, a Burlingame-based mortgage broker is siding with the critics. And if that weren't enough, Steven Krystofiak is also raising alarms about mortgage fraud, which he claims happens a lot in California."

Chicago Tribune - "Housing cheers turn gloomy" (5-8-07)

"On his way out the door, the housing industry's self-described 'cheerleader' is making one last economic forecast -- a sober one at that. 'We're in a real estate recession,' said David Lereah, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, who surprised many this week when he announced he would leave the Chicago-based trade group on May 19."

MSN - "Why rent? To get richer" (5-8-07)

"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."

NAHB - "FHA Single-Family Reform Headed for House Floor" (5-8-07)

"By a strong bipartisan margin of 45 to 19, the House Financial Services Committee on May 3 approved legislation that would reform and revitalize the Federal Housing Administration’s single-family mortgage insurance programs. H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, would give the FHA greater flexibility to respond to the needs of borrowers, enable more working families to become home owners and provide a viable alternative to the volatile subprime market."

Bloomberg - "Rents Peak in Housing Glut; New York Escapes Decline" (5-8-07)

"The glut of U.S. properties for sale is about to hit the rental market. A record number of homeowners who can't sell condominiums and houses are competing for tenants with the country's biggest apartment owners led by Chicago-based Equity Residential, said Jack McCabe, the founder of Deerfield Beach, Florida-based McCabe Research & Consulting LLC. Metropolitan New York, where demand for housing exceeds supply, may be the only place where rents increase, albeit at a slower pace, he said."

The Seattle Times - "Borrower, beware: Debt disaster looms as rates rise on easy-money mortgages" (5-8-07)

"It was a sweet little house, with affordable day care nearby for their 6-year-old son. Patrick Fultz and Laurel Swartz were hooked. But when the couple — with no savings and about $20,000 in credit-card debt — shopped for a mortgage to buy their 1,200-square-foot house in Tukwila last year, they heard the same thing from lenders and in a home-buying class they attended: Forget it."