Market Watch - "American Home sees second-quarter loss" (6-28-07)

"American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. forecast a second-quarter loss late Thursday because of rising delinquencies on some of its mortgages."

Newsday - "Builders wait out high land prices" (6-28-07)

"Pulte is not alone. Across the Island, residential developers said, land prices are artificially high - and most are waiting for them to drop before returning to the aggressive acquisition mode of the past several years."

North County Times - "Housing market slowing local economy" (6-28-09)

"The housing market slump has begun to drag down the overall local economy, according to an index of San Diego County's economy released Thursday. Dropping by 0.5 percent since April, the index fell to 138.3 in May, according to the latest University of San Diego Index of Leading Economic Indicators, released Thursday. A year ago, the index stood at 142.7. Job losses in the housing industry are taking dollars out of circulation for the rest of the economy, Alan Gin, an economist who compiles the report, said in a Thursday interview. The housing and real estate industry accounts for 10 percent of local employment, Gin said."

Press Enterprise - "Inland area growth slows" (6-28-07)

" The populations of Riverside and San Bernardino counties continue to swell but at a brisk trot rather than a gallop. Since the 2000 census, the combined populations of the two Inland counties have grown 27 percent, new census data show. Cities also have grown swiftly, averaging 31 percent. However, Inland cities grew about 3.2 percent in 2003 but just 1.5 percent in 2006. Eight Inland cities lost population last year. High housing and gas prices, the home construction slowdown and higher interest rates for mortgages could be to blame, said Max Neiman, associate director of research for the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank. "

Market Watch - "Subprime shakeout claims another fund" (6-28-07)

"Caliber Global Investment Ltd., a London-listed fund that controlled almost $1 billion of mortgage assets, said on Thursday that it's shutting down after turmoil in the subprime market cut demand for its shares."

CNN - "The most affordable U.S. housing markets" (6-28-07)

"The housing slump has its benefits; affordability improved in many metro areas across the nation during the first three months of this year. According to a report from Wells Fargo Bank and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), about 44 percent of all homes sold in the United States during the first three months of the year were affordable to families earning the median household income for the area they lived in."

Yahoo! - "Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged" (6-28-07)

"The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady Thursday, extending a yearlong breather for borrowers. Although policymakers observed improvements on inflation, they made clear they were not ready to declare victory on that front."

The New York Sun - "Bear Stearns Assigns Top Trader To Bail Out Hedge Fund" (6-28-07)

"Bear Stearns Cos. assigned its top mortgage trader to help manage the $1.6 billion bailout of a money-losing hedge fund as it tries to unwind bets on investments tied to home loans. The global head of mortgages and asset-backed securities, Thomas Marano, 45, was appointed after Bear Stearns agreed to provide financing to its High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, said a person with knowledge of the decision. Bear Stearns, the fifth-biggest American securities firm, said in a statement Tuesday that it won't rescue a second fund, which borrowed more and sustained bigger losses."

CNN - "Subprime lending: Abuse as usual" (6-28-07)

"It would appear that subprime lenders have yet to learn from their mistakes. According to a consumer advocate group, abuses persist industry wide, despite the recent subprime mortgage meltdown. At a Senate subcommittee hearing on ending mortgage abuse this week, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) presented its findings on subprime loans included in 10 recent packages of mortgage backed securities."

MBA - "MBA Releases Commercial/Multifamily Quarterly Data Book" (6-28-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book for the first quarter of 2007. The Data Book combines the most up-to-date information on various topics of interest to industry participants and observers."

CBIA - "California Housing Affordability Still Bleak, CBIA Reports" (6-28-07)

"Thanks to lower home prices and favorable financing, housing affordability in California improved modestly in the first quarter of 2007 – but was still by far the worst in the nation, the California Building Industry Association reported today. According to the quarterly National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index, nine of the 10 least affordable metro areas in the nation were located in California, as were 25 of the bottom 30. The least-affordable metro area in the nation continued to be Los Angeles County, where just 3 percent of the new and existing homes sold during the first quarter of the year were affordable to the county’s median-income household."

NAHB - "Indianapolis and Youngstown, Ohio Share Title of Most Affordable Housing Market" (6-28-07)

"The metropolitan areas encompassing Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. and Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa. tied for the title of most affordable major U.S. housing market in this year’s first quarter, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI), released today. Meanwhile, lower home prices and mortgage interest rates helped boost housing affordability across the nation in the first three months of this year. 'The latest HOI shows that about 44 percent of new and existing homes that were sold in the United States during this year’s first quarter were affordable to families earning the national median income,' said NAHB President Brian Catalde, a home builder from El Segundo, Calif. 'This is up from 41.6 percent of homes sold in the final quarter of 2006, and is likely the result of lower house prices as well as the very favorable financing conditions that existed at the beginning of this year.'"

NAHB - "NAHB'S National Housing Endowment Awards Grants For Construction Training And Education Programs" (6-28-07)

"The National Housing Endowment, the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), recently announced the recipients of its 2006 Challenge/Build/Grow Matching Grant Initiative. Six local home builder associations (HBAs) from across the country each received up to $5,000 in matching challenge grant funds for programs and projects in NAHB's highest priority areas of Education, Land Use and Labor Shortage/Worker Training. The grant awarded nearly $25,000 in total funding."

CBIA - "California Housing Starts Up 2 Percent in May, CBIA Reports" (6-28-07)

"Total housing starts in California in May increased by a little over 2 percent compared to April’s level, the California Building Industry Association announced today. According to housing permit data supplied by the Construction Industry Research Board, single-family housing starts in May stayed relatively level around the state while multifamily homes saw a strong boost in permits being pulled. However, production for both single-family and multifamily units is still well behind starts recorded during the same period one year ago. In May, permits were pulled for 7,164 single-family homes statewide, down just 2.5 percent from the previous month but down 40 percent from May 2006, while multifamily housing starts — condos and apartments — totaled 3,574, up 14 percent from the previous month and down 2 percent compared to May 2006."

NAHB - "NAHB Statement in Reaction to the Delisting of the Bald Eagle" (6-28-07)

"Jerry Howard, executive vice president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Home Builders, issued the following statement today in reaction to the delisting of the bald eagle: The National Association of Home Builders celebrates the success of the bald eagle as this majestic bird is officially removed from the federal list of endangered species."

NAHB - "Despite Senate Setback, Builders Continue To Call For Immigration Reform" (6-28-07)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today expressed disappointment in a Senate vote that effectively ended consideration of immigration bill S. 1639 and urged lawmakers not to abandon efforts to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. 'Though the Senate fell short today in keeping the legislation alive, the nation’s home builders strongly support comprehensive immigration reform that would protect our borders; provide a process by which immigrants can legally enter the country to work to meet the labor demands of a growing economy; and create an enforcement system that is fair, efficient and workable for all U.S. employers,' said Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB."

Bloomberg - "Carlyle Postpones $415 Million IPO of Mortgage Fund" (6-28-07)

"Carlyle Group, the buyout firm run by David Rubenstein, postponed a planned $415 million initial public offering of a fund that invests in bonds backed by mortgages after a slump in the U.S. subprime market. Carlyle is preparing a revised timetable for the sale, it said in a statement today. The Washington-based firm planned to use most of the money from the IPO to buy AAA-rated residential mortgage-backed securities. The fund also targeted loans, high- yield bonds, and collateralized debt obligations."

CNN - "Beazer fires accounting chief" (6-28-07)

"Beazer Homes USA Inc. said Wednesday it fired its chief accounting officer Michael Rand due to violations of the company's ethics policy stemming from attempts to destroy documents. In a regulatory filing, the sixth largest U.S. home builder said its board's audit committee was conducting an internal investigation of the company's mortgage origination business and related matters. Atlanta-based Beazer said the action was taken by its board and management following a briefing by the independent, legal counsel retained by the audit committee."

CNN - "KB Home reports unexpected loss" (6-28-07)

"Homebuilder KB Home has become the latest company in its battered sector to report a loss, as it says it continues to see deteriorating market conditions. KB Home (Charts, Fortune 500) reported a second-quarter operating loss from continuing operations of $174.2 million, or $2.26 a share. A year earlier the company had earnings from continuing operations of $184.4 million, or $2.20 per diluted share. Most of the loss was due to a non-cash charge of $308.2 million related to the writedown in the value of inventory and joint ventures, and the abandonment of land option contracts."

CNN - "Mortgage rates back off again" (6-28-07)

"Mortgage rates eased slightly for the second week in a row after taking their biggest jump in four years two weeks ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The government-sponsored loan buyer said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan slipped to 6.67 percent for the week ending June 28, from 6.69 percent the previous week. Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.78 percent."

The New York Sun - "Bear Stearns Assigns Top Trader To Bail Out Hedge Fund" (6-28-07)

"Bear Stearns Cos. assigned its top mortgage trader to help manage the $1.6 billion bailout of a money-losing hedge fund as it tries to unwind bets on investments tied to home loans. The global head of mortgages and asset-backed securities, Thomas Marano, 45, was appointed after Bear Stearns agreed to provide financing to its High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, said a person with knowledge of the decision. Bear Stearns, the fifth-biggest American securities firm, said in a statement Tuesday that it won't rescue a second fund, which borrowed more and sustained bigger losses."

Orange County Register - "County lags in affordable workforce housing" (6-28-07)

"Housing in Orange County for workers is diminishing, and will continue to get tighter by the year 2030 unless local cities take further action to increase the supply of affordable residences here, said a report issued today by the Orange County Business Council to business and city leaders at the Tiger Woods Learning Center in Anaheim. According to the Business Council's first 'Workforce Housing Scorecard,' Orange County now had a ratio of 1.61 jobs for every housing unit in the county in 2005, compared to 1.4 jobs per unit in 1991. By 2030 the council's housing scorecard projects a jobs-to-housing ratio of 1.79."

Los Angeles Times - "Realtors Blame Media for Housing Slump" (6-28-07)

"To a great extent, we can thank steady media coverage of the real estate market 'correction' for unfounded consumer concerns.... But there’s no real correction where consumers are concerned. Yes, home price appreciation has slowed considerably, and nationally we’re expecting a price drop of 1% for 2007. But that drop comes at the tail end of a five-year spurt that increased home prices by 53%. We may have taken one small step back, but that’s after taking 53 steps forward.' More: 'When today’s consumers look at real estate markets, they need to use the same analytical approach as investors in the stock market. Those buyers aren’t generally concerned about the volume of stock trades on a given day. Why should they be? They’re focused on price trends. And by that measure, now is a great time for consumers to be in the housing market: Prices have steadied, and inventories are healthy.'"
Real Estate Journal - "How Wall Street Stoked The Mortgage Meltdown" (6-28-07)

"The vice president, Eric Hibbert, wrote a memo describing First Alliance as a financial "sweat shop" specializing in 'high pressure sales for people who are in a weak state.' At First Alliance, he said, employees leave their 'ethics at the door.' The big Wall Street investment bank decided First Alliance wasn't breaking any laws. Lehman went on to lend the mortgage company roughly $500 million and helped sell more than $700 million in bonds backed by First Alliance customers' loans. But First Alliance later collapsed. Lehman landed in court, where a federal jury found the firm helped First Alliance defraud customers."