NAHB - "Builder Confidence Slips Again In June" (6-18-07)

"Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for more than 20 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo HMI gauges builder perceptions of current single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as either 'good,' 'fair' or 'poor.' The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as either 'high to very high,' 'average' or 'low to very low.' Scores for each component are then used to calculate a seasonally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view sales conditions as good than poor."

MBA - "Fannie Mae Cliarifies Manufactured Housing Requirements" (6-18-07)

"In its' commitment ’s commitment to homeownership, Fannie Mae is involved helping to make lower cost funds available for the purchase of affordable housing. Manufactured homes play an important role in providing affordable housing for many low- and moderate-income borrowers, especially in high-cost or rural areas. Fannie Mae invests in mortgages secured by manufactured housing as part of its mission to expand affordable housing by providing liquidity to a market segment that is crucial to many homebuyers. We remain committed to providing funding for this important segment of the housing market and we do so under terms that provide successful homeownership opportunities for homebuyers while ensuring that mortgages we purchase meet our credit standards."

Briefing.com - "Moody's Issues Subprime Reminder" (6-18-07)

"In the earnings reports last week from Lehman Bros. (LEH 79.07), Goldman Sachs (GS 226.19) and Bear Stearns (BSC 150.09), it was readily apparent that their fixed income businesses weren't all they could be due to the problems in the subprime mortgage market. Today's Wall Street Journal has an article on the subprime woes that calls specific attention to a Moody's downgrade on Friday of 131 bonds backed by pools of subprime loans. The reporters were careful to point out that the downgrade affects only $3 billion worth of bonds out of the roughly $400 billion in subprime mortgage-backed bonds issued in 2006."

WSBTV.com - "Looking For Home Lender? Be Prepared" (6-18-07)

"In fact, borrowers could lose big. It's up to borrowers to figure out their financial situation, know how much house they can afford and not use a mortgage as an excuse to overspend. Part of that process involves getting finances in order, finding a lender and getting matched with a loan product that suits that person's financial picture. In the fourth quarter of 2006, 1.19 percent of 43.5 million outstanding loans were in the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. That's up 20 basis points over the fourth quarter of 2005."

CNN - "Desperate measures for the mortgage business" (6-18-07)

"During the height of the real estate bubble, mortgage lenders were often shameless in how they pursued new business. Whether it was jacking up hidden closing costs to make loans appear cheaper than they were or using absurdly-low teaser rates on option- or interest-only ARMs to get customers in the door, lenders made owning a home seem easy. Too easy. Fast forward a couple years, and mortgage defaults are skyrocketing. Foreclosures were up 90 percent in May alone, according to RealtyTrac. And lenders are finally realizing that coaxing consumers to borrow more than they can really afford is, as business strategies go, just plain dumb."

CNN - "3 problems with refis - and what you can do" (6-18-07)

"When my husband and I took out a mortgage a few years ago, our mortgage broker assured us that no matter which product we chose, we didn't have to worry. If we decided we didn't like the loan in a few years, we could simply swap it for a new one. Nowadays a lot of borrowers with adjustable-rate and interest-only loans are facing rate resets and would love to swap out of trouble."

Yahoo - "Moody's Downgrades Subprime Investments" (6-18-07)

"Moody's Investors Service said Friday it downgraded 131 mortgage investments backed by loans issued to people with weak, or subprime, credit histories. More people who took out subprime mortgages, especially adjustable-rate loans issued over the past two years, have been defaulting on their monthly payments as their mortgages reset to higher rates. That, in turn, makes mortgages pooled into securities and sold to investors a riskier proposition. Moody's said it also put 237 securities on review for further downgrades, including 111 of those already downgraded Friday. The downgrades affects both investment-grade and below-investment grade debt, including securities that had been rated 'Aa', 'Aaa' or 'A' and below, Moody's said."

Bloomberg - "Housing Starts Probably Declined in May: U.S. Economy Preview" (6-18-07)

"Residential construction declined in May to a four-month low and homebuilder confidence stayed depressed, reports this week may show, indicating the housing slump will persist even as other parts of the economy show renewed strength. Housing starts slid to an annual rate of 1.472 million in May from 1.528 million the prior month, according to the median forecast of 58 economists in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of the Commerce Department's June 19 report."

Yahoo - "The rich are bullish on real estate" (6-18-07)

"The very rich are different from you and me: they don't seem to be too worried about the current housing slump. At least that's what a new study released Monday found. More than half of affluent homeowners expect their property value to appreciate at least somewhat during the next year, according to the Coldwell Banker Previews International Luxury Survey. A tenth of them expect significant gains."

Yahoo - "Make a buck off rising interest rates" (6-18-07)

"The recent run-up in interest rates may be a letdown to someone looking for a home loan, but it could spell dollar signs for investors with money to lend. Four years ago, when rates were around 1 percent, loan-based investments like certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market funds weren't attractive because their payoffs rise and fall along with rates."

Yahoo - "Outsmart rising mortgage rates" (6-18-07)

"Mortgage rates jumped to the highest level in nearly a year, according to Freddie Mac. So if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage - or you're just worried about making those monthly payments - we'll tell you what to do now. 34 percent of homeowners don't know what kind of mortgage they have, and with interest rates going higher, that's a costly error. If you have a traditional ARM, or 1-, 3-, or 5-year hybrid ARM, your monthly statement will not tell you your caps or any other terms of your loan. The only way to figure that out is to look at your adjustable rate rider. This should be included with your original closing papers."

Reuters - "Home builders pare down to weather storm" (6-18-07)

"There is no good news for some the largest home building companies in the United States. 'We do think if you're dumb enough to buy a home builder (share), you ought to buy us,' Ryland Group Inc.(RYL.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer R. Chad Dreier, told an investor audience at the JP Morgan Basics and Industrials Conference this week. Against a backdrop of plunging sales and rising contract cancellations, there was little talk of a turnaround or a bottoming out of the housing market."

Los Angeles Times - "L.A. Asking Prices Slip Again, to $539K, as Inventory Climbs" (6-18-07)

"Asking prices in greater L.A. fell slightly in the last week as inventory continued to pile up, according to Housing Tracker's analysis of MLS listings, which we monitor here every week. Housing Tracker shows the median asking price fell $1,000, to $539,000 this week. Inventory lurched higher again, with an additional 558 homes listed, and now 41,324 are on the market."

Real Estate Journal - "How I Came to Buy A Brady Bunch House" (6-18-07)

"It's now five days since I put my house on the market, and a couple in their early 30s may make an offer. They are renters in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area -- an 'artsy' neighborhood bordering downtown. They have 'connected' with the house and feel it's where they belong. It's funny, because hours before I learned of their interest, my agent forwarded me feedback from another buyer, a single woman who thought my front steps were too steep for her aging parents and that the home's "unusual additions" and lack of a garage wouldn’t work for her."