MBA - "MBA Sheds New Light on an Old Problem, Mold" (7-19-07)

"In the two years since the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released Mold: Steps Toward Clarity White Paper, the industry's understanding of mold and its impacts on commercial real estate has progressed on multiple fronts. Accordingly, MBA's Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors (COMBOG) Underwriting and Closing Committee's Mold Working Group has updated the White Paper to reflect the most current information on mold mitigation, standards for conducting mold assessments, legal issues, and insurance issues. The Working Group, made up of MBA members who are industry experts in commercial real estate finance, property inspections and insurance, went to great lengths to provide a comprehensive document that will serve as a guide and reference tool on this important issue."

Bloomberg - "Fed to Cut Rate After Housing Slowdown, McCulley Says" (7-19-07)

"A slowdown in the U.S. housing market and losses in mortgage-linked bonds will lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, said Paul McCulley, a bond fund manager at Pacific Investment Management Co. 'The recession we have in the housing market is going to be a very long, protracted affair,' McCulley said in an interview from Pimco's office in Newport Beach, California. 'That's going to lead the average consumer to recognize that he needs to save more out of current income, which is going to weaken consumption in the economy.'"

Bloomberg - "Bernanke Sets Fed for Longest Rate Freeze in 20 Years" (7-19-07)

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is preparing the ground for the longest freeze in interest rates in two decades. Bernanke, delivering his semiannual economic testimony to Congress yesterday, presented trimmed forecasts for growth this year and next because of the prolonged housing recession. At the same time, he said the 'predominant' concern is that inflation won't recede as forecast."

CNN - "Losing the American dream" (7-19-07)

"The Dow pops into uncharted 14,000-point territory. An economy pummeled by the 9/11 ist attacks has grown for 22 quarters straight. Unemployment stands at 4.5 percent - lower than any average decade from the 1960s through the 1990s. And Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson declares: 'This is far and away the strongest global economy I've seen in my business lifetime.' So why do six out of ten Americans think that the economy was better five years ago and fear that worse economic times are on the horizon, according to the latest USA Today/Gallup poll? 'If it makes you happy,' moans Sheryl Crow, 'then why the hell are you so sad?'"

Bloomberg - "Syron, Chanos, Faber See Losses Growing in Subprime" (7-19-07)

"The worst is yet to come in the market for subprime loans as defaults increase and holders of mortgage-backed bonds are forced to sell as prices fall, Freddie Mac Chief Executive Officer Richard Syron and investors James Chanos and Marc Faber said. 'Unfortunately I don't think we have hit bottom' in defaults, said Syron, whose company is the second-largest source of money for home loans behind Fannie Mae, said in an interview yesterday from McLean, Virginia. 'Things are going to get worse.'"

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Average rent goes up 5.4% in S.D. County" (7-19-07)

"The average monthly rent in San Diego County jumped 5.4 percent to $1,345 during the last quarter compared to a year earlier, reflecting a rental market that is seeing increased demand as home sales slow, foreclosures rise, and condo conversions retreat to rentals. According to a survey released today that culled data from 446 apartment complexes with more than 100 units, San Diego County's average rent ranked sixth among 24 rental markets in the state."

USA Today - "June housing starts up 2.3%, but permits plummet" (7-19-07)

"The pace of home construction rose 2.3% in June, but building permit activity, a sign of future construction plans, sank to its lowest rate in 10 years according to government data on Wednesday, signaling more weakness in the listless housing market. 'The small overall increase in total housing starts does not signal the end of the housing downswing,' said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders The Commerce Department said housing starts set an annual rate of 1.467 million units in June compared with a revised 1.434 million unit pace in May. Economists had forecast June housing starts to drop to a 1.45 million unit pace from the 1.474 million unit rate originally reported for May last month."

Orange County Register - "Average rents in Orange County" (7-19-07)

"The average rents for 23 Orange County cities that have at least 5 rental communities."

Orange County Register - "O.C. apartment rates head up again" (7-19-07)

"Orange County's biggest apartment landlords continue to raise rents, but they are seeing a few more apartments go vacant. The average rent at large apartment complexes in Orange County hit $1,551 in the second quarter, a 6 percent jump from the same period a year ago, RealFacts reports Thursday. That's the seventh highest rate in the state. San Francisco County is No. 1 at $2,134."

Real Estate Journal - "Investors Left Holding the Bag In a Land Project Gone Wrong" (7-19-07)

"On a crisp fall afternoon in 2002, a crowd gathered under a big tent near the Penland School of Crafts, an artists' colony tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains. While a harpist played, real-estate developer Tony Porter talked up a plan he promised could bring big financial payoffs to the isolated community and anyone who invested in it."