The Press Enterprise - "Report: Buyers in home price vise" (7-17-07)

"As the Inland region's economy starts to adjust to the housing downturn, a leading local economist said prices for new homes in the area have to come down before the market stabilizes. Redlands-based economist John Husing said in his quarterly economic report the median price for new homes in the Inland region during the first three months of this year was $420,069, up about 40 percent from the same period three years earlier."

NAHB - "Housing Starts Up Slightly in June but Permits Down Sharply" (7-18-07)

"In the latest indication that the housing market remains in a correction phase, housing starts rose 2.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.467 million following downward revisions for the previous two months, the Commerce Department reported today. Building permits, which generally are a harbinger of future building activity, were down sharply last month for both single-family and multifamily construction."

MBA - "Mortgage Applications Increase Slightly in Latest MBA Weekly Survey" (7-18-07)

"The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending July 13, 2007. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 631.6, an increase of 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 626.2 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 25.9 percent compared with the previous week, which included the Independence Day holiday, and was up 15.7 percent compared with the same week one year earlier."

Bloomberg - "Bear Stearns Tells Fund Investors `No Value Left'" (7-18-07)

"Bear Stearns Cos. told investors in its two failed hedge funds that they'll get little if any money back after 'unprecedented declines' in the value of securities used to bet on subprime mortgages. 'This is a watershed,' said Sean Egan, managing director of Egan-Jones Ratings Co. in Haverford, Pennsylvania. 'A leading player, which has honed a reputation as a sage investor in mortgage securities, has faltered. It begs the question of how other market participants have fared.'"

The Wall Street Journal - "Subprime Uncertainty Fans Out" (7-18-07)

"Investors in two troubled Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds that made big bets on subprime mortgages have been practically wiped out, the Wall Street firm said yesterday, in more evidence of the turmoil in this corner of the bond market. Bear said one of its funds was worth nothing and another worth less than a 10th of its value from a few months ago after its subprime trades went bad, according to a letter Bear circulated and to people briefed by the firm. The Wall Street investment bank -- known for its bond-trading savvy -- has had to put up $1.6 billion in rescue financing."

Paper Money - "New Residential Construction Report: June 2007" (7-18-07)

"Today’s New Residential Construction Report continues to indicate significant weakness in the nations housing markets and for residential construction showing substantial declines on a year-over-year basis to single family permits both nationally and across every region. Single family housing permits, the reports most leading of indicators, again suggests extensive weakness in future construction activity dropping 27.5% nationally as compared to June 2006."

Orange County Register - "Most readers see slower growth in O.C." (7-18-07)

"One in seven readers responding to an online poll believe it will take developers less than a decade to build all of 84,000 new homes on the drawing boards for Orange county. But nearly 60 percent believe it'll take 15 years or longer because growth is slowing in Orange County. MarketPointe Realty Advisors recently reported that developers have long-range plans to build just over 84,000 new homes in Orange County, but the San Diego-based consultant gave no time frame for when that construction will take place."

Orange County Register - "Realtors expect market rebound by early 2008" (7-18-07)

"Dana Point The housing market will rebound by the end of this year or the start of next year, with U.S. home prices and sales rising in 2008, the CEO of the National Association of Realtors said during a recent leadership retreat at the Ritz Carlton here. A new association forecast issued last week projected that prices next year will rise by 1.8 percent, but NAR CEO Dale Stinton was even more optimistic, saying he expects prices to go up as much as 4 percent next year."

Los Angeles Times - "Southern California home sales tumble" (7-18-07)

"Home sales plunged in Southern California last month, making it the worst June in 14 years and reflecting an increasingly soft housing market — especially in outlying areas such as the Inland Empire and Antelope Valley. Overall, values are continuing to hold their own — with the median price of a Southland home rising to $502,000, up 2.4% from a year ago. But prices fell in two-thirds of the region's ZIP Codes, reflecting greater weakness in lower-cost housing markets. Riverside County posted a 6% decline in values."