Yahoo - "Best Places For Real Estate Deals" (10-8-07)

"Home sales have sunk to their lowest levels since 2001. Investors are jumping ship, foreclosures are mounting and lenders are exercising caution. Still, there are areas of the country where it makes sense for some to buy. That's because, in a market slump, sellers eager to unload their homes often accept less money from buyers. New construction also slows. Both bode well for buyers hoping to score a deal--if the market in which they are buying is expected to experience increased sales."

Impact Real Estate - "The 'Real' State of Real Estate" (10-16-07)

"Gary Watts’ forecast for 2007/2008 marks the 34th year of bringing to the real estate industry his outlook for the resale housing market. More than just forecasting appreciation numbers such as those below, Gary looks into the various factors that effect real estate values and growth. These detailed searches point to various trends in housing. From those trends, he forecasts what is most likely to happen. Although the past two years have left a lot of people wondering about the future of real estate values, Gary sees a pattern (although this one was a little different) and is confident that real estate will once again make a rebound in the very near future."

NAHB - "Builder Confidence Erodes Further In October" (10-16-07)

"Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes was further shaken in October due to continuing problems in the mortgage market, substantial inventories of unsold units and the perceived effect that negative media coverage is having on potential buyers, according to the latest National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today. The HMI fell two more points to 18 in October, its lowest point since the series began in January of 1985."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Fed chief to 'act as needed'" (10-16-07)

"A deepening housing slump probably will be a 'significant drag' on economic growth into next year and it will take time for Wall Street to fully recover from a painful credit crisis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned yesterday. Bernanke once again pledged to 'act as needed' to help financial markets – which have endured several months of turbulence – function smoothly and to keep the economy and inflation on an even keel."

CNN - "Junk mortgages under the microscope" (10-16-07)

"It's getting hard to wrap your brain around subprime mortgages, Wall Street's fancy name for junk home loans. There's so much subprime stuff floating around - more than $1.5 trillion of loans, maybe $200 billion of losses, thousands of families facing foreclosure, umpteen politicians yapping - that it's like the federal budget: It's just too big to be understandable."

MSNBC - "Financiers estimate housing will recover in ’10" (10-16-07)

"U.S. housing prices will continue to decline at least through the end of next year and may not begin creeping upward again until 2010, executives from the nation’s biggest mortgage financiers said Monday. Officials with government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and CEOs from two major mortgage banks told the Mortgage Bankers Association’s annual convention that the continuing spike in foreclosures and a glut of unsold homes will prevent any quick price rebound."

Bloomberg - "Foreigners Sold Record $69.3 Billion in U.S. Assets" (10-16-07)

"International investors sold a record amount of U.S. financial assets in August as tightening access to credit threatened economic growth and spurred an exodus from American stocks. Total holdings of equities, notes and bonds fell a net $69.3 billion after an increase of $19.2 billion in July, the Treasury Department said today in Washington. Including short- term securities such as Treasury bills, foreigners sold a net $163 billion, compared with a gain in the previous month."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America, JPMorgan Profit Curbed by Writedowns" (10-16-07)

"Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wachovia Corp. may post their first profit declines since 2005, as more than $3.4 billion of writedowns and loan losses dragged third-quarter earnings lower. Bank of America, the second-biggest U.S. bank, may reduce the value of loans used for leveraged buyouts by $700 million, and No. 3 JPMorgan may disclose a $2.1 billion writedown for LBO loans and mortgages, according to estimates by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Wachovia, the fourth-largest, probably will say it wrote down holdings by $670 million after taxes, analysts at New York-based Citigroup Inc. said."

DQNews - "September Southland home sales lowest in more than 20 years" (10-16-07)

"Home sales in Southern California plunged to the lowest level in more than two decades, as financing with 'jumbo' mortgages dropped by half. The median price paid for a home dropped sharply as a result, a real estate information service reported. A total of 12,455 new and resale houses and condos sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties in September. That was down 29.9 percent from 17,755 for the previous month, and down 48.5 percent from 24,195 for September last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems."

Yahoo - "Homebuilder Outlook Falls to Record Low" (10-16-07)

"Homebuilders are getting gloomier about the slumping housing market, as a 22-year-old index that tracks their sentiment set a new record low Tuesday. The National Association of Home Builders said its housing market index, which tracks builders' perceptions of conditions and expectations for home sales over the next six months, fell two points to 18 in October, the lowest level since the index began in Jan. 1985. It was the eighth straight monthly decline."

Yahoo - "Paulson Urges Action on Housing Crisis" (10-16-07)

"Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called Tuesday for an aggressive response to deal with an unfolding housing crisis that he said presents a significant risk to the economy. In the administration's most detailed reaction to the steepest housing slump in 16 years, Paulson said that government and the financial industry should provide immediate help for homeowners trying to refinance current mortgages before they reset at much higher rates."