Real Estate Journal - "Ratings Proliferate For Green Buyers" (11-9-07)

"What makes a 'green' home green? It depends on who is using the word. In the next several months, three nationwide certifications for environmentally friendly homes will be available to builders. But buyers may be confused by the array of standards. This week, the U.S. Green Building Council -- a nonprofit that rates commercial buildings on things like energy use and indoor-air quality -- introduced similar rating systems for people's homes. Builders can score points for things like solar panels and energy-efficient appliances, and earn ratings such as silver, gold or platinum for environmental-friendliness."

NAR - "NAR Supports Natural Disaster Legislation to Help Property Owners" (11-9-07)

"The National Association of Realtors® supports the Homeowners’ Defense Act of 2007, H.R. 3355, passed last night by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would protect consumers nationwide by encouraging people to prepare for and protect against losses from future catastrophic events."

The Boston Herald - "Price is (not) right: Appraisals now sink sales" (11-9-07)

"Desperate homeowners trying to unload properties face a new obstacle: appraisers who are increasingly coming in with lower-than-expected estimates of home values. The low estimates are leading to last-minute nixing of some sale deals and putting even more downward pressure on home prices in a tight housing market. Home appraisers, whose estimates are key to the issuance of mortgages, say market forces are ultimately the cause of falling home values."

MSNBC - "Bernanke proposes new mortgage guarantees" (11-9-07)

"As Congress and the financial services industry struggle to cope with rising mortgage defaults and a deepening housing slump, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Wednesday proposed that the federal government guarantee so-called 'jumbo' home loans worth up to $1 million."

The Star-Ledger - "Hovnanian can't shake slump Thursday, November 08, 2007" (11-9-07)

"When Red Bank-based home builder Hovnanian slashed its prices by as much as $100,000 during its three-day "Deal of the Century" fire sale last month, customers packed the company's sales centers and kicked home sales into overdrive. More than 2,100 contracts were signed in 72 hours -- a flood of activity that convinced company executives the end of the housing bust was near."

Yahoo - "Wachovia Estimates $1.1B in Oct. Losses" (11-9-07)

"Wachovia Corp. on Friday became the latest major financial institution to warn of mounting losses in the credit markets, saying the value of securities it owns that are backed by loans sank by about $1.1 billion in October. The nation's fourth largest banking company also said it plans to boost its allowance for loan losses in the fourth quarter due to expected credit deterioration in the housing market in certain regions. The provision is pegged at $500 million to $600 million in excess of charge-offs in the quarter."

Bloomberg - "Fannie Mae Third-Quarter Loss Widens on Housing Slump" (11-9-07)

"Fannie Mae, the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, said its third-quarter loss more than doubled to $1.39 billion as a deepening housing slump increased mortgage delinquencies, sending the shares down as much as 11 percent. The net loss was caused by a $2.24 billion decline in the value of derivative contracts and $1.2 billion in credit losses among the $2.7 trillion of mortgage assets Fannie Mae owns or guarantees, the Washington-based company said today in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing."