The San Diego Union Tribune - "Raising the roof" (11-11-07)

"Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested Thursday that Congress allow mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy and hold mortgages worth as much as $1 million, shattering the current loan limit of $417,000. Until now, an effort to increase the limit hasn't emerged from the Senate, with some lawmakers and housing experts arguing that it would be the wrong move. And a federal agency could actually lower the amount that can be borrowed in a conforming mortgage in 2009."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Buyers are looking for market bottom" (11-11-07)

"What the housing world needs is buyers. There are plenty of homes for sale, a record number nationally and perhaps an all-time high in your neighborhood as well. In many places, moreover, prices are falling, with motivated sellers, particularly builders, throwing in extras like free options and upgrades, help with closing costs and other goodies."

The San Diego Union Tribune - "Low-income households becoming homeowners" (11-11-07)

"The mortgage market meltdown and the resulting surge in foreclosed homes offered for sale has created welcome home-buying opportunities for San Diego County's low-and moderate-income households. 'When was the last time we put thousands of affordable housing units on the market?' asked Gabe del Rio of Community HousingWorks. 'We are talking about homes you bought for $450,000 last year that now are being sold for about $300,000. . . . It makes a big difference.'"

Los Angeles Times - "Slippery slope" (11-11-07)

"Charred hillsides stripped of vegetation can't hold water. So, residents lucky enough to escape the fires still could see their homes fall victim to a torrent of soil, rocks and mud once the winter rains arrive. What many of them may not know is that most homeowner insurance policies don't cover landslides, mudslides or sinkholes."

Los Angeles Times - "Where the surf meets ... the suburbs" (11-11-07)

"The numbers don't lie. This is a place of die-hard loyalists. Homes rarely come on the market, and even in this buyers' market, when homes do become available, they are bought quickly, often before the listing reaches the Multiple Listing Service. In the last 18 months, the MLS shows that only five homes have changed hands. It is believed that a few more sold privately. Of the five sold publicly, one sold at full price in one day; another took eight days and sold at asking price. In the third case, the house was listed, taken off the market and re-listed with another agent who sold it in 21 days for $2.1 million -- $400,000 under the listing price. One ed at a price widely thought by area realty agents to be high but still sold in a few months. And a fifth sold in four days at just under its listing price of $2,750,000."