NAHB - "NAHB Applauds Fannie Mae Housing Recovery Initiatives " (5-8-08)

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) today expressed support for steps recently announced by Fannie Mae to address severe problems in the nation’s housing finance system.
'Fannie Mae is demonstrating the leadership expected of a government-sponsored enterprise with the rollout of its Keys to Recovery Initiatives and commitment to raise additional capital to support those and other responses to mortgage market challenges,' said NAHB President Sandy Dunn, a home builder from Point Pleasant, W.Va."

CNN - "Bernanke: Foreclosure woes require action" (5-8-08)

"Foreclosure filings of all kinds - delinquency notices, auctions sale notices and bank repossessions - were up 112% during the first three months of 2008 compared with the same period a year ago. Community advocates and policy makers are worried that the problem will worsen as the interest rates on as many as 1.8 million mortgages reset this year."

Bloomberg - "Hovnanian Falls on Plan to Sell 16 Million New Shares" (5-8-08)

"Hovnanian Enterprises Inc., New Jersey's largest homebuilder, fell as much as 14 percent in New York on plans to raise up to $191 million in a stock sale. The company will sell up to 16.1 million Class A shares at an assumed offering price of $11.87 each, based on the stock's closing price on May 6, Red Bank, New Jersey-based Hovnanian said yesterday in a regulatory filing. The offering would expand the outstanding Class A stock by as much as one-third to about 64 million shares."

Bloomberg - "Jim Rogers Says Financial Crisis Hasn't Hit Its Worst" (5-8-08)

"Jim Rogers, co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros, said the global credit squeeze triggered by U.S. housing-loan delinquencies may not be nearing an end. 'I doubt that we're half way through the financial crisis,' Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, said at a Barclays Plc press conference in Singapore."

Bloomberg - "Cerberus to Join Chinese Companies to Invest in U.S." (5-8-08)

"Cerberus Capital Management LP, the $21 billion New York-based buyout firm, plans to partner with Chinese companies to invest in the U.S. and Europe, Chairman John Snow said. Cerberus will join Chinese banks and funds to find investment opportunities among U.S. financial institutions struggling to recover from a slump in housing and credit markets, Snow, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, said today during a visit to Beijing."

Orange County Register - "Are Fannie and Freddie in danger?" (5-8-08)

"On the heels of Fannie Mae’s $2.2 billion loss reported Tuesday, the New York Times published a story questioning its solvency and that of its little sibling Freddie Mac."

Orange County Register - "Builders gets 24% less in March deals for new homes" (5-8-08)

"Hanley Wood Market Intelligence reports that O.C.’s median selling prices fell at a 24% annual rate for all types of new home contracts signed in March. The median price for townhomes and small complexes of one-to-four units fell the most, declining 16.5% from contracts signed the same month in 2007, the real estate research firm reported. The single-family home median fell 11.4% and the median price for contracts to buy new condos declined 5.2%."

Realty Times - "Successful Browsing For Housing" (5-8-08)

"Leverage the broker. Capitalize on the fact that brokers and real estate agents are the 'matchmakers' in the residential real estate world. They use local expertise to connect buyers and sellers. Research, browse and focus your search online with tools they provide. They generally are tools that put you quickly in contact with all of the information and resources the listing agent or broker has to offer. Broker blogs, market reports, how-tos and other information can give you the foundation for an informed online home search."

Realty Times - "Realty Viewpoint: Lower Pending Sales Trend Could Have Been Worse" (5-8-08)

"The National Association of Realtors' Pending March home sales index was lower by one percent. The miracle is that it wasn't worse. March homebuyers were rattled by news that we might finally be in a recession. Employers cut jobs for the third month straight, and production slowed. Complicating the economy, were credit bottlenecks brought on by banks reluctant to lend mortgage money, despite incredible support from the Feds, including raising conforming loan limits."