I Survived Real Estate 2008 panel is finally complete and the event is over 50% full. The panel now consists of Tommy Williams (President of the National Auctioneers Association), Rick Sharga (VP Marketing for RealtyTrac), Richard Lambros (CEO of the Builders Industry Association of Southern California), Annemaria Allen (The Compliance Group), Christopher Thornberg (Principal at Beacon Economics), Philip Tirone (President of the 7 Steps to 720 Credit Score), and Bruce Norris (Moderator and President of The Norris Group). Please visit www.ISurvived2008.com to find out how you can attend for free and help us raise money for Komen for the Cure.

NAR - "Existing-Home Sales Down In June" (7-24-08)

"Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – fell 2.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of 4.86 million units in June from a pace of 4.99 million in May, and are 15.5 percent lower than the 5.75 million-unit rate in June 2007."

Yahoo - "House OKs rescue for homeowners, Freddie, Fannie" (7-24-08)

"Rescue legislation sailed through the House on Wednesday aimed at helping 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure and preventing the collapse of troubled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The 272-152 vote reflected a congressional push to send election-year help to struggling borrowers and to reassure jittery financial markets about the health of two pillars of the mortgage market."

Los Angeles Times - "Mortgage woes hit Downey Savings & Loan" (7-24-08)

"Downey's portfolio is laden with the kinds of risky mortgage loans that helped trigger the collapse of Countrywide Financial Corp. of Calabasas and IndyMac Bank of Pasadena. Investors have turned on the bank, sending shares of parent company Downey Financial Corp. down 91% this year. The stock rose 21 cents Wednesday to $2.73."

Yahoo - "Pimco: $1 trillion housing losses seen" (7-24-08)

"The best way to help the ailing housing market recover from the $1 trillion of losses it faces will be to cut the cost of mortgages via the housing bill and rescue package for mortgage finance giants, the manager of the world's biggest bond fund said on Thursday."

CNN - "Grand jury investigates subprime lenders" (7-24-08)

"A federal grand jury is investigating subprime mortgage lenders Countrywide Financial Corp., New Century Financial Corp. and IndyMac Federal Bank, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Thursday. Subpoenas seeking documents have been issued to all three companies, according to the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and requested anonymity."

CNN - "How housing rescue bill can help you" (7-24-08)

"The House on Wednesday passed a $300 billion housing rescue bill aimed at helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure and supporting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. If the bill is now passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush, who today withdrew his threat to veto it, thousands of at-risk borrowers will be able to refinance their unaffordable old mortgages into new low-cost fixed-rate loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)."

CNN - "Mortgage rates rise again" (7-24-08)

"Rates on 30-year mortgages rose for the third consecutive week amid concerns about mounting inflation, the weak housing market and speculation that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates soon. Mortgage finance firm Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.63% this week. That's up from 6.26% last week but still below the 6.69% average a year ago."

Bloomberg - "UBS Faces New York Lawsuit Over Auction-Rate Sales" (7-24-08)

"UBS AG was sued today by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, alleging the Zurich-based bank's promotion of auction-rate securities as safe, money market-like investments was fraudulent. Cuomo seeks to force UBS to offer to buy back at face value $25 billion in auction-rate securities held by the bank's customers in New York and nationwide. Massachusetts and Texas have filed similar complaints against UBS since the $330 billion market collapsed in February in an effort to force the firm to repurchase securities it marketed in their respective states."

Bloomberg - "Fed Weighs Plans to Spur Bank Investment by LBO Firms" (7-24-08)

"The Federal Reserve, looking to spur investment in lenders hit by credit-market losses, is weighing three measures to ease rules for private-equity funds that buy bank stakes, people with knowledge of the deliberations said."

Orange County Register - "Inland Empire house construction down nearly 90% from ‘05" (7-24-08)

"The California Building Industry Association reports that some of the biggest homebuilding declines occurred just east of here in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, once one of the fastest growing areas in the nation."

Check out Joel Singer, Executive Vice President of the California Association of Realtors, on the Norris Group Real Estate Radio this weekend as we prepare for the I Survived Real Estate 2008 event August 23rd.