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News Archives
February 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Fed officials: Housing crisis critical
CNNMoney.com
Banks May Need to Shrink by $2 Trillion on Subprime
Losses
Wall Street Journal
Don't Fear Falling Prices
VillageSoup Belfast, USA
"There's nothing troubling about a gradual
correction of home prices. If we keep our incomes at the current level
and home prices go down we are richer,
Banks tighten, close equity lines of credit
Inside Bay Area, CA
The Housing Nightmare Hits Main Street
U.S. News & World Report, DC
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Economists give grim county forecast through 2010
Economic forecaster Dr. Bill Watkins, executive director of the UCSB
Economic Forecast Project, said unemployment will rise and home prices
will continue to plummet from Ventura to Thousand Oaks through 2010,
mirroring economic trends nationwide.
Ventura County Reporter,
Record
Home Price Declines in LA County's San Fernando Valley!
The median price of a San Fernando Valley
home plunged a record $113,000 in January from a year ago and sales
sank to an all-time low as credit and foreclosure problems further
pounded the market, a trade association said Wednesday.
Housing market hammered
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Fannie Mae offers loans to struggling homeowners
Reuters
Freddie Mac posts $2.5 billion loss
Reuters
Mortgage Giant Fannie Mae Post Loss & Restrictions Are
Removed
HULIQ, NC
Countrywide Sued Over 'Excessive' Fees on Defaults
Reuters
Home Ownership: American Dream or Nightmare?
PR Newswire (press release), NY
Nine-year low for US existing home sales
North Texas e-News, TX
The median price of a home sold in January slid
to $201100, a 4.6 percent drop from a year ago. With 1321 existing
homes sold, sales were down 10 percent, ...
Fed ready to cut interest rates again
Hilton Head Island Packet, SC
With dollar still sinking, Fed won't buck the trend
Los Angeles Times, CA
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Economic Outlook: More bad news for the beleaguered
housing market
Resource Investor, VA
Fed Chief Signals He’s Open to More Rate Cuts
New York Times, United States
Fannie Mae posts nearly $3.6B loss in 4Q
Forbes, NY
Home values keep eroding
(FL)
Orlando Sentinel, FL
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Fell 9.1% in
December (Update1)
Bloomberg
Housing prices fall for 4th month; analysts see chill
in spring market (MA)
Boston Globe, United States
The outlook for Massachusetts' spring housing
market darkened, as tumbling January sales drove down prices by 4.4
percent, the biggest monthly drop in more than a year.
The median house price declined to $325000 from
$340000 in January 2007; it was the fourth consecutive month of lower
prices. The Massachusetts Association ...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Real
Estate Bubble Cheerleader Gets Caught Lying on National TV:
Fails to Predict Home Value Decline, Gets Called-Out by Economist
Schiff!
Housing Bubble
Cheerleader Gets Caught Lying On TV
USHousingUpdate
Cali's
Home Prices Get Chopped Again: Median Sinks $110K in Past Year!
California's decline was even more pronounced, with the median price
plummeting 21.9 percent to $430,370 compared with $551,220 in January
2007. Sales fell 29.8 percent.
Home prices decline, sales plummet
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA
Median price of an existing house in Palm Beach County
fell 12% in January FL
Sun-Sentinel.com, FL
Housing
inventory continues to pile-up: Price declines to worsen!
The backlog of unsold homes continued to pile up in January, a sign
that home prices will continue to drop as would-be buyers hold out for
better deals.
Used-home backlog continues to grow
Baltimore Sun, United States
Foreclosure activity climbs 57% in January
Inman.com (subscription), CA
US home sales slip again
North County Times, CA
Housing Market Continues Dive
(Tampa, FL)
Tampa Tribune, FL
Home-price Futures Price In Several Months Of Decline
CNNMoney.com
Sacramento home prices tumble 28 percent (CA)
Bizjournals.com, NC
Monday, February 25, 2008
Home Depot May Post First Annual Sales Decline on
Housing Slump
Bloomberg
After housing bust, hard times in Arizona
Christian Science Monitor, MA
No one shows up for foreclosure auctions
- VA
With the market meltdown in full swing, even the foreclosure auction
regulars have given up...
WalletPop, VA
Entry-Level Homes Becoming Affordable to More
Households
San Diego Business Journal, CA
HOUSING MELTDOWN GOES BEYOND HOUSES
- KS
The Wichita Eagle, KS
Friday, February 22, 2008
More US homeowners say their homes depreciated-survey
Reuters
One in 10 home loans is under water: Economy.com
Reuters
Foreclosures Outnumber Home Sales in Vegas For the
First Time:
Prices Continue Free-Fall!
Foreclosures outnumbered the sales of new and existing homes in
January for the first time, further evidence that the Las Vegas
housing market is deteriorating.
The median price of homes sold in January was $247,000, a drop of
$6,000 from December. Prices of existing homes have dropped nearly 15
percent in the last 13 months. It was $289,500 in February 2007.
Housing Market hits new low
In Business Las Vegas, NV
PIMCO's Gross: Fed cuts no help for housing
Reuters
Detroit Area Foreclosures Increase 39 Percent in
January 2008
PR.com (press release), NY
South Florida Foreclosures Increase Nearly 200 Percent
in January 2008
PR.com (press release), NY
Vital Signs: Deeper Damage from Housing!
BusinessWeek
What’s more, home prices are losing altitude
fast. Both the monthly S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Index and quarterly
numbers from the Office of Federal ...
Slumping home prices boost housing affordability
- CA
Sacramento Bee, USA
West Valley takes big plunge in valuations
- AZ
Arizona Republic, AZ
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Bill targets rise in taxable value of homes
The Grand Rapids Press -
MLive.com, MI
Calley's proposed constitutional amendment,
introduced last summer, would continue to limit tax increases when
home prices are rising, but freeze them in ...
Unsold
houses hit record levels in Salt Lake, ...and Getting Worse Yet...
- Utah
In Salt Lake County in the fourth quarter, there were a record 1,037
completed-yet-unoccupied houses and condominiums, up from 340 units in
the fourth quarter 2006, Newreach said.
Unsold homes choke market
Salt Lake Tribune, United
States
Equity loans may have hurt owners
Fresno Bee, CA
Mass. foreclosures rise 128% in January
Boston Globe, United
States
91 Community Groups Ask BofA to Halt Foreclosures
of Countrywide Mortgages Develop
FOXBusiness
Riverside, California
median home asking prices sink another $20K since December!
HousingTracker.net: Median Home Asking Price & Inventory Data for
Riverside, California
HousingTracker
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Gilbert home values dip 13%
- AZ
Arizona Republic, AZ
What was lost when home values soared
Reuters
Housing Slowdown Hits Towns at the Outskirts of Texas
Boom
New York Times, United States
Valley new-home sales sank lower still in January
- AZ
Arizona Republic, AZ
Good intentions, bad loans
North County Times, CA
More US Banks Agree to Stall Home Repossessions
IPS, Italy
A bigger problem than subprimes
Redlands Daily Facts, CA
Housing market forecast: Dim
Furniture Style, IL
Loans go bad as British housing bubble pops
Los Angeles Times, CA
Monday, February 18, 2008
Homeless People Moving In to Foreclosed Homes in the US
ShortNews.com, Germany
Housing woes run much deeper than we realize
Houston Chronicle, United
States
Housing Starts May Hold Near 16-Year Low: US Economy
Preview
Bloomberg
Bay Area home sales hit new low
San Jose Mercury News, USA
Housing-market bust has retailers in retreat
San Diego Union Tribune, United
States
Housing crisis hits home in Lodi
(CA)
Lodi News-Sentinel, CA
Bay Area home prices fall below $500K in four counties
ContraCostaTimes.com
Tiptoeing Though a Minefield
CNBC, NJ
Friday, February 15, 2008
Brevard home prices have 8th-biggest fall in US
(Florida)
Florida Today, FL
Home Sales Fall In 45 States, Report Says
ClickonSA.com, TX
Bank begins foreclosure process on Jackson mayor's home
(Mississippi)
Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS
Rates on 30-year mortgages hit 5-week high
SignnOnSD
Home prices in steepest quarterly drop
Money.CNN
Bay Area home sales lowest for any month in two decades
DQNews
Countrywide's Overdue Mortgages Increase to 7.47%
Bloomberg
How the credit crunch might be helping the housing
slump spread
BusinessWeek
California new-home sales fall 31% in 2007
Inman.com (subscription), CA
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Home sales tumble, inventory rockets in San Diego
(Contains Quote of the Week)
NCTimes
Major lenders put freeze on foreclosures
CNNMoney.com
Foreclosures in Riverside County keep skyrocketing
(California)
NCTimes
O.C.'s first luxury high rise has its first foreclosure
(California)
OCRegister
Collapse: L.A. housing prices drop 16.7% in five months
Month, L.A. Median Sales Price,
y/y change, 12-month L.A. sales total
Jan. 07 $520,000 6.0% 108,755
Feb 07 $528,000 8.0% 107,966
Mar 07 $540,000 6.0% 105,514
Apr 07 $540,000 6.0% 103,450
May 07 $550,000 7.0% 100,160
Jun 07 $545,000 5.0%
96,513
Jul 07 $547,500 5.0%
94,478
Aug 07 $550,000 6.0%
90,985
Sept 07 $525,000 1.2%
86,610
Oct 07 $500,000 -3.8%
82,527
Nov 07 $499,000 -3.5% 78,712
Dec 07 $470,000 -10.5% 74,663
Jan 08 $458,000
-11.9% 71,256
LATimes
Blog
Mortgage assistance has limited authority to
renegotiate loans
The News Journal, DE
Illinois median home price tumbles!
Statewide, the median sale price in the fourth quarter was $191,000,
down 4.5 percent from $199,900 in 4Q06.
Illinois Median Price Moves in a Modest Range
FOXBusiness
San
Diego median asking prices take a beating
Drops another $27K in last 2 months!
Median Home Asking Price & Inventory Data for San Diego, California
HousingTracker
Home builders say gloom not going to dissipate in 2008
MarketWatch
San
Bernardino sees $80K reduction from peak
(California)
median home price!
Also the median home price in San Bernardino County slipped below
$300,000 to $298,000, representing more than a 21 percent drop from an
all-time peak of $380,000 reached in November 2006.
SB County median home values dive under $300000,
DataQuick reports
Press-Enterprise, CA
Senator slams lenders over foreclosure crisis
Toledo Blade, OH
Credit card debt related to housing crash
Reno Gazette Journal, NV
When Falling House Prices are a Blessing
Conde Nast Portfolio, NY
The longer the mortgage mess lingers, the heavier it
hits
Dallas Morning News, TX
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Fed Interest-Rate Cuts Fail to Lower Borrowing Costs
Bloomberg
Bush signs stimulus package with rebates, relief for
homeowners?
San Jose Mercury News, USA
Cali
Bubble Buyers Get Burned When It's Time To Sell!
"When Mary Kamanu paid $409,000 for a
house in Folsom, California, she never imagined that three years later
it would be worth about 20 percent less and she would have to pay the
bank more than $80,000 just to sell the place."
Americans Selling Homes See Prices Go Below Mortgage
Bloomberg
Home
Values Plunge to 2004 Levels in Ventura, CA!
The median sales price was $477,750, a 15.4 percent drop from $565,000
a year ago. The median was the lowest since it hit $475,000 in April
2004.
Median home prices drop to lowest since 2004
Ventura County Star, CA
Riverside's home prices fall faster, sales slowdown
worsens (California)
North County Times, CA
Southern California home sales fall to 20-year low
Reuters
Detroit metro area posts highest foreclosure rate in US
BloggingStocks
Property values decline in Maricopa County, taxes
to go down (Arizona)
ABC15.com (KNXV-TV), AZ
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Home
Prices Sink To 2005 Levels in parts of NY!
Housing prices on Long Island and in Queens slid further last month,
to their lowest level in almost three years, a real estate cooperative
reported Monday.
Suffolk house prices down by 6%
Newsday, NY
Home
Prices Dropping Like Hot-Potato's In Idaho
The median price of a home in Canyon County has fallen 12 percent over
the past year, from $170,000 in January 2007 to $148,900 a year later,
according to Multiple Listing Service statistics released Monday.
Canyon County home prices drop
IdahoStatesman.com, ID
Home prices will drop for 2 more years, experts predict
Newsday, NY
Home
prices sink to 2004 levels in Fredericksburg
(Virginia)
The median sales price for a Fredericksburg-area home dropped to
$262,500 in January, the lowest since October 2004 and a 15.3 percent
decline from January 2007.
January home sales show prices have fallen off 15.3 percent in ...
Fredericksburg.com, VA
Connecticut home prices sink $10K below Dec 2006 level!
The report shows the median sales price
of single-family homes dropping 3.8 percent, from $265,000 in December
2006 to $255,000 in December 2007. It was the largest one-month
decline in median sales prices since July 1997
State's Housing Slump Deepened In December
Hartford Courant, United States
The Mother of All Rip-offs
TruthNews
Feds to Unveil New Mortgage-Help Plan
Mail.com
Monday, February 11, 2008
Housing slump keeps some divorced couples together
Eagle Tribune, MA
County home sales, prices decline
(Washington)
According to reports gleaned from the Clark
County Courthouse, a total of 312 new and pre-owned homes sold last
month with a median price (half for more-half for less) of $245,383.
That’s a 7 percent decline from the median price of $263,900 for the
517 homes that sold in January 2007.
The Columbian, WA
Loans built on lies
Santa Rosa Press Democrat, CA
YOUR PLACE TO CALL HOME: Has your 'For Sale' sign grown
roots?
Suburban Journals, MO
Taxes rise while home values fall
(Michigan)
Mirror, MI
Prices on repeat home sales fall 4.6% overall for
Valley (Phoenix, Arizona)
Arizona Republic, AZ
Battle lost, but not the war
Nolan Chart LLC, VA
Hundreds of thousands of eyes were opened to
issues like the Federal Reserve fraud and the abandonment of the
Constitution on countless levels. Ron Paul
Dallas residents find property tax loans a fast track
to foreclosure (Texas)
Dallas Morning News, TX
Don't fund foreclosure victims' education
Pocono Record, PA
Renters Beware: Foreclosure Can Happen to You
ABC Action News, FL
Riverside median asking prices down by $125,000K Since 2005 Peak!
(California)
HousingTracker: Median Home Price & Inventory Data for Riverside,
California
HousingTracker
San
Diego median asking prices sink $140K Below '05 Peak! (California)
HousingTracker: Median Home Price & Inventory Data for San Diego,
California
HousingTracker
Watch Out for The Depression
TruthNews.US
Friday, February 8, 2008
Housing
crash to worsen despite rate-cuts!
The estimated 1 million homeowners with $500 billion of option ARMs
are beyond the help of interest-rate cuts by Federal Reserve Chairman
Ben Bernanke. While subprime borrowers face an average increase of 8
percent or less when their adjustable-rate mortgages reset, option ARM
homeowners may see their monthly payments double after their
adjustments kick in.
New worry descends on homeowners: Option ARMs
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Vegas area median home price sinks below $250000
Las Vegas Sun, NV
Though prices fall, homes still out of reach for many
(Illinois)
Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ
Denver area home prices take sharp drop in January
Home prices fell in the Denver area in January
as the sale of distressed properties drove down prices and few
McMansions sold. But mortgage rates that at ...
Rocky Mountain News, CO
'Another slow year' seen for housing
Richmond Times Dispatch, VA
US Recession Now Even Bet as Spending Slows, Economists
Say
Bloomberg
The glut of unsold properties, aggravated by
rising foreclosures, signals further declines in home prices,
economists said
South Carolina Condo Prices Take Big Drop
Real estate prices continue falling (South
Carolina)
Myrtle Beach Sun News, SC
NAR: Housing Slump to Drag Home Prices Down This Year
Multi-Housing News, NY
Homes' equity hits basement
(Colorado)
Among homes
that entered foreclosure last year in several Front Range counties, a
large percentage were worth less than owners owed on the first loan.
Denver Post, CO
How Deep Will the Recession Go?
AlterNet, CA
This Bubble Is Worse
The Fed’s monetary policy could take the market considerably lower
according to strategic investor Bill Fleckenstein, President Of
Fleckenstein Capital. (It’s worth noting that he’s a well known bear.)
Following is a synopsis of his main points.
CNBC, NJ
UK House Prices on Target for 15% Fall Despite Interest
Rate Cuts
The Market Oracle, UK
Foreclosures going for cut-rate prices Banks are eager
to unload ...
San Jose Mercury News, USA
County home sales: 'Buyers are afraid'
(California)
Home sales plunged
in San Mateo County in January, as housing prices fell significantly
in poorer neighborhoods but held up in upscale areas, a new report
revealed Thursday.
San Mateo County Times, CA
 |
The Bush Financial and Economic Bust of 2008 -
The Destruction of ...
The Market Oracle, UK The $2 trillion that has been wiped out from falling home prices, the slowdown in lending activity at the banks, the loss $600 billion in home equity loans, ... |
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Worse is yet to come in housing crisis
“There are
a lot of people with little or no equity in their homes, who owe more
on their mortgage than what the house is worth--for example, people
who paid $300,000 on a house that's now worth $250,000,” said Baker,
co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Socialist Worker Online, IL
Is Your
Money Secure?
Dozens of U.S. banks will fail in the next
two years as losses from soured loans mount and regulators crack down
on lenders that take too much risk, especially in real estate and
construction, an analyst said.
Dozens of US banks will fail by 2010
Tehran Times, Iran
Median home prices in California may drop up to 10
percent this year
San Jose Mercury News, USA
Are Lenders and realtors Colliding to Keep
Home Prices Artificially high?
blogs.rockymountainnews.com
US Housing Bust Heading for the Perfect Storm
(Nevada)
The Market Oracle, UK
What the Fed Rate Cuts Really Mean for Mortgage Rates
VillageSoup Belfast, USA
These Loans Were Made for Walking: The End of the
Subprime Crisis
AlterNet, CA
Foreclosures leave renters in the lurch
San Francisco Chronicle, USA
$191,106 income needed to buy O.C. home
OCRegister
Former
Guns N Roses Guitarist Slash Loses half-a-million on Hollywood Home!
Former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash (also known as Saul Hudson) feels
he overpaid for his Spanish-style Hollywood Hills home, which has a
pool, a separate gym and stunning views. He bought the house in
January 2006 for $6.2 million. He sold it last December for $5.7
million. Slash is suing his former real estate agent, claiming the
house was neither as big nor as private as the agent claimed. The case
is ongoing in California Superior Court.
Celebrity Real Estate Losers
Forbes.com
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
FHA must expand failed US foreclosure plan-panel
Reuters
The ASF proposal comes amid signs that
falling home prices will continue to push foreclosures higher.
Home
prices drop 15 percent in Brownsville
(Texas)
Brownsville Herald, TX
United States
Chart Fun With the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price
Index
Seeking Alpha, NY
The chart above simply demonstrates how
completely different these two measures are and how disconnected
OER and home prices had become. ...
Credit crisis may leave you cut off
Detroit Free Press, United
States
Big Island and Kauai see home prices dip
(Hawaii)
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, HI
Government Flails for Answers to Housing Downturn
FOXBusiness
Speculators May Have Accelerated Housing Downturn
Wall Street Journal
Investors tend to be more likely than borrowers
who live in the homes to walk away from their purchases when home
prices fall
New home sales take another big plunge
"This is the first housing downturn that is
self-inflicted, although exacerbated by financial institutions
offering exotic housing loans," said Tracy Cross, president of Tracy
Cross & Associates, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based research and consulting
firm.
San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA
Las Vegas tops foreclosure list
(Nevada)
CNNMoney.com
Are real estate signs a nuisance? Some say so
Nevada Appeal, NV
GMAC blames mortgage unit for $724 million Q4 loss
Inman.com, CA
What if House Prices Fall by 30% Worldwide?
Lew Rockwell, CA
Ron Paul Had a Great Super Tuesday!
Nolan Chart LLC, VA
San
Diego Home Asking Prices Decline Another $20K in last 2 months!
HousingTracker.net: Median Home Asking Price & Inventory Data for San
Diego, California
HousingTracker
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Why Not Abolish the Fed?
One of the positions of Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul
that mainstream pundits find "wacky" is his call to abolish the
Federal Reserve System. Never mind that two Nobel Prize-winning
economists -- both libertarians -- called for the same thing.
MWC News, Canada
Home sales in Valley fewest since 1985
(Los Angeles, CA)
Los Angeles Daily News, CA
Price dip in homes hits lines of credit
DetNews.com, MI
Will the Bubble’s Burst Make Housing More Affordable?
New West, MT
Sacramento tops list for home-price declines
Inman.com, CA
24 indicted as mortgage fraud probe widens
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA
Housing Crisis Casts a Cloud Over Sun Belt
(Arizona)
Washington Post, United States
Four-legged victims of the foreclosure crisis
The News Journal, DE
NC Will Pay for Foreclosure Counselors
Houston Chronicle, United
States
Monday, February 4, 2008
Realtors jump ship on Lee County market
(Florida)
The News-Press, FL
Yet More Foreclosures in the Pipeline
(San Diego County, CA)
Voice of San Diego, CA
It's too late to overcome housing bubble burst
First, we are witnessing the bursting of an unprecedented bubble in
house prices. Nationally, a loss of wealth of about $8 trillion would
be necessary just to bring these prices back to their normal long-term
trend.
Modesto Bee, CA
Negotiating the mortgage maze
Boston Globe, United States
Don't bail out buyers who made bad choices
Lynchburg News and Advance, VA
Loudoun County home values plummet $4B
(Washington DC)
Examiner.com
Beazer Exiting Mortgage Business
Houston Chronicle, United States
Beazer Homes USA Inc., one of the homebuilders hardest hit by the
housing crash, said Friday it will exit its mortgage origination
...
California: February Home Listing Prices
Plummet! (Charts)
USHousingUpdate
Friday, February 1, 2008
US Housing Market's a Mess, But Don't Fight the
Fed's Determination to Re-flate Asset Prices
The Market Oracle, UK
Home Depot Cuts 10% of Jobs at Atlanta Headquarters
(Update1)
Bloomberg
Shoppers have slowed purchases as their
home values declined and gasoline prices climbed to $3 a gallon.
Analysts predict Home Depot will have its first ...
Freakonomics Quorum: Is It Time to Believe in the
Housing Bubble?
New York Times Blogs, NY
Pulte's first loss in 58 years is $2.25 billion
Detroit Free Press, United
States
Desperate Home Sellers Turn to Home Staging for a
Competitive Edge
American Chronicle, CA
JPMorgan Scales Back Home-Equity Lending
TheStreet.com
... we cannot afford to be in a position
of lending at or above 100% loan-to-value, especially after accounting
for falling home prices," the memo said. ...
America's Most Overpriced Suburbs
Forbes, NY
Area foreclosures jump in January
(Manatee County, Florida)
Bradenton Herald, United
States
Federal Reserve Stimulation and Bush's War Pushing
Up Oil Profits
Nolan Chart LLC, VA
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