New FHA mortgage limits in California give Santa Clara, 13 other counties maximum $729,750
3/5/2008 [San Jose Mercury News]
WASHINGTON - The government today raised the mortgage limits for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration in 14 high-cost California counties.
C.A.R. reports sales decrease 29.8 percent, median home price falls 21.9 percent
2/28/2008 [C.A.R. Online News]
C.A.R. reports sales decrease 29.8 percent, median home price falls 21.9 percent
Even in Storied Napa Wine Country, Foreclosure Crisis Hits Home
[SFGate.com]
For many residents of this, one of the most storied valleys in the world, life is still a bowl of grapes. But beyond the picturesque vineyards and stonewalled estates, times are shaky, the future unclear.
Northern California’s Housing Market Remains Frozen
3/14/2008 [Housing Wire]
The waiting game between northern California’s Bay Area buyers, sellers and lending institutions continued last month as sales dipped below 4,000 for the second month in a row, a real estate information service reported Thursday.
Home sales, prices continue slide
3/13/2008 [SFGate.com]
Bay Area homes sales experienced another sluggish month in February and the median price dipped. Both were hammered by the credit crunch and an ongoing game of chicken between buyers and sellers…
Home building permits fall 66 percent
2/28/2008 [Sacramento Business Journal]
New-home building permits plummeted 66 percent last month in the Sacramento region, compared to January 2007, the latest evidence of a still-struggling housing market.
Centex, Pulte dump land in Rancho
3/9/2008 [Sacramento Business Journal]
Two of Sacramento's top builders have unloaded 250 acres approved for new homes in Rancho Cordova for 16 cents on the dollar -- the first major land sell-off in the capital area since housing sales collapsed last year.
February 2008 Sacramento region home sales and price trends
San Mateo County median home prices and sales
Sonoma: Sales down 44% - Price down 22%
Santa Clara County median home prices and sales
San Mateo County median home prices and sales
Southland home prices tumble fast
3/14/2008 [Los Angeles Times - Top News]
Region sees a 19% decline from the peak in less than a year. Experts predict a continuing slide. Southern California home prices are now 19%...
Downtown not the center of it all
3/13/2008 [L.A. Times - Business]
The residential boom many expected in an area with 'rough edges' didn't happen. Now, condo prices are skidding. Downtown Los Angeles has seen a...
Silver Lining in Downtown L.A. Downturn
3/13/2008 [Business Wire Construction & Property News]
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bucking the trend of downtown Los Angeles’ delayed developments, rising residential inventory and sagging home sales, The South
Case Shiller Housing Composite Negative for 2007
2/26/2008 [Seeking Alpha]
That's gonna leave a mark: Data through December 2007 for the Case-Shiller Home Price Index shows broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States.
Housing market slump likely to continue into 2009 - and that's without ...2/11/2008
Ivy Zelman's view of the US housing market is gloomy, but it's probably the most realistic. ... Housing market slump likely to continue into 2009 - and that's without a recession.
Housing Wire: Wells Fargo: 200+ Housing Markets are in Trouble
2/29/2008 [Housing Wire]
Wells Fargo & Co., the second largest mortgage lender in the U.S., said earlier this week that it was making changes to its lending guidelines in more than 200 housing markets spanning 24 states and Washington D.C. that it identified as either “soft,” “distressed,” or “severely distressed.”
3/6/2008 [San Jose Mercury News]
NEW YORK - Americans' percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time on record since 1945, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.
Calculated Risk: New Home Sales: Cliff Diving
2/27/2008 [Calculated Risk]
Click on graph for larger image. This graph shows New Home Sales vs. recessions for the last 45 years. New Home sales were falling prior to every recession, with the exception of the business investment led recession of 2001.
Where foreclosures > # of Homes Sold
3/1/2008 [The Big Picture]
Speaking of charts: Floyd Norris' always interesting Off the Charts column this week looks at foreclosures: "Mortgage foreclosure notices are going out so fast that in some states the number of new foreclosure proceedings each month is greater than the number of homes sold that month.
3/5/2008 [RealEstateJournal.com Residential Real Estate News]
A former Las Vegas resident has relocated to Phoenix and is renting out his home for less than his monthly mortgage payment. June Fletcher looks into whether he should sell now, or hold out until the housing market improves.
Freddie Mac CEO: Home Price Drops Only 1/3 Done
3/12/2008 [The Big Picture]
It's only one man's opinion, but Freddie Mac Chief Executive Office Richard Syron had some rather astounding comments to analysts today:
- HOME PRICE DROPS "ONLY" ONE THIRD DONE
- WE'RE IN A 100-YEAR STORM IN HOUSING
- US IS IN WORST HOUSING MARKET IN A CENTURY
- APARTMENT'S ROLE IN HOUSING TO BE "MUCH BIGGER"
Industry group: home foreclosures at record high
3/6/2008 [San Jose Mercury News]
WASHINGTON - Home foreclosures soared to an all-time high in the final quarter of last year and are likely to keep on rising, underscoring the suffering of distressed homeowners and the growing danger the housing meltdown poses for the economy.
3/20/08 [Wall Street Journal]
The fall in housing prices and mortgage values has exposed a serious flaw in the idea that private, shareholder-owned, government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) can be effective instruments of government policy.
3/19/2008 [WSJ]
Fannie and Freddie's regulator reduced the capital the firms must hold to 20% from 30% in an effort to help boost the ailing housing market. The move could provide up to $200 billion in immediate liquidity to the MBS market.
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3/13/2008 [CNN Money]
The credit crunch has finally hit the traditional mortgage market.
3/13/2008 [Housing Wire]
There aren’t many areas of the mortgage origination business that are booming, but one area — reverse mortgages — has seen high growth despite the industry downturn. And it’s now an area that financial experts are growing increasingly concerned about.
3/9/2008 [Financial Times]
Months into the subprime meltdown, economists and policymakers in the US seem no closer to agreement about what, if anything, to do.
Calculated Risk: NAHB on Housing: "Deepest, most rapid downswing since the Great Depression"
3/4/2008 [Calculated Risk]
From MarketWatch: Rapid deterioration Housing is in its "deepest, most rapid downswing since the Great Depression," the chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders said Wednesday
Single-Family Housing Starts Sink to a New Low
3/17/2008 [WSJ Real Estate Journal]
February single-family housing starts decreased 6.7% to 707,000. Building permits fell 7.8% to a 978,000 annual rate, the lowest level since September 1991.
Two Projects in Default Dog Big Home Builders
3/17/2008 [WSJ Real Estate Journal]
Massive Las Vegas projects involving Toll, KB Home and Lennar received default notices on about $765 million in debt.
Homebuilder Blues: NAHB/Wells Fargo Home Builder Ratings March 2008
3/17/2008 [Paper Economy Blog]
Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released their Housing Market Index (HMI) showing continued evidence that the new home market is experiencing a prolonged bout of depression
Woes mount for SunCal3/11/2008 [Orange County Register]
Irvine-based land developer faces rising claims from contractors, suppliers and lenders.
Toll Brothers Warns Of Risk Tied to Ventures
3/11/2008 [WSJ Real Estate Journal]
The company said it could suffer 'significant' losses if its joint-venture partners don't honor their obligations to certain development projects.
Lennar stock soars 8.68% on buyout rumors
2/26/2008 [SNL Exclusive]
Whispers in the market say a group from the United Arab Emirates may buy the Miami-based homebuilder, according to Reuters.Industries: Homebuilder Referenced Companies: Standard Pacific Corp., Centex Corp., Lennar Corp., Beazer Homes USA...
2/27/2008 [Calculated Risk]
“Months of supply" is at the highest level since 1981. Note that this doesn't include cancellations, but that was true for the earlier periods too.
Bankrupt Dunmore Homes liquidating assets
2/29/2008 [Sacramento Bee]
Bankrupt Granite Bay home builder Dunmore Homes appears headed for the scrapheap after more than a half century of building homes in the Sacramento area.
Research Commentary: New Home Inventories Slide
2/28/2008 [NAR Realtor.org]
Manager of Regional Economics Ken Fears discusses the latest new home inventory release.
2/21/2008 [Hanley Wood]
Although Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can now purchase and guarantee home loans of up to $729,750, they won't be traded in a key secondary market, limiting the prospect for sharply lower rates on "jumbo" mortgages.
A February Beatdown for the Size-Adjusted Median
3/7/2008 [Piggington’s Econo-Almanac]
Both median-based price indicators were thoroughly abused last month. Between January and February, the size-adjusted median price declined 5.7 percent for single family homes and 7.7 percent for condos. That's in one month, friends. Brutal.
2/26/2008 [Housing Wire]
U.S. home prices in the conforming mortgage market diverged sharply depending on whether the mortgage was a purchase or refinance transaction, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
Calculated Risk: We're all subprime now!
3/19/2008 [Calculated Risk]
From the BBC: The crunch bites deeper in the US (hat tip TMB) Kevin Logan of Dresdner Kleinwort, one of the less gloomy New York economists, summarizes the state of play as the credit crunch has spread to different types of assets…
Meme of the Day: 50% Housing Equity3/9/2008 4:17:40 AM [Housing Sector News and Analysis from Seeking Alpha] [Felix Salmon]
Mark Stein picked up on it Thursday; the WSJ splashed it across the front page Friday; Whitney Tilson has included it in his 75-page slide show entitled "Why We Are Still in the Early Innings of the Bursting of the Housing Bubble.”
The Mess That Greenspan Made: Why stop at reducing the principal?
3/4/2008 [TMTGM Blog]
Geez, they should just get right to the chase and start cutting checks for tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars for each homeowner who now owes more than their house is worth. And what about credit cards and auto loans?
Housing Wire: OFHEO: Home Prices Diverge Between Purchases, Refinancing Activity
2/26/2008 [Housing Wire]
U.S. home prices in the conforming mortgage market diverged sharply depending on whether the mortgage was a purchase or refinance transaction, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
Jumbo Mortgage Risk Will Topple the Teetering GSEs2/29/2008 [Seeking Alpha]
When President Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act into law making jumbo mortgages GSE insurable, he may have unwittingly pushed our GSEs, Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), already on tilt, over the edge.
2/27/2008 [Hot Property]
A new report from bond rating agency Standard & Poors says the finances of the nation’s largest cities should be able to withstand the housing slump. Yes, I know, S&P has been criticized for not calling all the trouble in subprime mortgages early enough.
Housing Wire: OFHEO: Home Prices Diverge Between Purchases, Refinancing Activity
2/26/2008 [Housing Wire]
U.S. home prices in the conforming mortgage market diverged sharply depending on whether the mortgage was a purchase or refinance transaction, according to data released Tuesday by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
