WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged by the largest amount in nearly nine years in February while the median price of a new home dropped for the fourth straight month, providing fresh evidence that the nation's once-booming housing market is cooling off.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes dropped by 10.5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 1.08 million homes. It was the second straight monthly decline and was much bigger than the small 2 percent dip that Wall Street was expecting.

The drop in new home sales followed news Thursday that sales of previously owned homes actually rose by a stronger-than-expected 5.2 percent last month following five straight monthly declines. Analysts said the trend in both reports pointed to a slowing housing market after five record-setting years.

The slowdown in sales was putting pressure on prices. The median price of a new home sold last month dropped to $230,400, down by 1.6 percent from January and off 2.9 percent from February 2005. The median is the mid-point where half the homes sold for more and half for less.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060324/economy.html?.v=11

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The housing market will likely level out in 2006, as sales of existing and new homes are expected to cool in the coming quarters, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales are expected to fall 6 percent to 6.65 million in 2006, compared with 7.08 million in 2005, the NAR said Tuesday.

Demand for new homes is expected to fall off as well, with sales forecast to fall 10.9 percent, to 1.14 million this year, compared with a record 1.28 million last year.

But based on those projections for 2006, both the new home and existing home sectors would see their third-best year, following the booming markets of 2005 and 2004, the trade group said.

Prices for new and existing homes are also expected to slow from their previous rate of growth, while still maintaining steady rates of increase over the course of the year.

The median price for existing homes should climb 6.4 percent in 2006 to $221,700, while new home prices are forecast to increase at a lower rate of 2.3 percent this year to $242,700.

"Although housing inventories have been improving, the balance is still a bit more favorable for sellers and annual appreciation remains in double-digit (percentage) territory," NAR President Thomas M. Stevens said. "Even so, the market is in a process of normalization -- appreciation will return to normal single-digit patterns."

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060411/home_sales_outlook.html?.v=2

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rates on 30-year mortgages marched up this week to their highest point in nearly four years, a factor that is taking some oomph out of the housing market.Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that for the week ending April 20, rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.53 percent, up from 6.49 percent last week.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060420/mortgage_rates.html?.v=3

Home sales unexpectedly rose and U.S. consumer confidence reached a four-year high, allaying concerns about a collapse in housing and pointing to sustained economic growth.

Home purchases increased 0.3 percent in March to an annual rate of 6.92 million, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The Conference Board's confidence index climbed to 109.6 in April, higher than the most optimistic forecast among economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aLm11rrWLcxs&refer=us

This is a fine article:

Joe Mysak
May 10 (Bloomberg) -- States and localities are going to raise cigarette taxes, sell more assets like toll roads, make gambling legal where it's not already, and rely more on revenue and special assessment debt as the housing boom goes bust, and property taxes dwindle.

These are a few of the more likely conclusions to the nation's 13-year real-estate boom, according to a new Merrill Lynch & Co. report on the housing bubble's implications for the municipal bond market.

The 40-page report by Kurt van Kuller is a nice antidote to the inevitable hysteria surrounding the end of the bull market in real estate. Anyone who has visited a bookstore or magazine stand lately has seen the usual crop of alarmist titles and headlines screaming about how we are all going to go broke.

Hysterics make good storytellers and lousy forecasters.

``The unprecedented surge of inflation-adjusted housing prices is unsustainable,'' writes analyst van Kuller. ``Whether the national housing markets are due for a crash is another question. Unlike stock prices, house prices tend to resist rapid downdrafts.''

What are we really in for? Slow deflation, says van Kuller, along with some regional busts.

Price Appreciation

This report is stuffed with useful charts and tables that illustrate the housing boom. One of the more interesting charts compares the 10 states (van Kuller also adds the District of Columbia to the list of states) that had the most house-price appreciation from 2000 to 2005 with the 10 states that showed the least price appreciation.

The District of Columbia ranks first. Prices have more than doubled there over the five-year period. California, Hawaii, Florida, Nevada, Maryland, Rhode Island, Arizona, New Jersey, Virginia and New York follow. This, presumably, is where to look for housing prices to fall.

The 10 states with the least price appreciation are Tennessee, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Indiana. The market in those states is far from depressed -- prices have gone up more than 20 percent in all of them. Nobody expects a real estate bust to grip those states.

Then analyst van Kuller considers the 30 metropolitan statistical areas that have shown the biggest price increases in 2005. Phoenix prices rose almost 40 percent last year, but the city, he says, didn't show up in the top ranks previously.

`Fits and Starts'

``This underscores the somewhat rolling, transient nature of this housing boom,'' writes van Kuller. ``Prices seem to leap in fits and starts in some areas.''

Perhaps more disconcerting is the table listing the top metropolitan statistical areas with the highest price appreciation in the five years ended Dec. 31, 2005.

Only one of the top 30 isn't in California or Florida. Madera, California, incidentally, leads the way, with a 143.72 percent increase during the period. The only place outside of California or Florida to crack the top 30 is Washington- Arlington-Alexandria, the nation's capital and environs.

The big picture about the housing ``bubble'' is that there is no big picture. There are hundreds of little ones, and they're all different. Not everyone is going to be affected in the same way or to the same extent.

Property Tax Dependency

What kinds of bonds would be most vulnerable to a swoon in housing prices? School districts are the most dependent upon property taxes. Before you go weeding all school district bonds out of your holdings, though, consider that not all school districts rely on localities in the same way. In Nevada, for example, schools rely upon local property taxes for 61 percent of their revenue; in North Carolina, that figure is 25.2 percent.

In addition, 25 states have credit enhancement programs for school districts, with the states either promising to appropriate money to make up shortfalls in debt service, or offering to intercept state aid to make debt service payments. And of course not all school districts in a state either qualify or avail themselves of such programs. The municipal market is full of peculiarities and exceptions.

We are on steadier ground if we think about the housing bubble in terms of what it may mean for property taxes, says van Kuller, and even here, the story is peppered with ``ifs.''

If house prices decline, some municipalities may adjust property taxes downward. If they raise tax rates to offset valuation declines, we might see a lot more taxpayer revolts. Likewise, we may see municipalities look to diversify their revenue with higher cigarette taxes, sales of public assets like toll roads, and liberalization of gambling laws.

Finally, we can probably look for the muni market's inherent weirdness to increase. This notably occurred in California after the passage of the Proposition 13 cap on property tax increases, approved by the voters in 1978. Municipalities will concoct dozens of new ways to borrow money not secured by property taxes, almost none of which will be easily comprehensible by the public. The housing bubble's future isn't hysterical. It's messy.

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_mysak&sid=apzTTjXHe7Qs

May 10 – Bloomberg (Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam and Mike Schneider): “Rents for U.S. offices and apartments will rise faster than inflation over the next three to four years as the economy expands and mortgage rates increase, said Sam Zell, the billionaire real estate investor. Office rents may rise 7.5 percent a year on demand from companies adding employees, Zell, 64, said today in an interview. Apartment rents may climb 6 percent to 7 percent annually… ‘We’re in a situation right now where we’ve come through three years of low rents… It’s going the other way as occupancy is increasing across the country in response to a strong economy.’”
http://www.prudentbear.com/creditbubblebulletin.asp

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Real estate gains came to an abrupt halt in the first quarter of 2006, with the median price of a U.S. home falling 3.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005, according to a report released Monday morning.

Prices were basically flat or lower during the quarter as inventories of houses for sale rose and their time spent on the market lengthened, according to a survey of 149 markets by the National Association of Realtors.

Prices overall were still up 10.3 percent from a year earlier. NAR compares prices year-over-year to remove seasonal effects in home prices. Homes sold in the second and third quarters, for example, tend to be of slightly bigger average size and slightly more expensive. But most of that gain was recorded in the first two quarters of the 12-month period.

Sixty markets recorded double-digit gains from a year earlier and 16 metro areas experienced price declines.

In the first quarter, however, median prices nationwide fell from $225,300 in the fourth quarter of 2005, to $217,900, a drop of 3.3 percent.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/15/real_estate/NAR_firstQ2005_home_prices/index.htm

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday that Americans' consumption could taper off somewhat now that the U.S. housing market's "extraordinary boom" has ended.

Greenspan, in his first public U.S. speech since retiring in January from a storied tenure leading the Fed, predicted there is no danger of a total collapse of the housing market.

His comments come on speculation the Fed could pause its cycle of rate hikes as a housing slowdown feeds a cooling of the U.S. economy.

"This has been quite an extraordinary boom," Greenspan said in remarks at the Bond Market Association's 30th anniversary dinner in New York. "Home sales are off, applications are off, everything is going in the same direction. The boom is over, and you can say that with a fairly strong degree of confidence."

Greenspan said he doesn't see home prices falling on a national basis, but instead in certain areas of the country. He warned reduced access of Americans to equity loan extraction would have an economic impact, which has had an "important effect" in stimulating the economy.

The housing market has been one of the economy's biggest economic drivers, racking up record-high sales five years in a row. Rapid appreciation in home prices has helped power consumer spending, boosting the economy.

Federal Reserve officials -- including current Chairman Ben Bernanke -- came out swinging Thursday in a series of speeches to assuage inflation fears. The Fed, which boosted rates last week for the 16th straight time to 5 percent, has left its options open in terms of future rate decisions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060518/greenspan_speech.html?.v=4

HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) -- Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal second-quarter profit edged up 3 percent, but the company warned that excess inventory and weak consumer confidence will crimp earnings for the year.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060523/earns_toll_bros.html?.v=6

May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae's growth ``should be limited'' after almost $11 billion in accounting mistakes, the largest U.S. mortgage finance company's federal regulator said today in a report on the errors.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight's report on its 27-month investigation concluded that Fannie Mae's appearance of a ``best in class'' company was an illusion and its board of directors failed to act independently of the chairman and chief executive officer. It also said certain senior managers of Fannie Mae attempted to interfere with the investigation.

The probe of the accounting errors, which led to the ouster in December 2004 of Chairman and Chief Executive Franklin Raines, may provide momentum to legislation creating a tougher regulator for Fannie Mae and the smaller Freddie Mac, which in 2003 disclosed $5 billion in accounting mistakes.

This report ``may be just the catalyst needed to resolve the stalemated'' legislation, said Robert Lacoursiere, an analyst at Banc of America Securities LLC in New York, in a research report. He declined further comment when reached by phone.

Fannie Mae's $721 billion in mortgage holdings generate about two-thirds of its profit. The portfolio limit recommendation would stay in place until the company meets certain, unspecified, safety and soundness guidelines.

Ofheo director James Lockhart will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. Washington time, and Fannie Mae will hold a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Ofheo regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and is a division of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&refer=news_index&sid=aFrpdBr9W7t8

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes rose unexpectedly in April to the fastest pace this year as the housing sector showed resilience in the face of rising mortgage rates. But the price of homes sold last month fell and the level of unsold homes rose to a record high.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.198 million units, the highest rate since last December.

The pace of activity caught economists by surprise. They had been expecting a decline in sales, reflecting the fact that mortgage rates have been climbing in recent weeks and now stand at the highest level in nearly four years.

In other economic news, orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods fell in April by the largest amount in three months as aircraft orders plunged and demand for computers and other electronic products dropped by the largest amount in nearly six years.

The Commerce Department reported that demand for airplanes, appliances and other durable goods decreased by 4.8 percent last month, much larger than Wall Street had been expecting. Orders had posted strong gains of 6.6 percent in March and 3.6 percent in February.

The unexpected jump in April home sales was not likely to change the overall view that the booming housing industry is beginning to cool off after setting sales records for five straight years.

Even with the increase in the April sales pace, the median price of a new home sold in April dropped by 7.3 percent from the March level to $238,500. That represented a 0.9 percent increase over the $236,300 median sales price in April 2005, far below the double-digit price gains sellers had been enjoying during the recent sales boom.

The backlog of unsold homes rose by 2.4 percent to a new record of 565,000 homes on the market at the end of April. At the April sales pace, it would take 5.8 months to deplete that backlog.

Economists believe the slowdown in housing will be gradual as long as inflation pressures remain moderate enough to allow the Federal Reserve to soon take a pause in its two-year campaign to push interest rates higher.

A nationwide survey by mortgage giant Freddie Mac showed that rates on 30-year mortgages climbed to 6.60 percent last week, the highest level since late June 2002.

For April, home sales were strong in all parts of the country except the Midwest, where sales fell by 1.1 percent, the second straight monthly declines. Sales were up 8.2 percent in the Northeast, reflecting a rebound after a drop of 7.6 percent in March. Sales were up 7.8 percent in the South and 2 percent in the West.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060524/economy.html?.v=7

NEW YORK (AP) -- Low-ball bidders, persnickety buyers and cancellations are now the rule in once-hot housing markets. Rising interest rates and sky-high home prices have cooled real-estate investment, "particularly in high-end markets in some juiced-up parts of the country where speculation was most rampant," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

The record low interest rates and speculators that once drove prices higher are gone. Observers expect housing prices to stagnate or decline slightly, though a steep crash for housing prices is unlikely. As the market slows, both builders and buyers are getting used to the changes.

On a recent conference call, Ara K. Hovnanian, the president and chief executive officer of homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said that real estate investors "have largely pulled out."

"Investors were a bigger part of the market than many thought, including ourselves," said Hovnanian, whose company builds primarily in the Northeast. Would-be flippers are not only not buying new properties, they're selling what they already own, adding to the record number of homes already on the market.

Stocks in the sector have fallen dramatically. Hovnanian, for instance, is trading near $30 a share, down from its 52-week high of $73.40. Rival Toll Brothers Inc. trades around $27 a share, down from a 52-week high of $58.67.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060612/market_spotlight_housing_prices.html?.v=2

http://agonist.org/20060613/administration_starting_special_reviews_of_fannie_mae_freddie_mac

NEW YORK (AP) -- As more hybrid adjustable rate mortgages adjust upward and housing prices dip, many Americans can't refinance out of this squeeze. They are finding themselves trapped in too-high monthly payments, and some face foreclosures.

In 2003, Anita Britten refinanced her two-story brick cottage in Lithonia, Ga. using a hybrid adjustable rate mortgage, or ARM. Her lender reassured her that she could refinance out of the riskier loan into a traditional one when her interest rate started to reset.

Three years later, Britten can't get a new mortgage and her monthly payment has jumped by a third in six months. She can't afford her payments and may face foreclosure if her financial situation doesn't change.

For those who can't make their payments, foreclosure is the only way out.

Foreclosure figures just released by the Mortgage Bankers Association show that foreclosure activity fell in the first quarter of 2006 over the first quarter of 2005 for all loan categories except subprime loans. The MBA didn't specify how many of subprime loans were adjustable rate mortgages.

In the last several years, millions of Americans took equity out of their houses and refinanced when interest rates were at historical lows and housing prices were at record highs.

Many of them chose to refinance into hybrid ARMs that lenders were aggressively pushing. ARMs, which featured a low introductory interest rate that resets upward after a set period of time, were easier to qualify for than traditional fixed-rate loans.

ARMs are now starting to fall by the wayside as the difference in interest rates narrows. The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate loan in May was 6.60 percent compared to 5.63 percent on a one-year ARM, according to Freddie Mac. In 2003, rates on a 30-year fixed were at 6.54 percent, while ARMs carried a 3.76 percent rate.

This year, more than $300 billion worth of hybrid ARMs will readjust for the first time. That number will jump to approximately $1 trillion in 2007, according to the MBA. Monthly payments will leap too, many beyond what homeowners can afford.

For example, Britten's monthly payment jumped from $1,079 to $1,340 at the beginning of this year. It rose again on June 1 by another $104 and is scheduled to increase again in December. Britten, who is also paying off student loans, went to a credit counseling service to help her avoid foreclosure.

"I've gotten rid of all my credit cards and I'm not supposed to refinance for another year," she said. "All I can do is tread water right now."

"ARMs are a ticking time bomb," said Brad Geisen, president and chief executive of property tracker Foreclosure.com. "Through 2006 and 2007, I'm pretty sure we'll see a high volume of foreclosures."

Last year, foreclosures hit a historical low nationwide at about 50,000. But that number has more than doubled since then, according to Foreclosure.com.

And delinquency rates appear to be rising, as well. While delinquency rates fell for most types of loans from the fourth quarter of 2005 because of a stronger economy, delinquencies for both prime and subprime ARM loans increased year-over-year in the first quarter, according to the MBA.

The hardest hit states so far are those that have experienced the roughest times economically. Michigan, Texas and Georgia lead the pack, specifically around Detroit, Dallas and Atlanta, whose major employers have run into strikes, bankruptcies and industry downturns.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060619/foreclosure.html?.v=4

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Construction of new homes and apartments, after posting three straight months of declines, increased in May, helped by dry weather.

The Commerce Department reported that builders started construction at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.957 million units last month, an increase of 5 percent from the April construction pace. The better-than-expected increase came after declines of 5.5 percent in April, 7.5 percent in March and 5.9 percent in February.

For May, construction of new single-family homes was up 2.1 percent to an annual rate of 1.586 million units while construction of multifamily units was up an even stronger 19.7 percent to an annual rate of 371,000 units.

The strength in May was led by a 15.8 percent jump in construction activity in the West. Construction rose by 8.5 percent in the South and was up by 1.7 percent in the Northeast. However, construction fell by 15.8 percent in the Midwest.

The National Association of Home Builders reported Monday that its builder confidence index fell in June to a reading of 42, the lowest point in 11 years.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060620/economy.html?.v=7

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage rates rose this week with 30-year mortgages climbing to the highest level in more than four years on investor fears about inflation. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages rose to a nationwide average of 6.71 percent, up from 6.63 percent last week.

It was the highest level for 30-year mortgages since they averaged 6.76 the week of May 31, 2002.

The housing sector is slowing this year under the impact of rising mortgage rates after five boom years powered by the lowest mortgage rates in four decades. Analysts are predicting that sales of new and existing homes will decline by more than 10 percent as higher mortgage rates make home ownership more costly.

A variety of mortgage types saw rates increase this week, gains that were attributed to growing worries about inflation and the likely reaction to those concerns at the Federal Reserve.

The Fed meets next week and financial markets now view it as a virtual certainty that the central bank will boost rates for a 17th consecutive time.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060622/mortgage_rates.html?.v=4

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes rose in May, surprising economists who had been forecasting that housing would slow down because of rising mortgage rates.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes increased by 4.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.234 million units. The median price of homes sold did decline to $235,300, a drop of 4.3 percent from the April sales price.

Analysts are still looking for sales of both new and existing homes to fall by around 10 percent this year as rising mortgage rates crimp demand. The lowest mortgage rates in four decades helped to propel sales to five straight annual records.

The 4.6 percent increase in sales pushed the sales rate to the highest level since last December and followed increases of 5.9 percent in April and 7.3 percent in March. The previous months' increases had been helped by unusually mild weather.

For May, sales were up in all parts of the country except the Northeast, which posed a 7.9 percent decline to an annual rate of 58,000 units.

Sales were up 6 percent in the South to an annual rate of 669,000. Sales rose by 5.3 percent in the West to an annual rate of 317,000 units and were up 2.7 percent in the Midwest to an annual rate of 190,000 units.

The increase in sales in May pushed the number of unsold new homes left on the market at the end of the month down slightly to 556,000 units, down slightly from the all-time high of 560,000 homes for sale at the end of May. It would take 5.5 months to exhaust the current inventory of homes at the May sales pace.

Economists believe that the huge backlog of unsold homes will put further downward pressure on prices in coming months.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060626/economy.html?.v=8

July 3 (Bloomberg) -- The biggest global housing boom in three decades may end not with a bang, but with an extended whimper that will keep the economy growing.

Markets for dwellings in the U.S., France, Spain, New Zealand and parts of China are coming off the boil as home-price inflation slows in response to higher interest rates. So far, the rise in borrowing costs has been modest, giving builders and buyers time to adjust.

``We're seeing a cooling-off of the housing market,'' says Raghuram Rajan, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. ``We haven't seen a bust.''

Housing prices in industrial countries have doubled in real terms in a decade, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates, raising the prospect of a quick reversal. If prices ease rather than collapse, the world economic expansion may be able to continue without sustaining too much damage.

``The global economy should remain buoyant,'' says Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of Lexington, Massachusetts-based consultant Global Insight Inc. He sees world growth slowing to 3.3 percent next year from 3.8 percent in 2006 as housing cools.

The moderation in housing should help bring world trade back into better balance. The boom has been concentrated in countries with big trade deficits: In the U.S., consumers have used the equity in their homes to finance a spending spree that included imported consumer goods. As the boom ebbs and consumers pull back, trade deficits will shrink again.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a9.evfIeeVxI&refer=news

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing homes fell in June for the eighth time in the past 10 months while home prices edged up at the slowest pace in more than a decade -- more signs that the housing market has slowed dramatically.

The National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes and condominiums dropped 1.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.62 million units.

The median price of a home sold last month was $231,000. That was up 0.9 percent from June 2005 and represented the smallest year-over-year price gain since May 1995.

The 1.3 percent decline, which was in line with expectations, represented the third drop in a row and the eighth in the past 10 months as the nation's once-booming housing market has shifted to a slower pace in the face of rising mortgage rates.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060725/home_sales.html?.v=6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes fell in June by the largest amount in four months while the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a record high, providing further evidence that the once-booming housing sector is slowing.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that new home sales dropped by 3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 1.131 million units. It marked the first drop since an 11.5 percent plunge in February.

Sales of both new and existing homes set records for five consecutive years as the housing industry enjoyed a boom powered by the lowest mortgage rates in four decades. But rates have been steadily rising this year as the Federal Reserve tightens credit conditions as a way to slow the economy and keep inflation under control. Analysts are looking for home sales to drop by around 10 percent this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060727/economy.html?.v=10

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Mortgage giant Fannie Mae on Wednesday informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it would not be able to file its financial report for the second quarter on time.

The company did not request a five-day extension beyond the Aug. 9 due date, saying it would not meet that deadline either. Fannie Mae, the largest financer and guarantor of home mortgages in the country, said its restatement of past results due to accounting errors, and its review of internal accounting controls, has prevented the company from completing its second-quarter financial statements.

In May, Fannie Mae was fined $400 million in a settlement with the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight and the SEC, after regulators found that the company manipulated accounting so executives could collect millions in bonuses from 1998 to 2004 that also resulted in the restatement of $11 billion in earnings.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060809/fannie_mae_delayed_report.html?.v=3

HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) -- Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter sales dipped slightly, signaling further cooling in the housing market. The company also lowered fiscal fourth-quarter delivery expectations. Toll Brothers shares were down 80 cents, 3 percent, to $25.78 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Toll Brothers' revenue slipped 0.6 percent to $1.53 billion in the period ending July 31 compared to $1.54 billion last year. Sales headed lower in the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and California markets, while revenue was up in the Northeast, Southeast and Southwest.

The number of signed contracts slipped to 1,473 units versus 2,857 units during the same period last year. Total contract amounts tumbled 45 percent to $1.05 billion from $1.92 billion. The amount of contracts received declined across all geographic regions.

Toll Brothers' backlog of homes yet to be built also headed lower, to 8,044 units from 9,727 units for the year-ago period. Backlog totals sagged to $5.59 billion from $6.43 billion, with the slowdown seen in all geographic regions.

The company expects to deliver between 2,500 and 2,800 homes in the fourth quarter compared to previous guidance of 2,900 to 3,300. For the full fiscal year, Toll Brothers said it will deliver between 8,600 and 8,900 homes.

"Many anxious consumers are delaying their purchase decisions as they wonder about the direction of home prices," said Chairman and Chief Executive Robert I. Toll. But he added that with interest rates "still relatively low" and the economy "basically healthy ... we believe that once the current oversupply of homes is absorbed and buyers become confident that home prices have stabilized, the market will return to firm footing."

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060809/toll_brothers_sales.html?.v=1

are trying to bottom against some tough fundamendals:

http://agonist.org/bonddad/20060817/more_housing_news_it_aint_good

A long term chart of a company like D.R.Horton gives some pause.

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=DHI&t=5y

Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Home sales dropped to a two-year low in July, putting housing at the epicenter of the emerging U.S. growth slowdown, economists project a pair of reports to show this week.

Sales of new and previously owned homes probably fell 1.2 percent during the month to an annual rate of 7.66 million, the fewest since February 2004. Orders to factories for durable goods, such as furniture and autos, also dropped.

Rising mortgage rates and still-high prices have made buying a home the least affordable in almost two decades. Fewer sales and less construction may make it possible for Federal Reserve officials to keep holding interest rates steady after ending a two-year run of rate increases earlier this month.

Housing ``is in full-fledged retreat, threatening the broader economy,'' said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. ``The weakness we are seeing in housing is one of the principle factors why the Fed paused and is one reason why they are likely to remain on hold.''

Sales of new homes fell to an annual rate of 1.1 million in July from 1.131 million a month earlier, economists expect a Commerce Department report on Aug. 24 to show.

Purchases of existing homes, to be reported by the National Association of Realtors Aug. 23, likely dropped to a 6.55 million pace from 6.62 million in June. Previously owned homes account for about 85 percent of the market and new houses the rest.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=anYLltBvz8_4&refer=home

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Lowe's Cos., the nation's second-largest home-improvement chain, said Monday that its second-quarter profit rose 11 percent. But its shares tumbled 4 percent as it cut its full-year earnings outlook, saying higher energy prices and a slowing housing market are crimping consumer spending.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060821/earns_lowe_s.html?.v=10

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House hunters shied away from buying in July, driving down sales of previously owned homes to a 2 1/2-year low. The inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high.

Existing-home sales dropped 4.1 percent in July from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million units, the National Association of Realtors reported. That was the lowest level since January 2004.

The latest snapshot of housing activity was weaker than analysts anticipated. Economists were forecasting the pace of sales to fall to 6.55 million.

Although sales prices for homes are no longer bounding ahead, some prospective buyers are still waiting for better deals -- another factor in the weak showing, economists said.

"Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some kicking the tires but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms," said David Lereah, the association's chief economist.

The median nationwide price of a home sold last month was $230,000, up just 0.9 percent from the same month last year. The median price is the middle point, where half sell for more and half sell for less.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060823/economy.html?.v=13

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. home prices may fall for the first time since 1993 as a record number of homes for sale gives buyers the upper hand in negotiations, the National Association of Realtors said.

``We'll probably see prices dip temporarily below year-ago levels as the market works through a build up in housing inventory,'' David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said in a report released today in Washington by the real estate industry's largest trade group. He didn't provide a monthly median estimate.

The inventory of new and existing homes for sale has swelled to record levels as the five-year U.S. housing boom comes to an end. Shares of U.S. homebuilders slid almost 6 percent in the last two days as Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. reported a 34 percent reduction in earnings, followed by Beazer Homes USA Inc. and KB Home both lowering their earnings forecasts.

Short-term housing investors, so-called ``flippers,'' are putting their properties up for sale, making for ``an increasingly challenging housing market,'' KB Home Chief Executive Bruce Karatz said in a statement yesterday that detailed the builder's 43 percent drop in new orders.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aefAetYdQM3k&refer=home

http://agonist.org/bonddad/20060908/housing_the_really_bad_news_continues

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Housing construction plunged in August, falling to the lowest level in more than three years as the once-booming industry showed further signs of a dramatic slowdown.

The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of new homes and apartments fell by 6 percent, the third consecutive decline and a much bigger setback than analysts had been forecasting.

The weakness pushed the annual rate for construction down to 1.665 million units, the slowest pace since April 2003.

Meanwhile, wholesale prices edged up a modest 0.1 percent in August, and outside of energy and food, prices actually fell for a second straight month. That hadn't occurred in more than three years, the Labor Department said.

Analysts said the slowdown in inflation should reassure the Federal Reserve that it can continue to keep interest rates on hold. Fed policymakers meet on Wednesday for their first discussions since they voted in August to leave rates unchanged after 17 consecutive rate hikes.

The central bank is trying to slow the economy enough to keep inflation under control while at the same time not bring on a recession. However, the sharp drop in housing raised concerns about a more severe slowdown.

"Housing has just fallen off a precipice," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, who said he believed the central bank would discuss this slowdown in the statement it releases after Wednesday's meeting.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060919/economy.html?.v=7

http://agonist.org/bonddad/20060922/housing_a_picture_is_worth_1000_words#new

The median price of a previously owned home dropped 1.7 percent in August from the same month last year, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Purchases dropped 0.5 percent to an annual rate of 6.3 million.

Sellers may have to keep lowering prices after the supply of homes on the market jumped to the highest in more than 13 years. Falling prices will make it harder for consumers to tap the equity in their homes, a major source of cash in recent years. That may pose a risk to their spending, which makes up 70 percent of the economy.

``There is worse news in the pipeline,'' said Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York. ``With inventory still rising, there is no chance of any short-term relief. Prices and volumes have a long way to fall yet.''

The report suggests that price-cutting may have cushioned the decline in sales, which fell less than economists forecast. Resales were expected to drop 2.1 percent to an annual rate of 6.2 million, the median estimate of 58 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.

The price decline ``should be viewed in the context of the 111 percent leap that occurred from early 1995 through this summer,'' said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc., a New York forecasting firm. ``It should not be a huge shock that we are seeing a price correction.''

Mortgage Applications

Applications to buy homes have stabilized in recent weeks. The Mortgage Bankers Association's index has increased 5.9 percent since the last week of August, when it dropped to the lowest level since November 2003.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 11/32, pushing down the yield 5 basis points to 4.54 percent, at 12 p.m. in New York. Stocks declined.

Federal Reserve policy makers, who last week held interest rates steady for a second month, expect housing will cool gradually to slow the economy and help curb inflation.

``We have a serious correction taking place in the housing sector,'' Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said at a speech today in Monterrey, Mexico.

The median price of a previously owned home declined to $225,000 last month from $228,000 in the same month a year ago, the first decrease since April 1995.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXNcVxgbhRXI&refer=worldwide

By Craig Torres and Scott Lanman

Oct. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. housing market is in a ``substantial correction'' that will lop about a percentage point off economic growth in the second half and restrain the expansion next year.

The Fed chairman also said in response to questions after a speech in Washington that the central bank remains ``concerned about inflation'' because it remains above ``what we would consider price stability.''

Taken together, the remarks reaffirm the view of some investors that the central bank will keep the benchmark lending rate unchanged at 5.25 percent for the remainder of the year. Stocks extended their advance after his comments and Treasury notes remained higher. Yields on Eurodollar futures suggest the Fed will reduce its rate a quarter point by June.

``There is currently a substantial correction going on in the housing market,'' Bernanke said. The decline in residential housing construction is one of the ``major drags that is causing the economy to slow.''

Bernanke ``broadcast the fact that the Fed is not interested in raising rates from here on out,'' said Michael Farr, president and founder of Washington-based Farr, Miller & Washington LLC which manages more than $475 million. Those were ``cautious words. They are not going to take the action.''

The Federal Open Market Committee has left the federal funds rate unchanged since August, following two years of increases, betting on an internal forecast that slowing growth and a decline in energy prices will reduce inflation. FOMC officials next meet Oct. 24-25.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aoy7is_Gdg4o&refer=home

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped on an annual basis by the largest amount on record, further documenting a lukewarm housing market.
The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell by 1.9 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.18 million units, the slowest sales rate since January 2004.

The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5 percent from the price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price decline in records going back nearly four decades.

Housing, which had set sales records for both new and existing homes for five consecutive years, has been rapidly loosing altitude this year, as consumers were battered by rising mortgage rates, soaring energy prices and a slowing economy.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/10/25/D8KVN3000.html

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- H&R Block Inc. may sell its mortgage unit and will close more than a third of its branches amid a slump in U.S. home sales. The company slashed the top end of its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year by 22 percent.

Profit will be $1.20 to $1.45 during the fiscal year that ends April 30, compared with a previous forecast of $1.60 to $1.85, Kansas City, Missouri-based H&R Block said in a statement. All of the cut was attributed to the mortgage unit, which will close 12 of 33 branch offices over the next four months. An unspecified number of jobs at Option One will be eliminated, said spokesman Ron Iori.

``A potential separation of Option One would enable H&R Block to further focus management resources on its core businesses,'' Chief Executive Officer Mark Ernst said in the statement. H&R Block is the largest U.S. tax preparer.

Brokerage firms including Merrill Lynch & Co. and Morgan Stanley have been buying mortgage lenders this year to give themselves a steady supply of home loans that they can repackage into securities and sell to clients seeking interest income. The slump in U.S. home sales has encouraged banks and other lenders to shed mortgage units.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZItjvz0y55I&refer=worldwide

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

By Joe Richter

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Housing starts in the U.S. tumbled in October to the lowest level in more than six years, raising the prospect that the economy will be further weakened after growing last quarter at the slowest pace since 2003.

Builders broke ground on new dwellings at an annual rate of 1.486 million, down 14.6 percent from September, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Building permits dropped to a 1.535 million pace, a record ninth straight decline and the lowest since December 1997.

The larger-than-expected drop raises the prospect that the worst isn't over for the residential property market, which is enduring its biggest slump in 15 years. The report also casts doubt on the Federal Reserve's assumption that the housing slide hasn't yet spilled over to the rest of the economy.

``This is a shocking number,'' said Phillip Neuhart, an economist at Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. ``The market is going to remain weak well into next year.''

St. Louis Fed President William Poole told an audience in Wilmington, Delaware, on Nov. 14 that policy makers are paying ``special attention'' to housing, and that he's concerned about the number of would-be purchases being canceled. A day earlier, minutes of the central bank's October meeting said housing's troubles hadn't translated into a broader economic downturn.

Treasury notes gained after the report, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year note down 7 basis points to 4.60 percent as of 3:29 p.m. in New York. The dollar fell and the Standard and Poor's Supercomposite Homebuilding Index declined 1.1 points to at 654.88.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=af99bT7ZaoSc&refer=us

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Nov. 28, 2006 — Existing-home sales picked up slightly in October after home sellers slashed prices to create the largest year-over-year drop in median sale price in 40 years.

The National Association of Realtors says that sales of pre-owned homes increased last month by 0.5 percent.

The existing-homes sales report released this morning shows that Americans were buying homes at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 6.24 million during October.

This is slightly more than the consensus estimate of economists (6.20 million), but the growth came at a price.

Broad-based price reductions are bringing buyers into the market.

Today's report shows that the median price of a home sold was $221,000 during October. That's 3.5 percent below the level from a year ago — the biggest year-over-year price drop in the more than 40-year history of the report.

It's also the third month in a row where year-over-year price comparisons have been negative — the longest stretch of prices drops that's been measured.

"After a period of price adjustment, we'll see more confidence in the market, and a lift to home sales should be apparent in the first quarter of 2007," said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/IndustryInfo/story?id=2684294&page=1

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fannie Mae erased $6.3 billion in profit in a long-awaited restatement Wednesday capping the accounting scandal that stunned financial markets and brought the ouster of top executives and a record fine against the government-sponsored mortgage leader.

The correction of its earnings from 2001 through June 30, 2004, ordered by the Securities and Exchange Commission two years ago, was well below Fannie Mae's earlier estimate of $10.8 billion. The reworking of its accounting is costing the company some $1 billion this year to conduct. It is the first earnings statement filed by Fannie Mae, which finances one of every five home loans in the United States, since late 2004.

The scandal erupted in the fall of that year when federal regulators accused Washington-based Fannie Mae -- with its long-standing prestige, vaunted political clout and reputation for financial excellence -- of serious accounting problems and earnings manipulation to meet Wall Street targets.

Fannie Mae on Wednesday announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to 40 cents from 26 cents.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061206/fannie_mae.html?.v=14

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- The worst of the U.S. housing slump is over, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes will grow at an annual rate of 6.29 million in the first quarter, snapping five consecutive quarterly declines, the industry's largest trade group said today. New-home sales, about 15 percent of the market, won't recover until 2007's fourth quarter when transactions will grow to an annualized rate of 967,000 after bottoming at 944,000 in the third quarter, Chicago-based NAR said.

Falling mortgage rates have fueled hopes the housing market would rebound and bolster U.S. economic growth after demand slumped for most of 2006. Home sales and ancillary purchases such as furniture account for 23 percent of gross domestic product, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

``There's a consensus emerging that the beginning of the recovery is probably going to be 2007,'' Todd Vencil, an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia, said in a telephone interview. ``The spring selling season is going to be crucial in determining exactly when it begins.''

The so-called spring selling season ranges from March to June and is the time when more than half of all U.S. home resales occur. The busiest time for the new-home market starts earlier, in February, as it takes about six months to build a typical house and most families want to move before the school year starts in September.

Median Prices

The median price for a previously owned home probably will be $222,600 this year, up 1.4 percent from 2005, and $224,700 in 2007, a gain of 1 percent. The median price for a new house probably will fall 0.5 percent to $239,700 this year and gain 0.8 percent to $241,700 in 2007, Lereah said.

Freddie Mac, the No. 2 mortgage buyer, said last week the housing market probably will rebound in the fourth quarter of 2007. Fannie Mae, the largest mortgage buyer, doesn't expect home resales to gain until 2008's second quarter, according to its latest forecast, issued Nov. 15.

``Three to five years may pass before housing starts and home sales return to their peaks,'' John Lonski, chief economist for Moody's Investors Service, said in a telephone interview. Sales of existing homes probably will sink 7 or 8 percent in 2007, compared with this year and new home sales may fall 9 or 10 percent, he said.

Mortgage Rates

Rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage likely will average 6.6 percent next year, the highest since 2001 when it was 7.2 percent, NAR said. The average rate this year will be 6.4 percent, the trade group said.

Fixed rates have been falling for most of the last four months since reaching a 2006 high of 6.8 percent during the week ended July 21, according to Freddie Mac data. The average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 6.11 percent last week, the lowest since January, according to the No. 2 mortgage buyer.

``Buyers, especially first-time buyers, with the combined benefits of seller flexibility and an unexpected drop in mortgage interest rates, have a window of opportunity,'' David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said in the statement. ``These conditions will persist in many areas until early spring when inventory supplies are likely to become more balanced."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAGpe_JEgwN4&refer=home

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Late mortgage payments shot up in the third quarter as higher interest rates squeezed budgets and made it harder for homeowners -- especially those with weaker credit records -- to keep up with their monthly obligations.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in its quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market released Wednesday, reported that the percentage of mortgage payments that were 30 or more days past due for all loans tracked jumped to 4.67 percent in the July-to-September quarter.

That marked a sharp rise from the second quarter's delinquency rate of 4.39 percent and was the worst showing since the final quarter of last year, when delinquent payments climbed to a 2 1/2-year high in the aftermath of the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The association's survey covers 42.6 million loans.

Delinquency rates in the third quarter were considerably higher for "subprime" borrowers -- people with weaker credit records who are considered higher risks -- especially those who have adjustable-rate mortgages.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061213/late_mortgages.html?.v=4

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

In other economic news, construction of new homes and apartments increased by 6.7 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.588 million units. However, in a sign of the troubles still besetting the housing industry, applications for permits to build new homes fell for a 10th consecutive month.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061219/economy.html?.v=9

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

The Wall Street Journal Online
By Darren Everson

While this is the season of giving, higher-end hotels aren't giving travelers a break from rising rates.

The trend of ever-increasing room prices, which began in 2004, is continuing through the holiday season. With the economy strong and the public eager to travel -- PricewaterhouseCoopers forecasts that demand this holiday period (Nov. 23 through Jan. 1) will increase by 2.6 percent to a record 2.39 million occupied rooms per night -- hotels are raising rates well beyond the rate of inflation, particularly in popular destinations like New York and Mexico.

A room at the Marriott East Side in Manhattan costs $529, up 13 percent from $469 last year. The nightly rate at the Delano in Miami Beach is $485 over Christmas, an increase of $70 over the same time last year. The holiday room rate at the Drake in Chicago runs from $169 to $419, up $30 on both price ends. At the Marco Island Marriott Resort on Florida's southwestern coast, rates are up 15 percent.

Smaller hotels are also charging more. Casa Natalia, a Small Luxury Hotels of the World property in Mexico, is charging $385, up 10 percent from last year. The room rate at Hacienda de los Santos Resort and Spa, another SLH property in Mexico, is $370. The rate was $320 this time last year.

"Gosh, it's gotten awfully expensive," said Brad Garner, vice president of Smith Travel Research Inc., a hotel research firm based in Hendersonville, Tenn. "If you need to be in downtown New York, you're going to pay the price, because they're really leveraging the rates."

Some travelers are starting to sour on the high costs. Michael Gallagher, an intellectual-property lawyer in Columbus, Ohio, said he and his wife now skip New York hotels entirely, planning their trips for when they can borrow an apartment from a friend. "Cracking the price barrier on Manhattan hotels is almost impossible," he said.

Besides simple supply and demand, other economic factors are driving the rate increases.

The Sitzmark Lodge in Vail, Colo., said that it has raised rates this year for the first time in a while because of escalating energy costs. This year's room rate over the lodge's holiday period (Dec. 22 through Jan. 5) is $290, up about $30 over the same period last year.

Oversees travelers with pockets full of euros are also driving up demand. With the dollar still fairly weak against the euro, American cities are a relative bargain.

"The European traveler has said: You know what, there's an attractive value to the United States," says Chris Gabaldon, vice president of sales for Ritz-Carlton Co.
http://biz.yahoo.com/weekend/soarhotel_1.html

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. housing market is showing signs of stabilizing after its biggest decline in 15 years, economists said before a pair of reports on home sales this week.

New-home purchases increased 0.5 percent in November to an annual rate of 1.015 million, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Commerce Department's report on Dec. 27. The National Association of Realtors is forecast to report the following day that sales of previously owned homes fell 0.6 percent in November after rising the month before.

The figures, while not yet pointing to recovery in the housing market, show that builder incentives, cheaper homes and lower mortgage rates are keeping the real estate slump from deepening. A housing market on firmer footing may help reduce the risk of an extended slowdown in economic growth.

``The pace of decline has really eased up a lot,'' said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital in Greenwich, Connecticut. The reports will be ``one of a handful of straws in the wind that say we may see a halt in housing declines soon.''

Data last week showed the economy is weathering the housing downturn. Consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, rose 0.5 percent in November, the most in four months, while incomes increased 0.3 percent, the Commerce Department reported.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=news&sid=aUTUI.AgajAU
http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. probably slowed during November as some house hunters waited for prices to drop further, economists said before an industry report today.

Home resales declined 0.8 percent to a 6.19 million annual rate last month, according to the median of 53 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. A separate report from the Conference Board in New York is projected to show its index of consumer confidence fell in December for a third month.

The reports would bear out Federal Reserve forecasts of growth at a ``moderate'' pace, held back by a slump in housing that shows signs of reaching a bottom. A bigger-than-expected jump in new-home sales reported yesterday suggests lower interest rates and falling prices are starting to entice some buyers.

``A trough in the housing recession is approaching,'' said Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. ``But the legacy of the downturn will still be felt for a while longer'' in related industries like building materials, home furnishings and appliances.

The National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release the existing home sales report today at 10 a.m. in Washington. Estimates of the annual rate of resales ranged from 5.99 million to 6.31 million, according to the survey of economists. Existing home sales rose in October for the first time in eight months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aM4Nqq7ssWWw&refer=home

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

NEW YORK (AP) -- The average price of a Manhattan apartment rose to more than $1.14 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, up 5 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to two new real estate reports.

The median price for the apartments was $760,000, a new record, beating the figure from 2005 by 9 percent, according to the reports released Wednesday.

The median value is the price at which half the sales are higher and half are lower. It is an important indicator of a market's stability, said Greg Heym, who authored the reports for two Manhattan real estate firms, Brown Harris Stevens and Halstead Property. Heym is the chief economist for Terra Holdings, which owns both firms.

Heym, who also serves on the city's Economic Advisory Panel, said Manhattan is experiencing a more balanced market, meaning that price increases have become more sustainable -- unlike in 2004, when double-digit gains were common.

The reports also reflect the New York market's resilience in the face of a nationwide housing slump.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070103/manhattan_apartments.html?.v=8
http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing homes fell in December, closing out a year in which demand for homes slumped by the largest amount in 17 years. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of existing homes were down 0.8 percent last month, a bigger decline than had been expected. For the year, sales fell by 8.4 percent, the biggest annual decline since 1989, when existing home sales fell by 14.8 percent.

Even with the sharp drop in sales last year, the median price of an existing home sold in 2006 managed to rise a slight 1.1 percent. But that was far below the double-digit gains during the boom years. The median home price had risen by 12.4 percent in 2005.

After a five-year boom, housing slowed significantly last year, which has caused ripple effects throughout the economy with rising job layoffs in construction and other housing-related industries.

But economists said they believe the low point for housing has been reached and they are forecasting a slow rebound in 2007. Because of that optimism, analysts don't believe the slump in housing will drag the overall economy into a recession.

The 0.8 percent drop in sales in December came after two straight months of improving sales, the first back-to-back sales gains since the spring of 2005.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070125/economy.html?.v=14

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of new homes plunged in 2006 by the largest amount in 16 years as the nation's housing industry suffered through a sharp contraction after five boom years.

However, there have been some signs that the steep slide in housing may be coming to an end. For December, new home sales were up 4.8 percent, the second strong monthly gain after a 7.4 percent rise in November.

While those increases were better than expected, analysts cautioned that they were influenced by unusually warm weather in those two months.

The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes totaled 1.06 million units for all of 2006, down 17.3 percent from the all-time high for sales of 1.28 million units set in 2005.

After setting sales records for five straight years, sales of both new and existing homes suffered sharp declines last year, and that has caused ripple effects throughout the whole economy.

Last year's plunge in new home sales was the biggest drop since a 17.8 percent drop since the recession year of 1990. Sales of existing homes fell by 8.4 percent to an annual rate of 6.48 million units, it was reported Thursday. That was the biggest decline in the sale of previously owned homes since 1989.

The median price of a new home sold in 2006 was up by 1.8 percent from 2005 but that price gain was far lower than the 9 percent jump in new home prices in 2005.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070126/economy.html?.v=13

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

NEW YORK (AP) -- Prices of single-family homes across the nation rose in November at the slowest rate in more than a decade, a housing index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's showed, countering other evidence that the housing slowdown may be nearing an end.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index showed a 1.3 percent year-over-year increase in the price of a single-family home based on existing homes tracked over time in 10 metropolitan markets.

For its 20-city composite index, prices grew 1.7 percent, the slowest rate ever for that data, according to the S&P index committee chairman, David Blitzer. That data has been collected since 2001.

"The weakness continues to spread," Blitzer said. "I don't see any signs of a bottom. Unfortunately, it's still looking pretty nasty from a housing point of view."

The last time the growth dipped lower than 1.3 percent for the 10-city index was in September 1996, when it measured 1.2 percent.

All cities in the survey, except for Charlotte, N.C., showed a decline in annual returns when compared to the prior month. Seven of the 20 cities are showing negative annual returns.

"Countrywide, home price declines appear to show no signs of slowing down," said Chief Economist Robert Shiller of MacroMarkets LLC. Shiller noted that the downward trend is seen nationally while certain cities such as Boston and Detriot have done worse. Seattle and Portland, meanwhile, have benefited from a strong jobs market in the Pacific Northwest.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070130/home_price_index.html?.v=3

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Prince Jones Jr. paid $170,000 a year ago for a six-room Cape-style home in St. Paul, Minnesota, financing it with an adjustable 30-year mortgage.

Jones, 27, got a so-called sub-prime loan because he was a first-time buyer who is a self-employed barber, has debts and makes about $500 a week. He planned to refinance before December when his monthly payment could jump to $1,646 from $1,291, hoping a good payment record on this mortgage would secure a lower rate.

Then last March, a drunk driver smashed into Jones's eight- year-old pickup truck, injuring his spine and putting him out of work for four months.

``It's stressful to have to choose between food, child support or bills,'' said Jones, the father of a seven-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. He's cutting hair again, though plagued with back pain. ``My initial plan was to refinance at better terms, but by then lenders didn't want to talk to me.''

In the year since Ben Bernanke became chairman of the Federal Reserve, the nation's central bank has led a push by regulators, including the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision, to raise mortgage lending standards, making it tougher for borrowers like Jones to get a loan. Reducing the number of people who can secure a mortgage also may threaten the recovery of the U.S. housing market that the National Association of Realtors is predicting for the end of 2007.

Lending Standards

``As the Fed tries to tighten credit standards, some borrowers who planned to roll over a mortgage into a better product are going to get caught in the corridor and may end up in default,'' said Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel laureate in economics who teaches at Columbia University in New York.

Sub-prime mortgages, home loans with rates at least 2 or 3 percentage points above the safest, so-called prime loans, are given to people with poor or limited credit histories, or high debt burdens relative to their incomes. Such loans made up about a fifth of all new mortgages last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington.

The pool of money available to borrowers like Jones who don't have the highest, or prime, credit ratings is shrinking as investors in mortgage-backed securities shy away from riskier sub-prime loans. More restrictive lending standards makes it more difficult for people to purchase houses, said Angelo Mozilo, chairman and chief executive officer of Calabasas, California- based Countrywide Financial Corp., the U.S.'s largest mortgage lender.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aNoc4LFUSOKw&refer=exclusive

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of U.S. mortgage lenders plunged after New Century Financial Corp. and HSBC Holdings Plc said losses from bad home loans are piling up faster than they expected.

The stock of Irvine, California-based New Century fell $9.08, or 30 percent, to $21.08 at 1:04 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, the biggest decline since October 1998. Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. lost as much as 11 percent, Novastar Financial Inc. tumbled as much as 14 percent and American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. slid 8.7 percent.

Both New Century and HSBC blamed rising defaults on so- called subprime loans they made to borrowers who had little credit history or heavy debt loads. Defaults on subprime loans increased nationwide last year as competition and a slower housing market prompted lenders to lower their standards and give mortgages to borrowers who couldn't make their monthly payments.

``It's kind of a watershed moment where the magnitude of the problems really is starting to come to the surface,'' said Brian Horey, general partner at Aurelian Partners LP in New York, which has sold short shares of New Century. ``If you could fog a mirror, you could get a loan.''

New Century, the second-largest subprime lender, said late yesterday it probably lost money in the last quarter and will need to restate 2006 earnings, and the company won't make as many loans this year as it had previously forecast.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&refer=worldwide&sid=aCL4Qhgqe8WE

http://mauberly.blogspot.com/