Home, Mortgage and Personal Finance News Archive

• Timing May Be Right For Real Estate Investors
  The San Francisco Chronicle (May 9, 2008)
  It's the worst time since the Great Depression to buy real estate, right? Not so, according to some individual investors, who think the market slump has made selected pockets of the San Francisco Bay Area more desirable than they've been in years.
• 39 Republicans Join Democrats As Mortgage Bill Passes House
  The Washington Post (May 9, 2008)
  Bucking a White House veto threat, 39 Republicans joined House Democrats to pass a mortgage bill, the centerpiece of a broader housing package that represents Washington's most aggressive response to the nation's housing crisis. The measure aims to unfreeze mortgage markets by expanding the FHA's reach and strengthening mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It also would create a $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers to try to boost sales and slow plummeting home prices.
• Real-Estate Drop Has a Green Lining
  The Wall Street Journal (May 9, 2008)
  There's a green lining to the real-estate cloud: Developers are dropping plans to build on some choice pieces of land and instead are selling it for such uses as public parks and nature preserves.
• Foreclosure Bargains on the Block
  BusinessWeek (May 8, 2008)
  Even in affluent communities, foreclosures often offer a chance to buy a luxury home for as much as 40% or more off the market value.
• Credit-Card Companies Shut Down Consumers' Lines
  SmartMoney (May 8, 2008)
  An involuntary credit card account closure could not only take away a standby line of credit, but negatively affect your credit score as well. To prevent that from happening, consumers need to be proactive about managing their credit, says Linda Sherry, spokeswoman for Consumer Action.
• U.S. 30-Year Mortgage Rates Fall in Latest Week
  Reuters (May 8, 2008)
  U.S. 30-year mortgage rates eased slightly in the week ended May 8, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.
• Regulator: Fannie, Freddie Bailout Not Likely
  CNN Money (May 8, 2008)
  Mortgage financing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could face further problems if home prices continue to plummet, but a taxpayer bailout is not likely, said the federal regulator charged with overseeing the two firms.
• Top 5 Cities Surviving the Housing Bust
  Smart Money (May 8, 2008)
  The latest Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price indexes showed that 10 out of 20 major metropolitan U.S. cities saw double-digit percentage declines in single-family-home values between February 2007 and February of this year. But markets with job growth are bucking the trend.
• 10 Markets Set For Steep Losses
  Money Magazine (May 8, 2008)
  The worst isn't over for Miami, Phoenix, and hard hit areas of California, which are forecast to see big price drops in the next 12 months, according to Money Magazine.
• More Homes Hit Market in April
  The Wall Street Journal (May 8, 2008)
  Total listings of homes in 29 metro areas at the end of April increased 1.3% from a month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate-brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif.
• Pending Sales of Homes at Record Low
  AOL Money & Finance (May 7, 2008)
  An industry group said Wednesday that pending U.S. home sales dropped to a new low in March, signaling the housing slump has yet to bottom out even as the spring sell season gets under way.
• Where Home Prices Are Headed Next
  Money Magazine (May 7, 2008)
  Want to know what your home will be worth this time next year? Check out these home price forecasts for the 100 largest U.S. markets.
• America's Recession-Proof Cities
  Forbes (May 7, 2008)
  Nationally, home prices are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly--or even contract--in the first half of the year. But some cities are doing just fine.
• Bush Criticizes Democrats on Housing Plan
  The Washington Post (May 7, 2008)
  President Bush vowed today to veto a Democratic housing bill that is coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives, charging that it would "reward speculators and lenders."
• U.S. Credit Crisis Is Easing, Merrill CEO Thain Says
  CNBC (May 7, 2008)
  The U.S. credit crisis is easing and the risk in its housing market is dramatically lower now, but economic growth will remain under pressure over the next year, the chief executive of Merrill Lynch said.
• Prices Slashed: Luxury Mansions on Sale
  ABC News (May 7, 2008)
  Have you ever wanted to live in the lap of luxury but didn't think you could afford to do so? Well now might be the perfect time to buy your very own mansion -- marked down at auction. With the real estate market struggling to stay afloat, more and more affluent sellers are turning to auctioneers to sell off their homes.
• Boost Your Credit Score
  U.S. News & World Report (May 6, 2008)
  Find out why you should know your credit score and how to improve it.
• Bulletproof Housing Markets Get Hit
  CNN Money (May 6, 2008)
  The mortgage meltdown has finally gotten to Seattle, Charlotte and and other cities where prices had been holding up.
• Banks Toughen Terms on Loans
  The Wall Street Journal (May 6, 2008)
  The Federal Reserve's survey of banks' senior loan officers, one of the most closely watched gauges of lending practices, found that the credit crunch is widening. The proportion of domestic banks tightening their standards was at or near historical highs for almost all loan categories, including credit cards and student loans.
• Countrywide Takes Away Home-Equity Credit Lines in Las Vegas
  Bloomberg (May 6, 2008)
  Countrywide has suspended the home equity credit lines of almost all its Las Vegas customers.
• Bernanke Urges More Action to Stem Home Foreclosure Crisis
  ABC News (May 6, 2008)
  A rising tide of late mortgage payments and home foreclosures poses considerable dangers to the national economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned anew Monday as he urged Congress to take additional steps to alleviate the problems.
• It's Going to Get Worse
  Newsweek (May 6, 2008)
  Economist David Lereah was once the housing market's biggest cheerleader. Now he says the bust isn't near over, and home prices still have a long way to fall.
• More Big Losses Expected From Fannie, Freddie
  Reuters (May 5, 2008)
  Sliding house prices and rising foreclosures among even the high-quality loans that comprise the bulk of business at the two federally chartered companies have eroded their income.
• Wall Street, Lenders Face New Subprime Probe
  CNBC (May 5, 2008)
  Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn are stepping up their scrutiny of players in the subprime-mortgage crisis, focusing on Wall Street firms and mortgage lenders, the Wall Street Journal said on its website on Sunday.
• Warren Buffett Tells CNBC No Need for More Rate Cuts
  CNBC (May 5, 2008)
  Warren Buffet thinks the Federal Reserve should "quit now" on its series of interest rate reductions. He is also critical of the Bush Administration's economic stimulus plan, saying "you can drop a lot of money on people" to help the economy in the short-term, but there will be economic consequences down the line.
• Don't Let Your Money Yield to the Fed Rate Cuts
  Yahoo Finance (May 5, 2008)
  Recent Fed actions are putting a strain on fixed-income strategies and emergency cash funds. Here are tips for finding higher-yield savings sources.

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