Housing Prices

Clipped by Sam Stamper
Wednesday, 30 April 2008
Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix all saw prices plummet by at least 20%. And so far, there is no sign of a bottom. By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: April 29, 2008: 2:56 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Home prices have posted another record decline, as most of the nation's largest markets suffered double-digit drops over last year, a survey released Tuesday shows. The S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks 20 of the largest housing markets, showed prices plummeting by 12.7% in the 12 months ending February. That's the biggest fall since the index began tracking prices in 2000. Of those 20 metro areas, 17 posted their largest year-over-year declines ever. Ten of the 20 cities posted double-digit dips. The 10-city Case/Shiller index is down 13.6% year-over-year, the biggest drop since its launch in 1987. "There is no sign of a bottom in the numbers," S&P spokesman David M. Blitzer, said in a prepared statement. "Prices of single family homes continue to drop across the nation." "This is huge," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "Back a couple of years ago, people were saying, 'Housing prices are not like stocks; they change slowly,'" he said.
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Good Credit - Bad Loans

Clipped by Sam Stamper
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Good credit can't protect borrowers from bad loans More and more home owners with high credit scores are falling behind on their mortgage payments. Here's why. By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: April 29, 2008: 2:01 PM EDT NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A good credit score doesn't mean you can't end up in foreclosure. Many now troubled borrowers had excellent credit when they got their mortgages. But they took out loans that they couldn't afford to buy homes that were too expensive. Credit scores alone are no guarantee that borrowers will be able to keep up with their payments. In September 2007, the most recent month for which data is available, more than 20% of subprime mortgage borrowers with nearly perfect scores of between 840 and 850 were 60 days or more delinquent, according to First American LoanPerformance. (See correction, below.) That default rate was roughly equal to that of borrowers with much lower scores, in the 540 to 599 range.
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Housing Efforts

Clipped by Sam Stamper
Monday, 28 April 2008
Housing relief efforts slow as pace of foreclosures rise Hope Now reports that it has helped keep over a half a million home owners out of foreclosure this year. Critics say that still isn't enough.
Last Updated ( Monday, 28 April 2008 )
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Forclosure relief

Clipped by Sam Stamper

Friday, 18 April 2008

Momentum builds for foreclosure relief

Key players have gotten behind the idea of government backing for mortgages, and the pressure to act will likely yield a compromise. Key factors: Who'll be eligible and how much risk should taxpayers assume?

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer

Last Updated: April 18, 2008: 9:09 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Congress isn't done debating how best to stem the foreclosure crisis, but one near-certainty has emerged: Lawmakers will pull together a housing bill that expands Washington's role in helping troubled borrowers.

Key legislators, Bush administration officials, banking regulators and the presidential candidates have lined up behind the idea of letting the Federal Housing Administration back new loans for homeowners at risk of foreclosure

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Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix all saw prices plummet by at least 20%. And so far, there is no sign of a bottom.

Good credit can't protect borrowers from bad loans

More and more home owners with high credit scores are falling behind on their mortgage payments. Here's why.

Housing relief efforts slow as pace of foreclosures rise

Hope Now reports that it has helped keep over a half a million home owners out of foreclosure this year. Critics say that still isn't enough.

Momentum builds for foreclosure relief

Key players have gotten behind the idea of government backing for mortgages, and the pressure to act will likely yield a compromise. Key factors: Who'll be eligible and how much risk should taxpayers assume?