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NEWS ABOUT: housing crisis

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Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout

Aid plan would back new loans for homeowners in 'upside-down' mortgages

(Newser) - Homeowners facing foreclosure could soon be getting a helping hand from the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. Details are being finalized on a plan that would see portions of loans forgiven for people who now owe the bank more money than their house is worth. The remainder would be... More »

Foreclosure Victims Also Furry

As more people lose their homes, so do their pets

(Newser) - As foreclosure rates skyrocket around the country, animal shelters are feeling a heartbreaking byproduct: an influx of pets being surrendered, USA Today reports. Across the country, areas with high foreclosures are seeing increased rates of pet abandonment, and shelters worry that even more could be coming as unemployment rates rise... More »

Home Prices, Consumer Confidence Nosedive

Housing trouble worsens as recession worries mount

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted again in January, falling a record 10.7% compared to January 2007, according to the bellwether S&P Case/Shiller Hope Price composite. The March consumer confidence index, also out today, plunged to a 5-year low in yet another indication of recession, Bloomberg reports. The Conference Board measures... More »

Surprise! Existing Home Sales Jump

February's 2.9% rise surprises analysts; median price tumbles unprecedented 8.2%

(Newser) - Existing home sales stunned Wall Street today with an unexpected spike, Bloomberg reports. The metric rose 2.9% in February to an annual pace of 5.03 million. Analysts had predicted yet another decline, to a 4.85 million pace. But one economist said this was only a “temporary... More »

What Hollywood Will Pay to Be in Malibu: Anything

Top rental fetches $150K per month

(Newser) - US real estate is hurting, but the top price for a beachfront summer rental in Malibu hit $150,000 this year. The area is flush with homes valued at or above $10 million—a bracket unaffected by the housing slump. And Tinseltown's elite is happy to pay. "Recession? What... More »

Condo Glut Floods Cities

Bargains abound as boom-time projects completed

(Newser) - A deluge of new condos is about to hit many American cities already flooded with an unprecedented number of unsold units, the Wall Street Journal reports. This year, thousands of projects started at the height of the housing boom will be completed; oversupply and economic slowdown are likely to cause... More »

Bernanke's Home Is Case in Slump's Point

Fed chief's DC digs worth about the same as in 2004

(Newser) - Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke’s own home illustrates the very crisis his organization must fight—in the midst of a national housing slump, it’s worth roughly the same as when he bought it in 2004, Bloomberg reports. Values peaked just after that; the fact that his Capitol Hill... More »

Bernanke Looks Impotent as Fed's Fixes Fail

Economic woes may be beyond cure by monetary medicine

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke has employed virtually every tool in the Federal Reserve's kit to calm markets panicked by the credit crisis, but hasn't scored any more than temporary rallies, Bloomberg reports in a look at the markets' fading faith in the Fed chief—and the Fed itself. "The Fed has... More »

'Perfect Storm' Batters US Economy

Unpredictable markets continue to feed stagflation fears

(Newser) - A perfect storm of economic maladies has the US economy reeling on the edge of recession and officials struggling to limit the damage it causes, reports the New York Times. But many economists say there isn’t much the government or policy makers can do besides batten down the hatches... More »

French Get Dirty to Pay the Rent

Sex-for-accomodation on the rise in crashing housing market

(Newser) - France is in the throes of its worst housing crisis since World War II, which has led to some sordid dealings in some cities. With many young people unable to pay sky-high rents, landlords are offering apartments “for services”—usually sexual ones, the BBC reports. As homelessness and... More »

Home-Equity Loans Latest to Bite Banks

Even lenders that dodged subprime chaos suffering big trickle-down losses

(Newser) - Home-equity loan defaults are soaring, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the trickle-down effect of the subprime mortgage crisis makes its way into what was once a source of big profits for lenders. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo both escaped major writedowns on subprime mortgages gone bad, but already... More »

Shops Shut as Wind Goes Out of Sales

Store closings rise along with gas prices, foreclosures

(Newser) - Soaring gas prices and a still-boiling housing crisis are taking their toll on America's smaller retailers, with store bankruptcies and vacancy rates rising steadily as customers avoid impulse-buys that once fueled the industry's rapid expansion, reports AP. Vacancies hover between 7% and 8%, up from 5% just six months ago—... More »

As Margin Calls Mount, Carlyle Holds 'Crisis Talks'

Private equity giant's subsidiary imperiled

(Newser) - The Carlyle Group is holding emergency talks with lenders to try to save its drowning Carlyle Capital division, the Washington Post reports. Creditors have decided that Carlyle’s portfolio of traditionally safe mortgage-backed securities holdings isn’t good enough in the current market, and they're demanding $400 million more in... More »

Commercial Real Estate Will Slow, Not Tank

Malls, offices won't be hit nearly as hard as housing, experts say

(Newser) - The commercial real estate market has slowed dramatically, but won’t rival the housing implosion, reports the Wall Street Journal. Prices will likely fall just 20%, compared with 40%-plus for homes in some markets, and commercial property owners—unlike record numbers of homeowners facing foreclosure—have largely been able to... More »

US Sees Worst Decline in Jobs Since 2003

Payrolls dropped by 63,000; recession fears intensify

(Newser) - The US lost 63,000 jobs in February, the second straight month payrolls contracted and the worst drop since 2003, catching economists off guard and fanning fears of recession anew, Bloomberg reports. Economists hoped the economy would add 23,000 jobs after declining a modest 17,000 in January, when... More »

Foreclosures Soar in Q4

Borrowers' poor credit, not rate resets, blamed for latest spike

(Newser) - Home foreclosures and mortgage delinquency in the US saw record highs in the last three months of 2007. Reuters reports that 0.83% of US loans entered foreclosure in the fourth quarter, close to double the 0.54% of the same period in 2006. Mortgage delinquency hit 5.82%, the... More »

Depression-Era FHA Tries to Save Mortgages

Long-sidelined agency now a central player in the credit crisis

(Newser) - It’s been a while since the Federal Housing Administration was relevant. But now policymakers are counting on the Depression-era agency, which mostly insures mortgages, to once again solve a housing crisis. FHA-insured loans are swiftly becoming substantially cheaper than their Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed counterparts. “The... More »

Homeownership Is No Cure-All

Time to think about the costs, not just the perks, of owning a home

(Newser) - One casualty of the housing bust may be the American belief that homeownership is the universal key to a strong economy and healthy society, writes James Surowiecki in the New Yorker. The idea that homeownership leads to greater investment in the community may be true, but owning a home in... More »

Sinking Home Values Lead to 'Walkaways'

Owners grappling with negative equity can afford to pay but choose not to

(Newser) - Freefalling home values may be creating yet another crisis in the mortgage industry. The new phenomenon: homeowners capable of paying their mortgages who walk away, unwilling to pour money into a property that’s worth less than they originally paid. "It may not be a big thing yet, and... More »

Senate GOP Stymies Dem Housing Relief

Republicans say plan to aid homeowners would inflame crisis, hurt lenders

(Newser) - Capping a week of gridlock, GOP senators yesterday blocked consideration of a Democratic-backed housing-relief bill. The mortgage industry had fought hard against the proposal, which would allow judges to slash interest rates for low-income homeowners facing bankruptcy, the Washington Post reports. The bill also included billions of dollars for local... More »

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