Contents Pages by Subject

Housing

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CalculatedRiskblog.com

Total housing starts were at 458 thousand (SAAR) in April, the all time record low. The previous record low was 488 thousand in January (the lowest level since the Census Bureau began tracking housing starts in 1959).

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CalculatedRiskblog.com

“The operating environment for housing remained very difficult during the first quarter of 2009. The housing market continues to face rising unemployment, tight mortgage availability, increased foreclosure activity and declining home prices...

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HousingDoom.com

The FHA is almost certainly going to need a taxpayer bailout in the months ahead. The only debate is how much it will cost. By law FHA must carry a 2% reserve (or a 50 to 1 leverage rate), and it is now 3% and falling.

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Ritholtz.com/blog

We know that those homeowners that do not have mortgages — i.e., 100% equity — cannot default. So if we want to understand the potential further mischief real estate land can cause, it is the mortgaged properties we should be watching.

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HousingDoom.com

Higher end properties are going to have to drop their prices significantly to adjust to this market. That will tend to put downward pressure on all prices. High speculator participation and a cooling economy are also risk factors for the market.

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Phoenix Business Journal

Phoenix home prices fell 35% from February 2008 to February 2009, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. That’s the largest decline of any of the 20 largest cities in the US. Phoenix home prices are down 51% from their peak.

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AfterDowningStreet.org

Allowing people to seek mortgage relief in bankruptcy court is opposed by Republicans and enough Democrats to block it. They remain worried that the legislation would unleash a torrent of loan defaults...

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Michael Shedlock / Mish

Inquiring minds are watching a pair of videos from Southern California. Allegedly, banks acquired brand new homes in foreclosure processes, the homes were not quite finished and the banks razed these homes rather than fix code violations.

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