Reuters – Paulson backs off asset plan; crisis cures at risk 11/12/2008

The U.S. Treasury backed away from using a $700 billion bailout fund to cleanse bank balance sheets of bad mortgage debt, while Europe reported more gloomy economic news, fanning fears of a worldwide recession.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49N5VU20081112

CNN – New home sales tick up 2.7% 10/27/2008

Sales of newly constructed homes rose in September, according to the monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau, inching up 2.7% from August to an annualized rate of 464,000.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://money.cnn.com/2008/10/27/real_estate/September_new_home_sales/index.htm?postversion=2008102710

Bloomberg – Evil Wall Street Exports Boomed With `Fools’ Born to Buy Debt 10/27/2008

Tom Bosh lowered the telephone receiver into its cradle, making a decision on the way down. “We’re not buying any more,” he told his traders at Bank of New York Co. “Nothing.”

It was May 2007, and Bosh, who managed $25 billion from the bank’s 13th-floor trading room above Times Square, had just hung up on Ralph Cioffi at Bear Stearns Cos. a dozen blocks away. Bosh had invested $50 million in notes from an issuer Cioffi controlled, and he was ready to pull the plug.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=a0jln3.CSS6c&refer=realestate

CNBC – Brokerage Asks Sellers to Cut 10% off Home Prices 10/06/2008

In an attempt to lure potential home buyers off the sidelines, a nationwide real estate brokerage is asking its approximately 25,000 sellers who have homes listed with its brokers to reduce their listing prices by as much as 10 percent for its first national, 10-day sales event.

To read the full story, please click here:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/27044918

Bloomberg – Bernanke Sees `Grave Threats’ to Financial Stability 09/24/2008

“Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. is facing ‘grave threats’ to financial stability and warned that the credit crisis has started to damage household and business spending. ‘Economic activity appears to have decelerated broadly,’ Bernanke said today to a congressional Joint Economic Committee hearing, downgrading the assessment of Fed officials when they met on Sept. 16.”

To read the full story, please click here:

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

DQNews – “Bay Area home sales near bottom again, median price plunges” 09/18/2008

La Jolla, CA.—-The pace of Bay Area home sales reversed its July uptick and dropped again last month, marking a return to the long-running waiting game that many potential buyers and sellers have been playing for more than a year. Parts of the East Bay are bucking the trend with active bottom-feeding in foreclosure-stressed neighborhoods, a real estate information service reported.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://www.dqnews.com/News/California/Bay-Area/RRBay080918.aspx

San Francisco Chronicle: State’s home buyers seek bargains, move slowly 09/12/2008

“Lower home prices and falling mortgage rates have motivated California home buyers in 2008, but thoughts that prices may fall further have slowed decision-making, a real estate industry association said Thursday.”

For complete story, click the following link:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/12/BU2112SFC4.DTL

Foreclosure rental scam

Foreclosure rental scam warning!

Combination lock used in the REO properties

Foreclosure Rental Scam Strikes Bay Area

http://cbs5.com/local/foreclosure.rental.scam.2.774727.html

Most bank owned properties has a combination lock on it when listed on the market, the crooks somehow get access to that code and target potential tenants and steal rents from them.

The notice in the picture says:

“This property is for SALE not for RENT.  If you contacted someone regarding an ad on CRAIGSLIST stating that this property is for rent, that person is part of a SCAM.  They are trying to take your money.  This property is NOT FOR RENT.  Please call XXX-XXX-XXXX and give full details to an office representaative stating the name of the person and their contact information from the Craigslist ad.”

California Association of Realtors reports sales increased 43.4 percent in July 2008

LOS ANGELES (Aug. 25) – Home sales increased 43.4 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

For details, click this:
http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/july08salesandpricereport/?view=Standard