S&P/Case-Shiller index of 10 major cities fell 6.7% in October. Housing markets remain ‘grim.’

Les Christie, CNNMoney.com

Home prices fell 6.7 percent in October, compared with a year ago, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 10-city home-price index. It was the largest drop recorded since the index began in 1987.

It marked the 10th consecutive month of price depreciation and 23 months of decelerating returns.

“No matter how you look at these data, it is obvious that the current state of the single-family housing market remains grim,” said Robert J. Shiller, chief economist at MacroMarkets, in a statement.

Case-Shiller’s 20-city index fell 6.1 percent. Shiller noted that 11 of the markets in the 20-city index posted a record fall.
To view all of this article, please visit this link at CNN Money

Courthouse-step auctions offer 1,336 properties in foreclosure — 17 are sold

By J.N. SBRANTI / The Modesto Bee

Another foreclosure record was set in November as 1,336 properties were offered to the highest bidder on the courthouse steps in Modesto, Merced and Stockton.

Now here’s the real surprise: Only 17 of them sold, despite lenders offering deeply discounted prices.

Every weekday, starting about noon, auctioneers seek buyers for foreclosed properties of all shapes and sizes. But more times than not, no one bids.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at The Modesto Bee

N A H B

In a move to address the subprime lending crisis and to help struggling home loan borrowers, the Senate on Dec. 14 approved legislation that would eliminate any taxes home owners might face when banks renegotiate the terms of a home loan and forgive a portion of the outstanding mortgage debt. The change in the tax law would cap untaxable forgiven mortgage debt at $2 million and apply only to principal residences.

“This legislation will play a central role in helping American families avoid foreclosure and stay in their homes,” said Brian Catalde, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from El Segundo, Calif.

Existing tax rules under Section 108 of the Internal Revenue Code impel many struggling home owners to seek foreclosure over restructuring their loan with lenders because forgiven mortgage debt is taxed as ordinary income.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at N A H B

Home prices are forecast to fall more than 30% in some communities in ‘the most severe housing recession’ since 1945.

Reuters / MSN Money
Housing markets from Punta Gorda, Fla., to Stockton, Calif., will crash, and some will suffer price drops of more than 30% before the housing crisis is over, a report from Moody’s Economy.com said today.

On a national level, the housing market recession will continue through early 2009, said the report, co-authored by Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, and Celia Chen, director of housing economics.
To view all of this article, please visit this link at MSN Money

Lenders, investors agree to freeze rates on some adjustable mortgages

AP / MSNBC

Hundreds of thousands of strapped homeowners could get some relief from a plan negotiated by the Bush administration to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages that are scheduled to rise in the coming months.

“There is no perfect solution,” President Bush said Thursday as he announced an agreement hammered out with the mortgage industry. “The homeowners deserve our help. The steps I’ve outlined today are a sensible response to a serious challenge.”
To view all of this article, please visit this link at MSNBC

JEANNINE AVERSA, AP

Home foreclosures shot up to an all-time high in the third quarter, fresh evidence of the problems afflicting distressed homeowners amid the housing meltdown.

The Mortgage Bankers Association in its quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market released Thursday said that the percentage of all mortgages nationwide that started the foreclosure process jumped to a record high of 0.78 percent during the July-to-September period. That surpassed the previous high of 0.65 percent set in the prior quarter.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at AP / AOL Money

Home sales decreased 36.2 percent in November in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 11.9 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“While it is normal for sales to decline at this time of year, regional sales fell more steeply than usual because of the ongoing liquidity crunch and tighter underwriting standards,” said C.A.R. President William E. Brown.

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California totaled 287,600 in November at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations statewide. Statewide home resale activity decreased 36.2 percent from the 450,930 sales pace recorded in November 2006.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at The C.A.R. website

Julie Haviv, Reuters / AOL Money

Housing markets from Punta Gorda, Florida, to Stockton, California, will crash and suffer price drops of more than 30 percent before the housing crisis is over, a report from Moody’s Economy.com said on Thursday.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at AOL Money

Alison Vekshin and Craig Torres / Bloomberg.com

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is negotiating an agreement with banks to stem a surge in foreclosures by fixing interest rates on loans to subprime borrowers, according to people familiar with a meeting he led yesterday.

Paulson, who will address a housing conference on Dec. 3, presided over a one-hour gathering at the Treasury Department in Washington with federal regulators, bankers and lobbyists. Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Washington Mutual Inc. executives attended, said a person present, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at Bloomberg.com

Dan Levy and Brian Louis / Bloomberg.com

As the U.S. housing slump enters its third year, there is no sign of dawn in the darkness that is paralyzing home building, home buying and home lending.

Standard & Poor’s 15-member Supercomposite Homebuilding Index tumbled 62 percent this year as of yesterday, the largest drop since the benchmark was started in 1995. The companies have lost about $35 billion of market value.

To view all of this article, please visit this link at Bloomberg.com