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02/28/2008 Freddie Mac sees credit losses quadrupling in 2008
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Freddie Mac lost $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter, forcing the company to cut dividends by 50 percent, issue $6 billion in preferred stock, and reduce the size of its loan portfolio to meet regulatory capital requirements.
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02/28/2008 Homescape expands real estate network
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Homescape, an online real estate search and information site operated under a joint venture formed by five media companies, announced today that several Northern California newspapers are joining its real estate network.
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02/28/2008 Mortgage rate gains erase months of declines
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Mortgage rates were up again this week, Freddie Mac reported today, as concerns about inflation and continued turmoil in credit markets stoked the fire under long-term interest rates.
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02/28/2008 Economist: 'Labor market could grind to a halt'
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A key economic indicator measuring the volume of job ads in major U.S. newspapers dipped one point in January, erasing hope that labor markets will improve anytime soon, The Conference Board reported today.
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02/28/2008 Real estate rates slip overnight
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Long-term mortgage interest rates came down Wednesday, and the
benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield was down at 3.85 percent.
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02/28/2008 NAHB: Economy may be headed for 'red zone'
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The chief economist for the National Association of Home Builders, in his latest annual forecast, said he expects total housing starts to fall 25 percent this year, with single-family starts plummeting 31 percent.
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02/27/2008 Regulators lift Fannie, Freddie portfolio caps
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As promised, federal regulators said today they will lift caps limiting growth in the loan portfolios of government-chartered mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but mounting losses at both companies could still constrain their growth.
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02/27/2008 Luxury builder Toll Brothers reports $96 million Q1 loss
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Luxury home builder Toll Brothers today reported a $96 million net loss in the first quarter of the 2008 fiscal year, or 61 cents per share, with the company's CEO blaming "ceaseless talk of a recession" for sapping consumers' will to buy.
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02/27/2008 Supply of new homes for sale hits 27-year high
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The for-sale inventory of new single-family homes bloated to its highest level in 27 years in January, as sales of new single-family homes slipped to the lowest adjusted annual rate in about 13 years, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today.
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02/27/2008 Refi applications plunge 30%
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A huge drop-off in refinancings pushed overall mortgage application volume down 19.2 percent last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
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