Economics of Mortgage Rates

Originally Published January 2007:
This week, I received a bit of news from the economic front, but before I get to it, some background. Looking over the past year, you might have heard "The Fed" keeping interest rates stable and raising them on at least one occasion. These rates that the Fed determines don't directly affect the mortgage rates. They affect credit card and savings interest rates, which affect how people buy, save, and spend money. Mortgage rates are more closely tied to treasury bonds' interest rates.

Bond prices have been disappointing over the past week, and the effect is that home loan rates have increased - about .125% higher across the board.

As a REALTOR(R), I focus on providing the utmost service to my buyers to find the right home with the least amount of their effort and to my sellers to sell their home at the best price and at the shortest time possible. I rely on my support circle of lenders to provide the day-to-day analysis of mortgage rates and assist my buyers with the best mortgage programs available.

You can check out http://www.bankrate.com to find the latest mortgage rates nationwide. Of course there are tools available not only there but on my website, http://www.changhomes.net.

Fed cuts interest rate by 1/2% - to 4.75% - and signals more cuts could be coming

The Federal Reserve cut the target on a key short-term interest rate by half of a percentage point Tuesday to 4.75% in a bold acknowledgement that the central bank is concerned the mortgage meltdown plaguing Wall Street and Main Street could hurt the economy.

The Fed also indicated that more rate cuts could be on the way, news that investors cheered.

The cut to the federal funds rate, the first since June 2003, was widely anticipated by investors and followed a surprise cut to the Fed's discount rate on Aug. 17. The only question was whether the Fed would lower the federal funds rate by 25 basis points or 50 basis points. (There are 100 basis points in a full percentage point.)

On Tuesday, the Fed also cut its discount rate by another half of a point to 5.25 percent. The central bank said that the vote to lower both rates was unanimous.

Some investors had thought that Fed chair Ben Bernanke would take a more cautious approach and not cut rates by such a large margin, because a half-point cut could signal the Fed was acting out of desperation to save the economy.

The federal funds rate, an overnight lending rate that banks charge each other, is important since it influences the amount of interest consumers must pay for various types of debt, such as credit cards, home equity lines of credit and auto loans. The rate cut should help some beleaguered home borrowers who are set to see monthly payments on adjustable rate mortgages rise later this year.

In its statement, the Fed said that "the tightening of credit conditions has the potential to intensify the housing correction and to restrain economic growth more generally" and that the rate cut "is intended to help forestall some of the adverse effects on the broader economy that might otherwise arise from the disruptions in financial markets and to promote moderate growth over time."

The Fed cut also hurts rates of return on investments, which gives foreign investors less incentive to invest in US securities. This has sent the Dollar much lower against the currency of most major foreign countries. This makes foreign goods more expensive for us to buy, which adds to inflation pressures.

Overall, the Fed cut is good news for the economy, but may nudge inflation a bit higher.

Although the federal funds rate and the discount rate doesn't directly affect mortgage interest rates, there will be a trickle-down effect. Already stocks had its largest gain since 2003, and bond rates are likely to decrease more, which will likely push mortgage rates down.

How do bond rates affect mortgage rates? I'll post an FAQ that was published in my newsletter earlier this year.

Sources: CNN and MMG II, LLC.

Weekly Real Estate News Roundup: Week of Sep 10-16

This week's news roundup on the Real Estate markets:

Countrywide workers sue company
Sep 12: The mortgage lender's employees say the value of retirement accounts plummeted by millions as the company's stock fell.

Mortgage rates tumble
Sep 13: Fixed 30-year rate slips to 6.31% and may help home buyers looking to reset rates, says Freddie Mac. The government-sponsored loan buyer said the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged 6.31 percent for the week ended Sept. 13, down from 6.46 percent last week. Last year at this time, 30-year mortgage rates averaged 6.43 percent.

Hottest housing markets
The top 10 U.S. counties ranked by housing growth rate were in Arizona and Florida, primarily. (U.S. Census Bureau/CNNMoney.com)

Greenspan: I didn't grasp subprime threat
Sep 13: Former Federal Reserve Chairman says he didn't see early on the damage that lending to those with questionable credit could do to the economy. In an upcoming interview, Greenspan said he was aware of "subprime" lending practices where home buyers got very low initial rates only to see them later jacked up, causing severe payment shock. But he said he didn't initially realize the harm they could do. (AP)

Realtors: Home price slump through '08
Sep 12: Home values and housing sales will take an even bigger hit than previously forecast and will not recover to their earlier levels throughout all of 2008, at least, according to the latest economic outlook from the National Association of Realtors released Tuesday.

Builder Hovnanian offers extreme discounts
Sep 13: The company resorts to 20-percent or six-figure discounts on some of its properties this weekend, amid the worst housing downturn in 16 years. The sales blitz involves dropping prices by more than 20 percent on some of its prime real estate.

Mortgage apps up in short week
Sep 12: Mortgage Bankers Association reports 5.5 percent increase in Memorial Day week and uptick in refinancing activity as well. Taking into account the Labor Day holiday, the industry group's seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications climbed 5.5 percent to 657.4 in the week ended Sept. 7, from 622.9 one week earlier. The four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility in the weekly figures, fell by 0.8 percent.

Washington Mutual sees more 2007 loan losses
Sep 10: Washington Mutual Inc said on Monday that most U.S. housing markets are weakening, creating a "near perfect storm" that may force the largest U.S. savings and loan to set aside more money for bad loans. (Reuters)

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®: Mortgage Problems to Dampen Home Sales in the Short Term
09/11/2007: Tougher lending practices will continue to stall sales activity for the short term and extend recovery of existing-home sales into 2008.

Reuters: U.S. FTC warns some mortgage ads may violate law
09/11/07-The U.S. FTC is warning mortgage brokers and lenders that some TV, online, and print advertisements for home mortgages could be deceptive and possibly illegal.

Mortgage Bankers Association: Holiday-Adjusted Mortgage Applications Increase
09/12/2007 -The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that mortgage applications were up 5.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 7.

USA Today: Greenspan says he was slow to see subprime danger
09/14/2007-Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan says he didn’t anticipate a surge in subprime loans would have a negative impact on the nation’s economy.

JD Power & Associates show a increase in customer satisfaction among new home buyers. (KNX-AM, 9/12/2007)

John Caravall (ph), Real Estate Analyst with DataQuick Information Systems states that number of homes sold in August was the slowest since August 1992. Overall, price in SoCal average $500,000, up 2.7% year-over-year, but down from the peak of $505,000. The upper end market continues to go “pretty good,” while the entry market is not. When taking this into account they show a 3.5% decrease in home prices versus last year when they take a look at like-kind homes. (KNX-AM, 9/12/2007)

UCLA Anderson Forecast shows housing problems will bring SoCal economy to the brink of recession, but the hosing problems will stay mainly in that sector. The rest of the economy will get along well and continue to do so. (KNX-AM, 9/12/2007)

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, KNX-AM Los Angeles, California Association of Realtors and CNN.

Weekly News Break: Week of Sep 3-9

This is a briefing of the week's news affecting the real estate industry for my clients and prospective buyers and sellers in the "tri-Valley" area of Northern Los Angeles County.

This week’s national news focuses on news released Friday by the Labor Department showed the nation's payrolls shrank by 4,000 in August. It was the first decline in jobs since August 2003. Most experts were expecting a slight increase in jobs – so this was quite a surprise, causing the market to fall nearly 250 points on Friday. It also increases pressure on the Fed to decrease the Federal Funds Rate during its meeting on September 18 by 1/2 or 1/4 points.

Subprime Finger Pointing Begins! In a Fortune magazine article, Peter Eavis shows there’s enough blame to go around for the Subprime/Housing crisis. In a review of the role of borrowers, lenders, appraisers, Wall Street and others, the Federal Reserve appears to come up with the most blame. Portions of the article are found at CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/fortune/0709/gallery.subprime_blame.fortune/index.html

More layoffs in the mortgage and title industry. Countrywide announces layoffs for 1300 more workers to add to the prior layoffs of 900 and 600 employees nationwide. It is expected that a lot of the cuts will affect its headquarters in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas. Santa Ana-based title insurer First American plans to lay off 1,300 workers and shutter more than a dozen offices in an effort to ride out the housing market’s slowdown.

July home sales figures released. Santa Clarita Valley home sales down 18%; Median price of $570,000 off 5.8% - San Fernando Valley home sales down 24% during July; median price of $630,000 up 4% - Antelope Valley home sales down 57%; median price $333,984 down 7% from 2006. From my perspective, it is because the upper end homes of the San Fernando are still selling well. The buyers in this price range are not as much affected by the subprime mortgage mess and the withdraw of many loan programs from lenders. Some of the median home price increases therefore can be attributed to a greater percentage higher-end homes changing hands versus those at the other end of the spectrum.

Mortgage Bankers Association states foreclosures hit record highs during the 2nd quarter. The number of mortgage-holders who entered into foreclosure activity during the April-June quarter reached 0.65 percent.

Pending Home Sales Index down 12.2% in July. Tighter lending practices in the mortgage sector resulted in a 12.2 percent decline in July compared with June in the number of pending home sales contracts, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Index. NAR's index, a leading indicator of future existing home sales, shows a reading of 89.9 in July compared with 102.4 in June. The July index is down 16.1 percent from July 2006 when the reading stood at 107.1. "These temporary problems are primarily with jumbo loans, and there are continuing issues for subprime borrowers," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's senior economist.

Construction Spending falls 0.4% in July. U.S. construction spending fell 0.4 percent in July compared with June, the sharpest decline since January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Spending dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1,169.1 billion, not the flat showing analysts had predicted for the month. Total residential construction spending in July was down 1.4 percent at $541.9 billion compared with June at $549.7 billion, and $642.2 billion in July 2006. Residential construction figures account for the building industry's worst slump in 16 years and reflect a continued slowdown of construction plans as builders focus on moving stagnant inventories.

For additional information or background data for any of these news stories, contact Wayne Chang at changhomes@gmail.com.

News Sources:
AP, KNX-AM 1070 Los Angeles, Southland Regional Association of Realtors, Los Angeles Times, email from California Association of Realtors and National Association of Realtors

What does the Fed Discount Rate Cut mean to you?

I received the following text in an email explaining the Federal Reserve Discount Rate reduction, which I featured in my last blog and my newsletter of 9/3/2007 (articles can be found at http://changhomes1.blogspot.com/):

The Federal Reserve has taken significant action lately due to the credit crunch. And now they've made an unexpected move by cutting the discount window rate, which is great news. We'll get to that in a minute, but first let's look at recent events and understand what they mean.

Market movement
To date, over 120 mortgage companies have closed their doors due to reduced liquidity. The result: borrowers who want to take out non-conforming loans have fewer, more expensive options.

Many media outlets have incorrectly added fuel to the fire by stating mortgage lending has stopped altogether and borrowers can't get a loan without a 20% down-payment. This is not true.

Conforming interest rates and loan programs, those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have not been significantly impacted by recent events. Even better, interest rates have come down from recent highs. While this is good news, the market is experiencing unprecedented volatility and changes could come at any time. Borrowers need to act swiftly and decisively in today's climate.

What did the Fed do?
Now back to the discount rate. This is the interest rate charged to commercial banks and other depository institutions on the loans they receive from their regional Federal Reserve Bank's lending facility. The Fed's decision to cut this rate provides stability in the financial markets and this can be good for all of us.

How exactly does this provide stability? Here's an example: imagine you just wrecked your car and it requires $5,000 worth of repairs. You have a short-term need for cash to pay your mechanic. Even though you’ll eventually be reimbursed by your insurance company, you still need the cash now. So, do you sell off stocks to get the cash, or tap into an equity line of credit?

Most likely, you draw from that line of credit rather than liquidating a long-term investment.
This is what the banks are facing in today's liquidity crisis. And Bernanke's move helps them avoid long-term damage by supplying access to short-term cash.

It's important to note the discount rate is different than the Fed Funds Rate, which directly impacts interest rates you pay for Home Equity Lines of Credit, credit cards, and automobile loans. Most importantly, the discount window rate cut does not directly impact home loan rates.
What should you do now?

Information, knowledge, and expertise are the building blocks of sound financial decision making. If you are considering financing or are in the process of financing a home, you should tap into the knowledge and resources of a skilled mortgage professional. I would welcome the chance to help you navigate these choppy financial waters.

And even if you are not presently planning on any home financing--it still pays to make sure your credit score is as high as possible, in case a credit or lending need does come up before you expect it.

Again, please feel free to contact me--I am ready to help on all fronts.

For additional information or background data for any of these news stories, contact Wayne Chang at changhomes@gmail.com.

News Sources:
Mortgage Market Guide, LLC

Housing Troubles Burden the Poor

According to a new study from the Center for Housing Policy (CHP), released Thursday, August 30, the percentage of low income households forced to spend more than half their earnings for housing needs exploded as housing prices boomed.

From 1997 to 2005, the study said, the number of low-income workers who rented their homes and spent more than half their income on housing more than doubled to 2.1 million from about 1 million.

Most experts recommend not spending more than 36 percent of your net income on housing costs.

Low-income homeowners fared slightly better; there were 2.4 million of them in 2005, 75 percent more than the 1.4 million in 1997, according to the study.

Fed Chief Gives No Hint of Imminent Rate Cut

The New York Times reports Friday, August 31, that the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board says the central bank is poised to protect the broader economy from the mortgage crisis, but stopped short of promises of a rate cut.

General consensus is that when it meets September 18, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee will drop its Federal Funds Rate, the interest rates banks pay to borrow money from each other, by a quarter to a half point to put it in line with the discount rate (the rate The Fed charges banks to borrow money from it), which was dropped by a half a point on August 17.

First-Time Buyer Housing Affordability Index remains at 24%

California Association of REALTORS®(C.A.R.) announced Thursday, August 29, that the percentage of households that could afford to buy an entry-level home in California stood at 24 percent in the second quarter of2007, compared with 23 percent for the same period a year ago.

C.A.R.’s First-time Buyer Housing Affordability Index (FTB-HAI) measures thepercentage of households that can afford to purchase an entry-level home inCalifornia. C.A.R. also reports first-time buyer indexes for regions and selectcounties within the state. The Index is the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for first-time buyers in the state.

At 45 percent, the High Desert region of the Antelope and Apple Valleys and Mojave Desert was the most affordable in the state, followed by the Sacramento region at 44 percent. Santa Barbara was the least affordable region in the state at 12 percent, followed by the Monterey region at 17 percent.

President Bush announces proposals to stem foreclosure effects

Over the past month, the mortgage crisis has received a lot of attention in the popular news channels.

President Bush unveiled Friday, August 31, proposals to deal with an alarming rise in mortgage defaults:

1) Modernize the Federal Housing Administration. The President sent Congress legislation that would help more Americans qualify for FHA loans by lowering down-payment requirements, increasing loan limits, and providing more flexibility in pricing.

2) He is working on a bill in Congress to protect homeowners from having to pay taxes on cancelled mortgage debt during a short sale.

3) FHA-Secure initiative. This initiative will help some people who have good credit but have recently been missing their payments. FHASecure will help these families refinance their mortgages so they can make their payments and keep their homes.

The President stated in his Saturday, September 1st, radio address, “the Federal government is working to make the mortgage industry more transparent and more reliable and more fair, so we can reduce the likelihood that homeowners will face similar problems in the future. Federal banking regulators are strengthening lending standards and making mortgages easier to understand. My Administration is working on new rules to help our consumers compare and shop for loans that meet their budgets and needs. We are committed to pursuing fraud and wrongdoing in the mortgage industry.”

More details on the proposals can be found at the White House website: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/08/20070831-4.html

The general consensus is that these proposals are modest. John M. Robbins, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), released a statement that said, "Many of the proposals President Bush rolled out today are ones for which we have long advocated, even before the recent troubles in the subprime mortgage market."

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) stated Friday that although she is pleased the President has made such statement on the crisis, he “didn’t come up with anything new.” The initiative to modernize the Federal Housing Administration is outline in her bill, H.R. 1852, which she states will be taken up in Congress during the 2nd week of September and she expects it to pass with support from both sides of the aisle.

According to Dean Baker, an economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy, many of the Bush initiatives would leave unaffected many of those homeowners in the most serious trouble.

The suspension of tax liabilities would not mean much to low-income foreclosure victims, who don't pay much tax anyway. It could, on the other hand, help wealthier real estate investors who speculated on real estate during the boom.

"I don't see any reason at all to give those people a break," said Baker.

New Blog for Chang Homes Focuses on Home News

I'm pleased to present a new blog launched September 1 to inform readers on the latest industry news.

This first week features articles on the President's proposal unveiled Friday to help homeowners facing foreclosure, which is reprinted elsewhere in this newsletter. There are also short articles on the First-Time Buyers Housing Affordability Index and chances that The Fed will cut rates in September.Writings not only focus on local and state markets, but national events and trends that may affect local housing transactions.

A mark of a seasoned real estate agent is one who knows the industry and keeps up with the current market statistics and events. I am always monitoring my sources for my clients and prospective buyers and sellers, and I want to pass the information I have compiled to my readers.

I expect to update the blog every Friday or Saturday, plus whenever I feel the urge to make a comment on a news item I hear about.

Upcoming weeks will feature at least one blog, which will summarize housing news events of the week.

I hope you find it informative. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at changhomes@gmail.com.

Always at your service,
Wayne

Another round of showers coming this week, and I am working my contacts list. Lots of buyers. I am helping several find their dream home as mortgage rates stay low. So a short posting this week.

If you wish my assistance in buying or selling your home, please contact me at changhomes@gmail.com.


Meanwhile, here are latest news from the housing front:
Steady Climb Seen for Existing-Home SalesAlthough new-home sales will take time to recover, existing-home sales are expected to gradually rise this year and well into 2008, says NAR's latest forecast.

Mortgage Rates Drop as Inflation Worries FadeFixed mortgage rates are a compelling refinancing alternative for adjustable rate borrowers facing sharp payment adjustments.

Busy, Warm Weekend

I had 2 open houses this weekend in the ritzy area of Stevenson Ranch. Both properties were list-priced around $1 million. It was sunny and warm in LA (unlike last week) and turnout was good, even Sunday Super Bowl afternoon! I was tearing down my signs at 4pm and there were still people wanting to come in! Buyer interest has definitely picked up in SCV, and this past week I'm hearing from my colleagues in Antelope Valley that buyer calls are just beginning to pick up there too. It looks good to a "soft landing" in these two valleys.

"Soft Landing" is a misleading term for this changing market. We're not seeing the 20%+ annual housing appreciation, but homes are still increasing in value year-over-year (closer to 6-8%). We are having homes sit on the market longer, but they are not decreasing in value. That's why we encourage first-time homebuyers that they need to get into the market as sson as they can or get left out as home prices increase. In society, there are the have's and have-not's -- those that own homes in the Southern California market and those that don't.

I've been quoting too much financial news in the past couple of posts. Tonight, this study caught my eye, courtesy of RISMedia:

A nationwide survey of existing homeowners reveals that men and women operate differently during the home-buying process. In fact, nearly half of those women surveyed (43%) said they did not spend enough time shopping for their new home, while less then one quarter of all men surveyed (23%) said they spent too much time during the buying process. The survey was conducted from January 16-19, 2007 by Countrywide Home Loans.

Interestingly, the survey revealed that both men and women saw room for improvement in the way they approach the home-buying process. Those surveyed said that when buying their next home, they would:

1) Save more money for down payment and closing costs (25%)2) Learn more about the home buying process before they began their home purchase negotiations (25%)3) Purchase a new house instead of an older home (22%)4) Buy in a different neighborhood (21%)

As with any financial decision, consumers should carefully evaluate their options and fully understand both the benefits and drawbacks before making a home purchase.

Rain Ruins Weekend plus Urgent News for Buyers

They say rain is good in dry Southern California. My Saturday was rained-out. I had planned for an open house in Stevenson Ranch area of Santa Clarita for a fellow Realtor, but with the rain, everyone stayed home.

Buyers: economic signs may signal interest rates rise in the near-term. Lock in your best rate now and start shopping for your new home.

The Fed meets this week. CNN states, "there is a growing sense that the Fed may keep rates at 5.25 percent for the foreseeable future." As I stated in a prior post, most people think mortgage rates as being closely linked to the Fed's decisions, they're more closely linked to the bond market.

Last week, stronger than expected economic reports hit the wires, indicating a resilient economy: the inflation measuring Consumer and Producer Price Indexes (CPI and PPI) both were hotter than expected, showing some lingering inflation in the economy; Housing Starts and Building Permits were both reported as better than anticipated; Initial Jobless Claims were lower than expected, indicating a strong labor market; the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index was higher than estimated; and to top off the week, the Consumer Sentiment Index came in very strong - a three year high!

We would therefore expect bond prices and home loan rates to rise. With all this strong economic news, it's surprising that Bond prices and home loan rates just stood there. Despite some midweek bouncing around on the news, Bonds and home loan rates ended up the week only slightly worse than where they started.

It's time for buyers to get off the fence and lock in loans - and shop for their new home!

Economics of Mortgage Rates

This week, I received a bit of news from the economic front, but before I get to it, some background. Looking over the past year, you might have heard "The Fed" keeping interest rates stable and raising them on at least one occasion. These rates that the Fed determines don't directly affect the mortgage rates. They affect credit card and savings interest rates, which affect how people buy, save, and spend money. Mortgage rates are more closely tied to treasury bonds' interest rates.

Bond prices have been disappointing over the past week, and the effect is that home loan rates have increased - about .125% higher across the board.

As a REALTOR(R), I focus on providing the utmost service to my buyers to find the right home with the least amount of their effort and to my sellers to sell their home at the best price and at the shortest time possible. I rely on my support circle of lenders to provide the day-to-day analysis of mortgage rates and assist my buyers with the best mortgage programs available.

You can check out http://www.bankrate.com to find the latest mortgage rates nationwide. Of course there are tools available not only there but on my website, http://www.changhomes.net.

Calls are picking up in Santa Clarita

I'm noticing and hearing from other real estate agents that buyer interest in the Santa Clarita Valley is definitely picking up. We are getting many more phone calls from motivated buyers, although we aren't offiically in a "buyer's market." A buyer's market is defined as having a 180-day (6 months) housing inventory, yet the average time on the market in the triangular valley has decreased from about 100 days to about 90.

If you are interested in selling your home, please call me at 661/312-1232. I pledge to all my sellers unsurpassed service and dedicated marketing plans.


In Other News:
Home Sales to Rise Gradually into 2008
A steady improvement in existing-home sales will support price appreciation moving forward, says National Association of Realtors Chief Economist David Lereah.

Buying, Managing Small Properties Can Pay Off
Even in today's uncertain climate, a hands-on real estate investor can make money with smaller properties.

Empty Houses Lead to Lower Prices
Owners of unrented, unsold homes must pay for insurance, lawn service, taxes and the mortgage. Those costs convince them to lower the price.

30-Year Mortgage Rates Climb to 6.21%
This week's increase in 30-year mortgage rates marked their highest point since November. Interest rates on 15-year fixed loans and ARMs also moved higher.

Mortgage Applications Climb Sharply
Requests for purchase loans were up 16.2 percent and refinancing applications rose 17.3 percent, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.

New Year, new blog

Happy New Year! Just a short introductory note, with the new year and all. Being full-time in real estate is challenging and exciting. One objective I have for the year is to use technology effectively to expand my business: keep in touch with past clients and prospective buyers and sellers.

I have a new website, http://www.changhomes.net/, which will be the main portal for all your real estate needs. I mainly expect the blog to summarize in quick bullets my observations from the real estate front and real estate news from my many sources on a weekly basis.

Join me in my observations, and I look forward to your comments!

Headlines for this first post:

Mortgage Rates Climb for Third Straight Week
Interest rates for 30-year mortgages increased slightly to 6.18 percent, but still fall well-below this year's high of 6.8 percent set in July.

Consumer Confidence Soars in December
The Conference Board reports that consumers' confidence in the economy rose to an eight-month high, which could signal an end to the housing downturn.

A Recession in 2007 Is No Sure Thing
Economists and other financial professionals have differing views on how the housing slump will affect the economy in the coming year.

Housing Market Trapped by Buyer Negativity
Real estate professionals say sellers are clinging to too-high prices and buyers are equally adamant about getting a bargain.