U.S. Home Prices Drop 0.2% in August

U.S. Home Prices Drop 0.2% in August
October 26, 2010, Market Watch

Home prices fell 0.2% in August, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor’s, in a report labelled “disappointing” by its compilers. This is the first drop in the index after four straight monthly gains as demand spiked by the homebuyer tax credit that expired at the end of April.


Housing Gloom Deepens
October 26, 2010, Wall Street Journal

Home sales picked up in September, but the long-term picture for housing is growing grimmer, say analysts and economists who are pushing back forecasts for a housing recovery. Earlier this year, the housing market appeared poised for a turnaround, three years after it peaked. Federal tax credits for buyers spurred a flurry of activity, and the economy was adding jobs. That led some economists to forecast housing would hit bottom and begin to recover this year.


Foreclosure Mess May Hurt Housing Market, FDIC Says
October 25, 2010, Reuters

The foreclosure mess won't be cleaned up quickly and could hurt the housing market, which is already a weak link in the economic recovery, regulators said on Monday. Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp that guarantees deposits at many of the banks accused of failing to properly vet foreclosure documents, said lawsuits stemming from the problem could clog up the real estate market.

Foreclosures: A Paperwork Fiasco
October 23, 2010, New York Times

After months of horror stories, it seemed that the real estate mess could not get any worse. But now, the nation is in the middle of yet another foreclosure crisis. Revelations that the nation’s biggest banks may have fudged crucial documents in their rush to reclaim tens of thousands of homes have the public in an uproar. Attorneys general from all 50 states announced sweeping investigations into the industry’s foreclosure practices. The nation’s top financial regulators have also ordered reviews. Peter Miller disagrees with the New York  Times.


Mortgage Mess: Shredding the Dream
October 25, 2010, Business Week

The foreclosure crisis isn't just about lost documents. It's about trust—and a clash over who gets stuck with $1.1 trillion in losses. Wall Street's unspoken strategy has been to kick mortgage losses down the road until an economic recovery re-inflates the housing market. The faulty-foreclosure crisis has forced the issue back into the present tense, triggering a fight over who will bear the brunt of those losses. The combatants—all of whom are trying to minimize their share of the damage—include