CSBJ Daily

Home prices in 20 metropolitan areas fell during April by the most on record, declining 15.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index.
All of the 20 cities in the index showed a year-over-year decrease in prices for April, led by a 27-percent drop in both Las Vegas and […]

The National Association of Home Builders has issued a plea to its subcontractor, supplier, manufacturer and vendor members to join builders in lobbying Congress to support a pending housing stimulus bill.
So far the bipartisan-sponsored The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 has passed in the House and is moving toward final Senate action. The legislation is […]

The Federal Housing Administration has implemented a temporary policy that extends government-backed mortgage insurance and allows for the immediate sale of vacant foreclosed properties.
The vacant properties can be problematic for neighbors because they attract vandalism that can deplete nearby home values.
For one year, the FHA will insure foreclosed properties that are […]

A 10.9 percent increase in mortgage loan application volume for the week ending June 6 was boosted both by an 8.4 percent bump in refinance applications and a 12.8 percent upswing in new purchases, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Conventional loan borrowers increased 11 percent on a week-over-week basis, while government […]

Housing prices dropped during February at the fastest rate ever, according to The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index.
The plunge likely reflects that the housing slump is showing no signs of letting up.
The index of 20 cities fell by 12.7 percent from February 2007, the largest decline since its inception in […]

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON _ A growing majority say they won’t buy a home anytime soon, the latest sign of increasing pessimism about the nation’s housing crisis, a poll showed Monday.
In a vivid sketch of how the sputtering real estate market is causing distress throughout the country, the Associated Press-AOL Money & […]

The Associated Press
Construction spending fell again in February as home building tumbled for a record 24th straight month.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that overall construction activity dropped 0.3 percent in February, reflecting weaknesses not only in home building but also in nonresidential activity. Only government building projects showed a […]

The Colorado Division of Housing reported this week that overall occupancies fell in the fourth quarter and rents generally increased.
Colorado Springs showed a 10.8 percent vacancy rate, one of the highest in the state, the result of increased troop deployments in fourth quarter. Analysts see the fluctuation as typical of […]

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON_Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress that the nation is in for a period of sluggish business growth and sent a fresh signal today that interest rates will again be lowered to steady the teetering economy.
“The economic situation has become distinctly less favorable” since the summer, the […]

Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell in December by the most on record, a private survey showed.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 9.1 percent from December 2006, after a 7.7 percent decrease in November. Nationwide, home prices fell 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the biggest […]