housing crisis

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New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
Jan 28, 2008 1:20 PM CST

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Numbers are a surprise, economists had predicted little change from November

(Newser) - Sales of new homes fell to a 12-year low in December, making 2007 the worst year on record for home sales. Economists had predicted November's numbers wouldn't get much worse; instead, sales decreased 4.7% to an annual rate of 604,000, reports Bloomberg. "We are in deep recession...

Housing Crisis Hard on Pets, Too
Housing Crisis Hard on Pets, Too
Jan 22, 2008 8:27 PM CST

Housing Crisis Hard on Pets, Too

More left behind, dropped in shelters, after collapse

(Newser) - America's pets are feeling the subprime fallout these days as more homeowners are foreclosing and abandoning them, the Chicago Tribune reports. A recent spate of deserted animals—including 24 horses on an Oklahoma farm, and 21 Great Danes left to die in Pennsylvania—inspired the national Humane Society to issue...

Housing Starts Nosedive to Lowest Level Since 1991

Can you even remember the last time a housing report wasn't worse-than-expected?

(Newser) - Housing starts plunged 14% in December, demolishing median analyst estimates, which foresaw a mere 5% dip. November’s numbers were also revised down, reports the Wall Street Journal, from the 3.7% drop originally reported to 7.9%. When the dust settled, construction was at its lowest point since 1991,...

Greenspan Signs On With Mortgage Profiteer

Ex-Fed honcho will advise hedge fund

(Newser) - Paulson & Co. made a fortune as the mortgage crisis unfolded, and now the hedge fund has hired the man some say caused the meltdown. Alan Greenspan, whose actions as chairman of the Fed have been under fire lately, today agreed to advise the firm, which saw one fund rise...

Chicago's Spire Condos May Be a Tough Sell

Developer plunges pricey skyscraper into lousy housing market

(Newser) - The Chicago Spire residential tower isn't even under construction yet, but its luxury condos—slated to be sold for unprecedented prices—will come face-to-face with a lousy housing market when the sales office opens today. Prices for units in the twisting skyscraper start at $1,400 per square foot, but...

Economists Fear It's Too Late to Save Economy

Measures now won't have impact for months

(Newser) - It may already be too late to quickly stop the economic tailspin triggered by the implosion of the housing market and booming energy prices, several experts believe, reports the New York Times. Perhaps the best that can be done is to make the crunch hurt a little less. “The...

Congress, Bush Push Stimulus Plan
Congress, Bush Push Stimulus Plan
Jan 12, 2008 8:55 AM CST

Congress, Bush Push Stimulus Plan

Smelling recession, two parties step up effort for economic relief package

(Newser) - With Democrats and Republicans increasingly spooked about a looming recession, the two sides appear ready to work together on an economic stimulus package of about  $100 billion in tax cuts and spending, the New York Times reports. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid yesterday wrote to President Bush, "We...

Pending Home Sales Take Giant Plunge

Experts recommend buying a house immediately

(Newser) - Pending home sales fell 2.6% in November from a revised 3.7% October gain, Bloomberg reports, far outstripping the 0.7% fall analysts predicted after an originally reported 0.6% October gain. The figures support Henry Paulson’s gloomy outlook on the housing market. “There is no evidence...

Paulson Calls for More Housing Relief

Treasury secretary suggests aid for prime-rate borrowers

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson advised the mortgage industry today to give help to millions of financially stressed homeowners whose mortgages are set to rise. His comments signal that the Bush administration is starting to push lenders to expand relief beyond subprime borrowers to homeowners with other adjustable-rate loans, reports the...

Given Rent Prices, Homes Still Too High

Expect another 15% drop if historical relationship holds

(Newser) - If rent prices are any indication, home prices aren’t done falling, according to one former and two current Federal Reserve economists. Annual rents have historically held steady at about 5% of home prices, but since 1996 home prices have left rents in the dust, the Wall Street Journal explains....

Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts
Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts
Jan 2, 2008 7:33 PM CST

Fed Remains Open to More Rate Cuts

Minutes from last meeting display growing concern about markets

(Newser) - Fed officials will consider deeper rate cuts and a "substantial further easing of policy" if the turmoil in the credit and housing markets continues, according to minutes of last month's meeting. Officials displayed surprise at the extent of the housing crisis and acknowledged that market strains "could persist...

Declines in Home Prices Could Triple

Economist see US in danger of recession; losses could last years

(Newser) - A top economist says the US is in danger of slipping into a lengthy recession, the Times of London reports. Robert Shiller, who co-developed the index that measures home prices, says losses from the housing recession could triple over the next few years. “This is a much bigger issue...

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
Dec 28, 2007 11:00 AM CST

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Decline tops even worst estimate

(Newser) - New home sales fell much farther than expected in November, hitting their lowest point since 1995, Bloomberg reports, and the slide only likely to get worse. Sales fell to an annual pace of 647,000, a 9% drop from October’s revised-down 711,000 rate. Prices are falling, but buyers...

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Dec 18, 2007 10:30 AM CST

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%

And permits for new homes fall to 14-year low

(Newser) - Housing starts fell less than expected in November, but fall they did, extending the worst housing slump since 1991. Starts fell 3.7% and, according to one analyst, probably won’t turn around until the third quarter of next year. Permits issued, which give a picture of future construction, fell...

Senate Votes to Aid At-Risk Homeowners

Bill, approved 93-1, would allow feds to back refinanced loans

(Newser) - In an attempt to quell the ongoing housing crisis, the Senate approved a bill today that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for the thousands in danger of defaulting on mortgages. The bill, which passed 93-1, also repositions the FHA as an attractive alternative to subprime...

Housing Crash Pushes Home Builder Into Red

Toll Brothers has its first losing quarter in 21 years

(Newser) - Toll Brothers, the country's largest luxury homebuilder, today reported its first quarterly loss in 21 years, Bloomberg reports, as the housing slump drove away buyers and forced the company to write down land. “Demand has just fallen off the table,” one analyst explains. Toll lost $81.8 million,...

In '08, It's Really the Economy, Stupid

Worried over job, credit, health woes, voters put Iraq on back burner

(Newser) - With gas prices stratospheric, the housing market tanking, and recession looking likely, voters aren't too worried about Iraq, reports the Wall Street Journal. Job concerns have transformed illegal immigration and health care into major issues. “You have to have a health plan even in the Republican primary,” says...

Home Sales Hit Record Low Despite Dropping Prices

Sales of existing properties down 20.7% over last year

(Newser) - Existing-home sales fell for the eighth consecutive month in October, hitting record lows in a survey of realtors. Resales dropped to an annual rate of 4.97 million, down 1.2% from September, despite a huge 5.1% drop in median price. “Price declines are part of the healing...

Greenspan Has 'No Particular Regrets'

Former FED chair calls housing crisis 'a global phenomenon'

(Newser) - The US housing market crisis is not the result of Federal Reserve policies but part of a global phenomenon, former Fed chair Alan Greenspan says. "I have no particular regrets," he said yesterday in Oslo. "The housing bubble is not a reflection of what we did, as...

Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown
Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown
Nov 8, 2007 9:58 AM CST

Bernanke Sees Q4 Slowdown

Fed chief sees economy as 'resilient' but growth slow through this quarter

(Newser) - Economic growth will slow "noticeably" through the end of the year and into 2008, Fed chief Ben Bernanke said in prepared testimony for a congressional panel today. Bernanke called the economy "resilient," but said the housing slump will intensify before it's over, the Wall Street Journal reports....

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