July 3, 2008
Lenders Help Fewer Homeowners In May - washingtonpost.com
The mortgage industry helped 170,000 at-risk homeowners with their troubled loans in May, down about 7 percent from the previous month, according to industry figures released yesterday.
Prince William Foreclosures Get International Attention - WashBiz Blog
Piotr Malecki, a 41-year-old Polish photojournalist, concluded a two-week reporting trip in the county yesterday, documenting people who have either lost or are on the brink of losing their homes in Woodbridge, Dumfries, Manassas and other parts of the county.
How Lehman Brothers Veered Off Course - washingtonpost.com
Worse, in 2006—the height of the housing bubble—Lehman invested a total of $2 billion in deals with McAllister’s developer, SunCal, a Southern California firm severely spattered by the bursting of the real estate bubble.
July 2, 2008
Builder faces murder case | ajc.com
Veitch said he believed he was stopping a trio of thieves who had come to steal copper from one of his unfinished homes in Moreland, south of Newnan. But the men were there to install drywall.
“ Toyota’s aspirations as a home builder are also gaining new importance with the planned launch by 2010 of its plug-in vehicles, gas-electric hybrid cars with powerful lithium-ion batteries that drivers will need to recharge at home.
Toyota Throws More Weight Behind Its Homes Unit - WSJ.com
Commercial Loans: Behind the Next Hit - WSJ.com
Developers increasingly are falling behind on loan payments, especially those who borrowed to finance acquisitions of land and construction of houses and condominiums. This has caused some confusion because regulators and banks typically lump these in with commercial real-estate loans.
LaSalle Is BofA's Other Vexing Deal - WSJ.com
Until recently, banks across the country were active in lending to real-estate developers and builders looking to take advantage of the unprecedented housing boom. But now, an increasing number of heavily indebted builders can’t sell their newly built projects and are falling behind on their payments. With that, banks such Bank of America are finding themselves saddled with an accumulating portfolio of bad loans that they themselves made or that they inherited in mergers.
Deepening Cycle of Job Loss Seen Lasting Into ’09 - NYTimes.com
“The labor market is clearly deteriorating, and it’s highly likely to keep deteriorating,” said Andrew Tilton, an economist at Goldman Sachs. “It’s clear that the housing downturn and credit crunch are still very much under way. Clearly, there are more jobs to be lost in housing, finance and construction — hundreds of thousands of more jobs to be lost collectively.”
July 1, 2008
Resets Peaking on Subprime Loans - washingtonpost.com
The timing reflects the height of subprime lending in the summers of 2005 and 2006, when many borrowers secured loans scheduled to adjust in two or three years. For many, an adjustment means their interest rate will go up two to three percentage points.
Megahomes: Bellevue targets house concerns
Late last year, the city of Bellevue approved simple fixes to address common complaints about megahomes. Those include requiring more greenery in front yards and forcing builders to preserve more trees. Developers can no longer cheat height restrictions by building homes on top of dirt mounds.
Megahomes: Seattle wants to limit sizes
After years of complaints about suburban-sized homes that devour lawns and encroach on neighbors, the Seattle City Council plans next month to consider limiting the size of some larger homes in single-family neighborhoods.
Condo developers told: Pay more of renters' costs
Developers who convert apartments into condos would have to pay some moderate- and low-income Seattleites considerably more in moving expenses under a measure approved Mondy by the City Council.
St. Paul's Penfield condos canceled - startribune.com
The Penfield, an upscale condominium project that was to be downtown St. Paul’s first residential high-rise in more than 20 years, is the latest casualty of the condo market meltdown.
R.I. Supreme Court overturns landmark verdict against former lead paint companies
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned a landmark verdict against three former lead paint companies Tuesday, a major setback for communities that want the companies to decontaminate hundreds of thousands of homes and other buildings.
Countrywide's Mozilo exits stage a fallen hero - Los Angeles Times
But as Bank of America Corp. takes over Countrywide today, some observers are portraying Mozilo as the headstrong protagonist in the lender’s saga who became blinded by ambition and pride—and helped create the national housing fiasco.