From Marketwatch this week: Home prices fell 8.9% in 2007, the largest decline in the Case-Shiller home price index in at least 20 years, Standard & Poor’s reported Tuesday. For the fourth straight month, nominal prices in all 20 Case-Shiller cities were lower than in the previous month. The 20-city index fell 2.1% in December and 9.1% for the year. The original 10-city index fell 2.3% in December and 9.8% for the year. Phoenix had the largest decline in December, falling 3.5%, followed by San Diego at 3.4% and San Francisco at 3.2% The Case-Shiller index, which tracks multiple sales…
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It’s Op-Ed Friday, and I’m back in the Valley for a few days.  I plan on being away from the computer more than usual, so my apologies if Igor doesn’t treat you kindly- I’ll rescue your comment as soon as I can. We especially appreciate your links, comments and stories while I’m out and about.  I’d also love to know if there’s any communities, homes or acts of real estate wierdness you think I should check out while I’m in town.  Doomers are always our best resources.

Boston has been feeling the impact of rising foreclosures and abandoned homes.  Now they want the owners to pay:  [Thanks L!] City officials are lining up an arsenal of new tax penalties and stronger regulations to help rid the Hub of the abandoned and foreclosed properties that are blighting neighborhoods as a result of the national mortgage crisis. “It is a real scam and it’s happening in so many cities throughout America,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who was updated yesterday on efforts to revive the foreclosure-ravaged Hendry Street area in Dorchester during a revved-up meeting with 20 city officials…
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Apparently even the rich and famous are calling their lenders to work out new terms to avoid foreclosure. At least Michael Jackson is: Pop star Michael Jackson will avoid foreclosure on his Neverland Ranch property with a new loan, a Jackson insider told CNN Wednesday. Documents show that Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, California, is scheduled for a public auction on March 19 at Santa Barbara’s downtown courthouse. But the Jackson source said that won’t happen. "Michael Jackson’s ranch is not going to be auctioned off at the courthouse," the Jackson insider said. "The financing is all being worked out."…
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James Lockhart of the OFHEO announced that as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now filing timely statements, there would be some changes: The federal regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Wednesday it would lift an investment cap for the mortgage companies, in a move that will give them more flexibility to invest in the battered U.S. housing market. The investment caps will be lifted on March 1, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said in a statement that cited the companies’ return to timely financial statements as one reason for its easing. In other news…
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Thanks to L for this story out of Georgia last week: ATHENS, Ga., Feb. 22 (UPI) — A gun-wielding man in a ski mask robbing a Georgia bank told a teller he wanted payback for losing his house to foreclosure. The robbery occurred at a Regions Bank branch in Athens just before noon Thursday, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. "You took my house, now I’m going to take your money," the robber told the teller as he pointed a gun at her, Police Capt. Clarence Holeman said. Holeman said that the FBI, which is investigating the robbery, would probably check bank…
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Thank you L for sending us this podcast by Dick Gaylord, President of the National Association of Realtors. It is apparent from Gaylord’s comments that he feels that the NAR was instrumental in bringing about Bush’s economic stimulus package: A few days ago, we achieved a remarkable accomplishment. NAR stood along side President Bush as he signed the economic stimulus package that includes increases in both the FHA and conforming loan limits. The new loan limits will be published by HUD within 30 days and will take effect immediately. [This differs from the transcript provided here.] Gaylord discusses what he…
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Despite the Austin Statesman’s best attempt to put a positive spin on the local market, the Central Texas housing market is in trouble: Sales of Central Texas homes fell 10 percent in January, the seventh month in a row that year-over-year sales dropped. But prices rose, and Austin’s market is in better shape than the nation overall. The 1,321 sales last month were a two-year low, based on data from the Austin Board of Realtors. . The median price rose 7 percent to $187,000, contrary to a national trend of falling prices. Nationally, homes sales fell 22.4 percent in January,…
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From the Wall Street Journal this morning: WASHINGTON — Existing-home sales fell for the sixth month in a row during January as consumers stood on the sidelines watching prices slide for property. Home resales fell to a 4.89 million annual rate, a 0.4% decrease from December’s revised 4.91 million annual pace, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Originally, the NAR estimated sales at 4.89 million in December.   The median home price was $201,100 in January, down 4.6% from $210,900 in January 2007. The median price in December was $207,000. Falling prices have kept would-be buyers from signing off…
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It’s Monday, and you get the feeling that some folks are getting desperate when you find videos like this on YouTube: So Doomers, it’s been awhile since we’ve had an open thread.  Any other finds for us– links, stories, videos, comments?

M sent me this link with with subject line, "A new low for Realtors".  I’ve got to agree.  This post Tips for buying another home before yours goes into foreclosure was written by Kathy Neilson.  Neilson describes herself like this on her blog: A real estate professional skipping along on the rosey [sic] streets of real estate city, humming a sweet tune and enjoying the sunny Southern California weather.  Here’s what she says it takes to pull this off: If you are considering purchasing another home then letting your present home go into foreclosure here are some tips that will…
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Another "too special to fail" housing market is on the skids- Utah.  Here’s how one agent described the Utah housing market in 2006: All the recent talk of a bubble and the cooling off of the markets on left and right coasts seems to have only strengthened the local market for Utah. Many of the people selling in the coastal regions are moving inland, away from the natural disasters and high cost of living and realizing how beautiful a place like Utah really is. And real estate is local and is effected by local factors as much as by general…
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From today’s Arizona Daily Sun: Homeowners, contractors and Flagstaff city officials all have questions about Empire Communities, the largest homebuilder in northern Arizona. They wonder why, over the course of the last few weeks, Empire’s local offices have been vacated, their phone numbers have either been turned off or go unanswered and why one major subcontractor was told his company was not going to be paid immediately. Empire, it seems, is all but gone from Flagstaff, leaving townhouses unfinished and a lone salesperson in one project referring calls to the Prescott office. Why the developer left is not clear, and…
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So who’s fault is it if a borrower doesn’t understand their loan?  We’ve heard a lot from candidates on how the problem is shady mortgage brokers, so I thought we’d look at the flip side today– there are definitely borrowers who are their own worst enemy. This was posted by "Moneyluck" at Broker’s Outpost.  How can you help a borrower like this? I’m just ordering the last item on a purchase loan . . .P and S date is about 10 days away. The borrower calls me and says she got a call from XXXXX bank’s retail call center on…
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The tale of two couples– one waiting to marry, one waiting to divorce- both trying to sell their houses: