Real Estate News - December 2007

The following news stories are those which are most important for understanding the house price crash and the impact on house prices going forward...

December 29-30-31

Some of the City's biggest investment banks have stopped lending to commercial property buyers, stifling deals in an already depressed market according to reports in the Sunday Telegraph

Banks Abandon Effort To Set Up Big Rescue Fund

MERRILL IN TALKS FOR BIGGER BOOST TO CAPITAL: REPORT

DEFAULTS ON INSURED MORTGAGES AT RECORD HIGH

Guardian: Merrill seeks more funds to avoid crisis

HOUSE PRICE GROWTH FALLS AGAIN

GoldMoney Alert - 29 December 2007

December 28

OFFICE PROPERTY MARKET PUMMELLED SAYS RESEARCH

The president's bailout for subprime adjustable-rate mortgages won't help homeowners who represent the next wave of trouble: borrowers with good credit who took out option ARMS

CITI, HSBC AMONG BANKS MULLING SELLING UNITS: REPORT

The housing market remained in the doldrums in November, with mortgage approvals more than 40% below their level of the previous year, according to the trading body that represents Britain’s largest banks

NEW-HOME SALES HIT 12-YR. LOW, RAISING FEARS OF RECESSION

Nationwide: House prices fall by 0.5% in December

Times Online: Huge rate rise looming for sub-prime credit card users

December 27

Fraud Seen Driving Foreclosures

Pace of Decline in Home Prices Sets a Record

Mortgage applications fall to lowest in a year

Citi, Merrill, JPMorgan face larger writeoffs

Merrill Lynch plans to lay off 1,600: report

FT: November mortgage approvals down 40%

BBC: US asset rescue scheme abandoned

December 26

Merrill Lynch Sells Stake to Singapore Firm

Five Banks to Refinance New England Subprime Loans

S&P: Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities were down 6.1% released Wednesday by Standard & Poor's

December 25

KeyCorp Will Cut 870 Jobs, Post Fourth-Quarter Loss

Americans fall behind with cedit card payments

December 22-23-24

As real estate values fall, local governments from northern Virginia to Southern California are cutting services, eliminating staff and shelving projects

Foreclosure filings for November surged 68% from a year ago

GE buys Merrill Lynch lending unit

HOUSE SALES TAKE LONGER AS PRICES DROP

GoldMoney Alert - 23 December 2007

December 21

Fed's New Rules On Mortgages Draw Hostility from Critics

KNOCK-DOWN CITY OF LONDON PRICES REVEAL IMPACT OF CRUNCH

Friends Provident yesterday became the first property company in the current downturn to stop private investors withdrawing cash from a property fund

Reuters: Pound hits all-time low against euro

RTT News: Credit Agricole Takes Further 1.6 Bln Euros Writedown

FT: [Greed & Fear] Financial constipation: The big ‘dump’ is coming

December 20

China raises key interest rates to fight inflation

Frustration Builds As Property Taxes Rise

China Investment Corporation's $5 billion investment in Morgan Stanley marks an abrupt strategy shift for the $200 billion fund, which recently signaled a more conservative approach. The deal's structure is also a big change from the fund's $3 billion transaction with Blackstone Group.

Bear Stearns Reports First-Ever Quarterly Loss

Goldman's big bet that securities backed by subprime mortgages would fall in value generated nearly $4 billion of profits for the firm. Next week, Goldman is expected to report record net annual income of more than $11 billion

MBIA details huge mortgage exposure

http://www.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idUSWNAS505520071220?feedType=nl&feedName=usbusinessafternoon

FT.com: Bear ends year with $1.9bn credit writedown

FT: China sinks £5Billion in Morgan Stanley

Firstrung: Woolwich restricts lending to 65% on buy to let new build

December 19

The ECB swamped money markets with $501.7 billion in two-week loans to banks, the largest sum it has lent in a single shot

DTZ issued a profit warning today on the back of economic uncertainty and 'very low levels of activity' in the investment market

MBS Apartment Titan Struggles Against Defaults - The apartment complex owner is in danger of defaulting on nearly $400 million in loans

Hovnanian shares tumble 17 percent after results

S&P changes MBIA, Ambac outlook to negative

THE BANK OF ENGLAND'S RATE-SETTERS VOTED UNANIMOUSLY THIS MONTH IN FAVOUR AN INTEREST RATE CUT

Market Watch: Pound trades back below $2 mark for first time in three months

Yahoo Finance: Morgan Stanley Post Loss on 4Q Writedown

FT: Investors stunned by ECB’s €350bn

December 18

The British government deepened its involvement in Northern Rock on Tuesday, offering to guarantee more of the stricken mortgage bank's liabilities as it battles to find a private-sector buyer

Single-family housing starts hit 16-year low

The New York Times: Housing Starts Decline 3.7%

Fool: Just Eight Balance Transfer Cards Left

GoldMoney Alert - 18 December 2007

December 15-16-17

IPD figures show November saw the worst ever monthly returns from commercial property

December home builder sentiment holds at record low

NBC-TV: Schwarzenegger Will 'Declare Fiscal Emergency' In Weeks

Financial Times: Buy-to-let financing evaporates

FT: Moody's puts B&B under ratings review

December 14

Why Borrowers May Not Benefit From Rate Cut Rates remain high on many adjustable-rate mortgages, as they aren't tied to conventional benchmarks

Inflation hottest in two years, output solid

Money Expert: Personal debt exceeds gross domestic product for first time ever

BBC: Euro inflation hits six-year high

Firstrung: Sub prime mortgage availability falls by 64% since July - Moneyfacts

BBC: Citigroup to take on $49bn debts

FLAT GLUT LEAVES REGIONAL MARKETS FACING COLLAPSE

December 13

SPIKING LIBOR RATES RAISE FEARS OF LIQUIDITY CRISIS AMONG BANKS

PROPERTY VALUES TUMBLE IN NOVEMBER

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SUFFERS A SHOCKER

HOUSING MARKET SLOWDOWN DEEPENS

Citigroup said late Thursday that it will take $49 billion worth of assets from several investment entities that have been damaged by the subprime mortgage meltdown and add that to its own balance sheet - a move that could cut deeply into the Wall Street giant's capital base

Countrywide loan funding tumbles 40 percent in November

December 12

HOMEOWNERS PUZZLE OVER WHAT'S BETTER: TO SELL OR RENT OUT

FED CUTS KEY RATES BY ONLY QUARTER-PT.; WALL ST. NOT HAPPY

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced new steps to ease the stress in financial markets

Driven by a weaker dollar and much higher prices for petroleum and natural gas, import prices surged 2.7% in November, the largest monthly increase in 17 years, the Labor Department reported Wednesday

U.S. foreclosures up 31.8% in November from previous month

Central banks in Europe and North America moved to increase the amount of money they could lend to banks in an attempt to ease the credit squeeze

Washington Mutual will reduce its dividend and sell preferred stock in a move to raise $3.7 billion in capital. More job cuts are planned

December 11

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday cut its benchmark lending rate by a quarter percentage point to help the financial markets weather a persistent credit crunch and stave off economic recession, but combined the move with a statement that disappointed many observers and sent U.S. stocks tumbling

BBC: Freddie Mac sees $12bn credit hit

Times Online: Crunch hands Lloyds TSB £201m writedown

FT: Abramovich agrees Highland Gold deal

FOOD PRICES RISING AT HIGHEST RATE FOR 14 YEARS

Bloomberg.com: Washington Mutual to Take Writedown, Slash Dividend

PROPERTY TRUST CUTS VALUE BY NEARLY 18%

Subprime hotline has 45,000 calls in three days

Freddie Mac expects $10-12 billion credit losses

Inflation Picks Up in China; Trade Gap Grows

Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate by a Quarter Point

December 8-9-10

BBC News: UK factory gate prices see jump

HOW LONG WILL THE DOLLAR REMAIN THE WORLD'S PREMIER CURRENCY?

NEW STAR SLASHES PORTFOLIO VALUE BY 8%

PROPERTY INVESTMENT DOWN 60% ON SAME QUARTER LAST YEAR

PROPERTY INVESTORS HIT BY LACK OF CASH

PROPERTY FUNDS FACE LIQUIDITY CRISIS

Pending home sales index rises 0.6% in October

Bank of America shutting $12 billion cash fund. Cash withdrawals halted; investor redemptions paid 'in kind'

UBS to take further $10 billion subprime write-down. Swiss group to post quarterly loss; gets $11.5 billion capital injection

UBS writes down $10 bln, Singapore injects capital

Toll Brothers in Red On Land Write-Downs

The mortgage plan outlined by the Bush administration won't help all borrowers with subprime adjustable-rate mortgages. We look at who qualifies for the rate freeze and options for those who don't

December 7

FT index still rising but suggests "softening market"

Seeing chance of recession, Merrill says sell credit cards

On Mortgage Relief, Who Gains the Most?

INVESTORS BALK AT $100BN BAILOUT

RBS SETS ASIDE £1.5BN AND SLAMS 'APOCALYPTIC' FORECAST FAD

White House plan may hurt mortgage investors - Resets may be frozen unnecessarily, denting value of mortgage securities

December 6

Mortgage Strategy: TML confirms administration rumours

US Home Foreclosures Hit Record High in Third Quarter, Mortgage Bankers Report

Bloomberg: Trichet Says ECB Stands Ready to Counter `Strong' Inflation

The European Central Bank (ECB) has left interest rates unchanged at 4%, in line with analysts' expectations

BANK OF ENGLAND REDUCES BANK RATE BY 0.25 PERCENTAGE POINTS TO 5.5%

BBC: RBS in £1.25bn credit crunch hit

Reuters: Sterling hits 4-1/2 yr low vs euro, eyes on rate decision

As the subprime loan crisis deepens, Wall Street firms are increasingly coming under scrutiny for their role in selling risky mortgage-related securities to investors

SUB-PRIME LOSSES COULD SOAR AS BOND FUNDS FALL

HOUSE BUILDERS RISE BUT SET TO LOSE FTSE100 STATUS

CREST SALES SLUMP AS BUY-TO-LET WOES CONTINUE

Record-setting foreclosures. Latest MBA survey shows delinquencies at 21-year high

U.S. households lost $128 billion on real estate. Net worth rose 4.4% as borrowing slowed to eight-year low, report shows

Toll Brothers swings to quarterly loss. Luxury builder suffered worst year ever, but shares surge on subprime plan

The mortgage industry has agreed on a plan to help some struggling borrowers keep their homes, Bush administration officials said Thursday

December 5

Bloomberg: U.K. House Prices Fall the Most Since December 2006, HBOS Says

Several Wall Street firms have been subpoenaed by New York state prosecutors seeking information related to the packaging and selling of debt linked to risky mortgages, according to a published report Wednesday

MERRILL VEHICLE SEES RECORD LOAN DRAWDOWN

December 4

Reuters: BoC cut raises chance of BoE move, hits sterling

MORTGAGE LENDERS TOLD TO PREPARE FOR STORM

NYTimes: The Long and Short of It at Goldman Sachs

MARKET INTEREST RATE JUMPS TO NINE-YEAR HIGH

In a move aimed at boosting its capital to manage risk in the housing and credit markets, big-mortgage buyer Fannie Mae said Tuesday it's cutting its dividend and offering $7 billion in stock

With the Bank of Canada cutting interest rates on Tuesday, the U.S. subprime mess has thus claimed another victim, contrary to the happy talk from U.S. officials earlier in the year that it would remain "contained" to a small sector of the U.S. economy

H&R Block Inc., the biggest U.S. tax preparer, shut its subprime home-lending unit and will cut 620 jobs after an agreement to sell Option One Mortgage Corp. to Cerberus Capital Management LP unraveled

Citigroup's Subprime Losses `Greatly Exceeded' Its Profits, Executive Says

BANK RATES HIT NINE-YEAR PEAK

Bank of Canada cuts base rate by quarter-point to 4.25%

December 1-2-3

CNN: Builder dumps homes in Morgan Stanley deal

Times: Buy-to-let landlords fear they may have to sell as sub-prime mortgage deals dry up