August 15th, 2007
Another difficult week in the financial and mortgage markets and the housing sector. The credit markets remain in a bad way as illustrated by KKR's losing $40 million in mortgage-backed securities, the complete lack of new issues in the high yield market, the Federal Reserve injecting $38 billion into the banking system and Goldman Sachs announcing significant losses in its Global Alpha investment fund. The most recent news today is that Countrywide Financial, the country's largest mortgage lender, is facing financial distress. While home prices were flat, unit sales continue to show weakness according to the latest NAR release. The index of homebuilder confidence plummetted again in August and is now near it all-time low.
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August 8th, 2007
Well the National Association of Realtors has made another downward revision to their expected home sales for 2007. This one is due to the fallout from the subprime lending problems and the subsequent turmoil in the credit markets.
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August 7th, 2007
In a meeting today the Federal Open Market Committee maintained the Federal Funds Rate at 5.25%.
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August 6th, 2007
According to today's Wall Street Journal, even well-heeled, high-end buyers are starting to see access to mortgage credit become more difficult.
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August 6th, 2007
There were no new listings or sales on the oceanfront this week.
August 2nd, 2007
As you know, Paul Brewbaker of bank of Hawaii is our favorite economist when it comes to Hawaiian matters. He has just released his latest Hawaii Economic Trends and here are some of his key findings: Read More »
August 1st, 2007
Finally some good news. The NAR has released their monthly Pending Home Sales Index Report
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