In recent months, a number of individuals have called for increased regulation of Wall Street–and it looks like we might get it. After the recent government bailout of Bear Stearns, it appeared regulation was more necessary than ever for the financial industry. And today, the government announced a new plan to do just that. Although it’s been criticized for being too lax, it’s at least a start. News also broke today that the U.K. and U.S. are teaming up to better monitor the international banking system, according to the Financial Times. But why stop there? Mortgage Mayhem According to the…

Multifamily property and hotel loans edged the overall commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate up in February, according to Fitch Ratings–and the rise included a number of newly delinquent loans. Commercial mortgage-backed securities may not have had as bad a year as anything connected to a residential mortgage had–but they’ve still had a hard time, according to Reuters. And it’s all connected to the housing market: The commercial-backed securities met with concern that less-than-secure underwriting practices in 2007 may have made sketchier loans that wouldn’t be able to weather a U.S. recession. As the economy declined further, that fear increased. And,…

The Post-World War II generation is about to become the largest segment of Americans ever to age at one time, according to a recent Chicago Sun-Times article. In fact, 83 million boomers are expected to hit retirement age within the next 11 years. That’s a lot of people hitting a new life stage–and undoubtedly, many of them will seek new living options, which could have a huge effect on the housing market. Some will seek single-family homes in communities designed to offer seniors social activities; others who are perhaps not in the strongest health may seek out assisted care facilities,…

In this week’s continuing festival of new housing data, the Commerce Department released information today that showed new home sales fell last month. However, the government did offer some good news. And, of course, there also was a bit of bad news in the report: Yes, new home sales fell month-to-month: 1.8 percent last month, hitting a low points not seen since 1995. And yes, home purchases fell in the past year: A total of 30 percent from February 2007. But–here’s the good news–they didn’t fall as far as some had forecasted. New home sales dropped to a 590,000 annual…

On Monday, housing information from the National Association of Realtors offered hope that the housing situation might be turning around. Existing home sales, the organization said, had increased for the first time in seven months. However, we’re always cautiously optimistic at best–and given the housing data released today, that seems like a solid place to stand. The new data provided further insight, such as: Single-family home prices were down 11.4 percent in January from 2007 levels in 10 major metropolitan areas, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes released Tuesday by New York-based Standard & Poor’s. The overall 20-city composite index…

The National Association of Realtors released its latest data today, and although most news reports have focused on the home sale and price information, some missed one of the report’s most important findings: The home inventory may have shrunk. According to NAR, the U.S. home supply dropped 3 percent at the end of last month to 4.03 million. That’s a 9.6-month supply, compared to the 10.2-month supply that existed at the end of January. Which is a really, really big deal. For months, economists have agonized over the bloated housing supply, wondering when it would shrink, and how. Everyone agrees…

Kids or no kids, you can "recession-proof" your home by buying one in a high-ranked school district–according to a new report from real estate Web site Trulia.com. The advantage of a good school system isn’t exactly a new thought–it’s one of the first thing parents will ask when viewing a property. But the fact it might help a home retain more value is interesting. We’re in what many are calling the worst housing slump in 70–or more–years. If elementary education can actually protect a property over the long-term even for homeowners who don’t have any children, well, that’s worth noting….

Standard & Poor’s recently said it thinks the worst of the subprime securities-related writedowns are over. It’s true, many banks and brokerage firms have already announced their year-end results for 2007. But are we really out of the woods? S&P doesn’t think so. According to an article in BusinessWeek, large banks and investment banks in Europe and North America have so far declared $110 billion in writedowns of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) of subprime asset-backed securities (ABS). S&P suggests insurers and banks in the Gulf region and Asia will add $40 billion to that amount. Past, Present–and Future? The future…

The Fed yesterday announced a large rate cut, bringing the rate down to 2.25 percent–and the backlash already has begun. From NPR: "Fed officials are hoping that by making money cheaper to borrow, they’ll encourage investment and keep the economy from tipping into a recession — if it’s not already there." Yet, as NPR points out, that’s easier said than done. In fact, economist Richard Yamarone of Argus Research believes the cuts are a mistake because making money cheaper isn’t going to fix the mortgage losses that have crippled the economy, hurt confidence in lenders and reduced consumer spending. Which…

Homebuilders may not be feeling great about the residential industry, but the multifamily sector received some good news this week: Construction of housing with two ore more units rose 14.4 percent, and multifamily home groundbreakings increased 14.5 percent. Yet overall builder sentiment is low, according to the National Association of Home Builders, who said  that its housing market index for March was the third lowest reading on record. Buyers are either waiting it out to see if prices fall more or just plain can’t get financing to buy homes, USA Today says. And homebuilders are feeling the effect: The index…