This stimulus plan that President Bush is expected to sign shortly contains a few housing provisions–but is that enough? A few points to consider: One Federal Regulator Isn’t So Sure. The head of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (who likely doesn’t have a small business card–that’s a mouthful) yesterday criticized the plan’s measures to give Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae larger loan limits, saying it would just get the agencies–which lawmakers have argued already need more regulation–wrapped up in some of the messiest housing markets in the U.S. (MHN’s blog expressed a similar concern in January about encouraging…

The National Association of Realtors released its monthly report of home sales today, and the housing outlook for 2008 is pretty negative–even for the typically sunny real estate agent organization. This is the group, of course, that has been criticized for its ever-present optimism. Remember in July, when NAR said it felt home prices would increase throughout all of 2008, even as it decreased its estimate for those increases from 2.6 to 2.2 percent? Or that time in October when NAR said mortgage conditions were improving and that we’d see a market correction in early 2008? (That statement was made…

Last week, a 24-year-old real estate agent in Canada died after meeting a potential client in a brand new luxury home. Police are investigating it as a homicide; the agent reportedly had concerns about the client, who said she needed to purchase a high-end home that day. According to the Globe and Mail, that crime is sadly not the first involving a real estate industry member. A Winnipeg-area real estate agent was sexually assaulted by a man who said he was looking for a home in December; in 2002, an agent in Calgary was tied up and robbed while showing…

The Bush administration’s fiscal 2009 budget, released Monday, has a common theme: Housing woes. The budget frequently mentions the current slump and makes it clear that housing will continue to affect economic growth next year. That’s no shock to any members of the residential building, development, sales or financing industries–or anyone who reads the newspaper on a regular basis–but as we search for signs that the housing gloom and doom is coming to an end, it’s worth noting yet another governmental body doesn’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Last month, we saw the Fed finally acknowledge the housing…

The Bush administration’s 2009 budget, released Monday, has a common theme: Housing woes. The budget frequently mentions the current slump and makes it clear that housing will continue to affect economic growth next year. That’s no shock to any members of the residential building, development, sales or financing industries–or anyone who reads the newspaper on a regular basis–but as we search for signs that the housing gloom and doom is coming to an end, it’s worth noting yet another governmental body doesn’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon. Last month, we saw the Fed finally acknowledge the housing decline’s…

The design industry and many city governments have made serious efforts in the past few years to encourage sustainable building–but the average homeowner may still find going green is anything but easy. Even homeowners with the most carefully constructed plans are hitting sustainability snags, according to a recent Chicago Tribune article that ran last week. The article began by outlining the troubles Plainfield, Ill. homeowners Nora and Richard Parkman encountered when trying to add a solar energy system to their home. The Caton Ridge Homeowners Association shot down the Parkman’s proposal because they didn’t like the way the solar panels…

Homeowners aren’t the only victims of the high U.S. foreclosure rate–their pets are also finding themselves homeless at an alarming rate. After Hurricane Katrina, news of animals left behind–or rendered homeless by the storm–were everywhere; but stories about cats, dogs and other pets stranded when their owners flee suddenly from their about-to-be foreclosed homes are just now making their way to the media (via newswires and blogs like this one.) Dogs are starving; cats find themselves unable to blend with feral felines who recognize the domesticated animals as being different. Unfortunately, although a recent Associated Press article said no concrete…

News today from the Commerce Department that consumer spending barely increased last month–and, if you consider inflation, didn’t at all–along with a higher amount of unemployment claims doesn’t indicate our economy is doing all that well. And yet, some signs exist that the worst of the current growth problems may be over: Wall Street Feels Good. CNNMoney.com reported this week that real estate developer- and operation-related stocks have risen from recent low points. (They also rose in the past two days based on the anticipation and announcement of the most recent Fed rate cut.) The Stimulus Plan Offers Hope to…

While the second Fed rate cut in a month–announced Wednesday afternoon–wasn’t a huge surprise to the financial community, the thought process behind it was: The Fed’s scared, and that doesn’t offer much comfort to those worried about an impending recession. The new cut brought the benchmark Federal funds rate down by half a point to 3 percent and followed an emergency reduction eight days ago, which lowered the benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point. Wall Street had widely expected the reduction–stocks ended the day Tuesday "sharply higher" because of anticipation that the Fed would offer an interest-rate…