Regions

London–U.K. bank mortgage approvals last month fell to their lowest point in more than a decade, according to the London-based British Bankers’ Association.The figures indicate how stricter lending is reducing housing market action, the Financial Times said. Lenders in the U.K. have become more stringent about issuing loans–and also have increased rates and taken away mortgage offers in the past month.BBA members approved 35,417 home purchase mortgages in March–the lowest amount since 1997. All forms of mortgages declined, including refinancings. Since February, the approval level had fallen 18 percent and was 46 percent lower than a year ago.

Seattle–Starbucks forecast lower fiscal second quarter earnings on Wednesday and said the weak housing market has reduced demand for its product, the Seattle Times said.Seattle-based Starbucks said earnings will probably decline to 15 cents a share, a drop from 19 cents last year.Full-year earnings per share were also forecast to be “somewhat lower” than 2007’s 87 cents a share.The coffee retailer’s revenue is predicted to increase 12 percent for the quarter. Its second quarter ended March 30; actual results are set for an April 30 release.CEO Howard Schultz said that the economy is having “a substantial impact on our performance,”…

Calabasas, Calif.–As the housing market continues to soften, two of the biggest U.S. homebuilders–Calabasas, Calif.-based Ryland Group Inc. and Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based Pulte Homes Inc.–announced quarterly losses this week, CNNMoney.com reports. Ryland and Pulte released their first-quarter results after the closing bell on Wednesday. Ryland posted a first quarter loss of $29.3 million, after a loss of $32.2 million last year. Pulte had a net loss of $696.1 million; in the same period last year, the company posted a net loss of $85.7 million. Revenues fell 23 percent to $1.4 billion in the first quarter compared to 2007.Ryland’s revenue for…

By Erika Schnitzer, Associate EditorNew York–According to Standard & Poor’s most recent results for the S&P/GRA Commercial Real Estate Indices (SPCREX), the apartment sector has reported an annual price gain of 5.8 percent from last January. However, from December to January, the growth rate was 0.6 percent.”While prices were up slightly for December to January, the momentum has slowed and will continue to do so,” David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, tells MHN. “I can’t tell whether we’re going to see prices flatten out of if there is a real risk of…

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorAs executive director of Community Housing Innovations (CHI), Alexander Roberts has overseen the acquisition of 500 houses and apartments in Westchester, Ulster, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, with a budget of $15 million a year. Roberts founded CHI in 1991, after spending nearly 20 years as a television news correspondent. After covering the welfare hotel scandals in the late-80s in New York City, Roberts decided to leave broadcasting for affordable housing development and human services.Roberts tells MHN about the challenges of affordable housing and provides tips to those thinking about investing in or developing affordable housing.MHN:…

By Teresa O’Dea Hein, Managing EditorNew York–Today marks the opening day for the 36th annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House, which receives as many as 20,000 visitors during its four-week run. For the first time in this popular event’s history, it is being held in a multifamily building, as opposed to a townhouse. Its 2008 home is Manhattan House, located at 200 E. 66th St. on the Upper East Side.Manhattan House, officially designated as a landmark building last year, was designed in 1952 by renowned architect Gordon Bunshaft for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. The building marked the first big splash…

New Haven, Conn.–Yale University economist Robert Shiller, creator of the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, said Tuesday that U.S. housing prices could drop more than they did during the Great Depression, BusinessWeek reports.During a speech to the New Haven Lawn Club, Shiller called for more bailouts to prevent foreclosures and forecast price declines more than the 30 percent 1930s-era Depression drop.According to Shiller, home prices already have fallen 15 percent since 2006; they rose roughly 85 percent from 1997 until 2006–a period which Shiller called the biggest housing boom in U.S. history.The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index is…

Washington, D.C.–U.S. bank failures could spiral higher than historical records due to poorly underwritten loans, according to John Dugan, who oversees about 1,700 national banks as comptroller of the currency.Dugan said that for the four years prior to the current lender situation, nearly no institution regulated by his agency had collapsed, the Financial Times reports.“We’re going to have some more bank failures that will come back more to historical norms and may go above that with time,” he told the Times. “That is a natural consequence of the economy going from historically exceptionally benign credit conditions to something that is…

Zurich–Switzerland’s second-biggest bank–Credit Suisse Group, based in Zurich–will eliminate 500 investment banking and administration jobs because earnings dropped for the third consecutive quarter, Bloomberg said.Since the subprime mortgage crisis began, Credit Suisse has cut 1,320 jobs, including 320 in September and October and 500 investment banking positions in January.Overall, banks and brokerages on a global level have eliminated 48,423 jobs in the past 10 months. Citigroup Inc. lost $5.11 billion in the first quarter and plans to cut 9,000 jobs; Merrill Lynch & Co., which announced a $1.96 billion first quarter loss, axed 3,000 jobs.

Charlotte, N.C.–Bank of America Corp. will cease offering certain risky mortgage loans once its purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. is complete, the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank said Tuesday.Bank of America hasn’t offered subprime mortgages since 2001; once it folds Countrywide into its business, it will no longer allow the lender to offer adjustable-rate mortgages that allow borrowers to pay less than the interest due, according to the Los Angeles Times.The bank also will not give out subprime mortgages, typically issued to borrowers with faulty credit. Bank of America also will “significantly curtail” mortgages given to borrowers without full income or asset…