“We are experiencing home price depreciation almost like never before, with the exception of the Great Depression.”  -Angelo R. Mozilo, Countrywide Financial Corp. Chief Executive                                             San Diego real estate downtown

Fannie Mae reported a net loss of $2.2 billion, or $2.57 per share, for the first three months of 2008, vs. a profit of $961 million, or 85% per share, a year ago, on a 38.2% rise in revenue, to $3.78 billion. Fannie also recorded a $1.1 billion charge in the first quarter on mortgage-related securities backed by Alt-A and subprime loans that were classified as trading securities.

Fannie Mae said it now expects home prices across the U.S. to fall by an average of 7% to 9% this year, having already dropped 3% in the first quarter. With credit losses now expected to be bigger due to a sharper decline in home prices,

The government established Fannie Mae in order to expand the flow of mortgage funds in all communities, at all times, under all economic conditions, and to help lower the costs to buy a home. In 1968, Fannie Mae was re-chartered by Congress as a shareholder-owned company, funded solely with private capital raised from investors on Wall Street and around the world.         San Diego downtown real estate

The National Association of Realtors just released a report on monthly pending home sales for existing homes. In March this index hit a new low. The NAR also downwardly revised February index readings. With March starting the usually strong Spring selling season, the pending sales drop clearly shows that the real estate has yet to hit bottom. 

As far as San Diego's real estate market goes, the activity (or lack thereof) in resales seems to clearly show that any hope of a real bottom to our local housing market this year is a 100 to one long shot!                   La Jolla real estate sales

You can own a cozy 103-room English country home, with a panic room, marble driveways and helipads for $138 million – a property that tops the 2007 Forbes annual list of the world’s priciest homes for sale.

Updown Court in Windlesham, Surrey, has 58 acres of gardens and woodlands, five pools, 22 marble bathrooms and more than 500,000 square feet of living space.

Coming a close second is The Hala Ranch, a 95-acre property in Aspen, Colorado, owned by Prince Bandar ben Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, for $135 million. The 56,000-square-foot mansion has 15 bedrooms and 16 baths.

Donald Trump’s Mansion de L’Amitie is up for sale at an asking price of $125 million. Trump bought the estate in 2004 for $41.25 million at a bankruptcy auction, Forbes.com said.

Sharing fourth place at $100 million each are Tranquility, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a 210-acre estate owned by Tommy Hilfiger co-founder Joel Horowitz which has a nearly 200-foot-long quay.                      San Diego County real estate agents

This year, over 155,000 families have lost their homes to foreclosures and within the first three months of 2008. According to CNN, the states that have been the most greatly affected are in the Southwest, with Nevada, California, and Arizona at the top of the list for foreclosure filings. The outlook is not much more hopeful, with an expected spike again in the last third or fourth quarter of this year.                       downtown San  Diego real estate  for sale

Mortgage lenders have tightened standards recently. But consumers still have the potential to get approved for a bigger home loan than they can afford.

                A general rule of thumb is that no more than 28% of gross monthly income should go toward house-related debt (including taxes and insurance). Besides first mortgages, this includes home-equity loans, which allow people to take out a lump-sum loan against the house, and home equity lines of credit, which allow people to borrow against the house over time, taking out money when needed.

                A person who makes $ 5,000 a month before taxes, for example, wouldn’t want the monthly bill for house debt exceeding $1,400.

                Note that that 28% guideline has a caveat: Monthly debt payments for everything- house, credit cards, car loans, student loans, etc.- shouldn’t be above 36% of gross monthly income. So if you spend 28% of your monthly pay on house debt, you have only 8% left for the remainder of your debt payments. In the example of someone who earns $5,000 a month, 8% would come to $400. Many car payments are more than that.      Century 21 San Diego Realtor

Are you having trouble making your home mortgage payments? Are you facing foreclosure on your home? Get all the facts before you pay someone to help you work out your mortgage problems.

"Bankruptcy foreclosure scams" target people whose home mortgages are in trouble. Scam operators advertise over the Internet and in local publications, distribute flyers, or contact people whose homes are listed in the foreclosure notices. Sometimes they direct their appeals to specific religious or ethnic groups.

DON’T GET

"LOCKED OUT" OF

YOUR HOME

BY A BANKRUPTCY

SCAM OPERATOR

These scam operators may promise to take care of your problems with your mortgage lender or to obtain refinancing for you. Sometimes they also ask you to pay your mortgage payments directly to the scam operator. They may even ask you to hand over your property deed to the operator, and then make payments to the operator in order to stay in your home.

But instead of contacting your lender or refinancing your loan, the scam operator pockets all the money you paid, and then files a bankruptcy case in your name — sometimes without your knowledge.

A bankruptcy filing often stops a home foreclosure, but only temporarily. If a bankruptcy is filed in your name but you don't participate in the case, the judge will dismiss the case and the foreclosure proceedings will continue.

If this happens, you will lose the money you paid to the scam operator — AND YOU COULD LOSE YOUR HOME. You will also have a bankruptcy listed on your credit record for years afterward.

Proceed with care if an individual or company:

*Calls itself a "mortgage consultant," "foreclosure service," or similar name.

*Contacts or advertises to people whose homes are listed for foreclosure.

*Collects a fee before it provides services to you.

*Tells you to make your home mortgage payments directly to the individual or company.

*Tells you to transfer your property deed or title to the individual or company.

If you can't pay your mortgage, call your mortgage lender or contact a lawyer for help. Your state or local bar association may be able to help you find low-cost legal help.

If you think an individual or company is running a mortgage foreclosure scam, contact the local office of the United States Trustee. The United States Trustee is a Justice Department official who monitors the bankruptcy system. Look for your local United States Trustee's telephone number in your telephone directory or on our web site at www.usdoj.gov/ust. Source: http://www.usdoj.gov           San Diego California real estate agents