A report from the Washington Post. "Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have moved quickly to warn state-regulated lenders about the hazards to consumers from nontraditional mortgages. Tens of thousands of state-licensed lenders and mortgage brokers are affected by the advisories, also known as a 'guidance.'"

"Such loans include interest-only mortgages and other arrangements where the borrower cuts monthly costs by paying back less than full interest and principal. Federal banking regulators issued a sternly worded advisory in late September. Within 24 hours of the federal guidance's release, six states had issued similar warnings to their own lenders, a notable flurry of activity in a field known for its slow-moving bureaucracies."

"'They were ready for this; they wanted it,' said Mike Stevens, of State Bank Supervisors, who said it was the fastest state-by-state regulatory rollout he had ever seen. 'We had a national need to do this.'"

"In the District, the guidance covers about 1,200 licensed mortgage brokers and lenders. It was adopted Dec. 5. 'We see a need to protect consumers who were not too savvy,' said Lily Qi, a spokeswoman for the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. 'They didn't understand what they signed when they signed on the bottom line. Some companies can be very aggressive in their marketing, and it can be misleading.'"

"Edward Joseph Face, Virginia's commissioner of financial institutions, said he was hopeful the state corporation commission would decide on some version of it within the next month."

"'I don't think we've ever seen this many adjustable interest-only loans on the books in all of history,' Face said. 'I am concerned. There are so many out there, and when the rates start adjusting, it's not clear that borrowers will have prepared themselves.'"

"In 2003, just 10.6 percent of new loans tracked by First American LoanPerformance, were nontraditional mortgages, but during the first nine months of 2006, about 34.1 percent of all borrowers used these loans to buy or refinance homes. In the Washington area, about 47.7 percent of loans originated in 2006 were nontraditional, compared with 10.7 percent in 2003."

"Many economists now say the surge in these loans contributed to the real estate boom of the last few years. Regions that had the highest rates of nontraditional lending were also those areas where housing prices rose most quickly."

The Baltimore Sun. "State assessment notices mailed to 661,000 Maryland property owners show another huge jump in home values despite talk of a flat housing market."

"In Maryland, properties are reassessed every three years and the change in value is phased in. 'We're following the market and looking at values three years old,' said C. John Sullivan, director of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation."

"Tom Ballentine, government affairs director for the Maryland Association of Homebuilders, said the slowdown and rising construction costs are hurting some builders. 'There's some hope this market will reach its bottom and begin to improve in the second half of 2007,' he said."

"Ilene Kessler, president of the Maryland Association of Realtors, said areas around Ocean City are overbuilt, with at least a year's inventory on the market and concerns about storms driving prices down. 'Now that the dust has cleared, affordability is more of a factor all over the state,' Kessler said."

"Recently, the biggest companies in the homeowners insurance business announced that they will stop writing new policies in some coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic and will otherwise limit coverage there. They have already reduced their coverage in states more prone to hurricanes."

"Some real estate agents say they expect the situation will make it harder to sell second homes and investment properties on the waterfront. 'We've already been experiencing problems since last year getting insurance for second-home buyers and the investment class, said Schuyler Benson, an owner of a brokerage on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Some people, he said, are deciding not to buy."

"Allstate told regulators in Maryland this month that beginning in February it would no longer sell new property insurance in all or part of 11 counties that are on or near water, mostly on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. (Affected are Calvert, Dorchester, Somerset, St. Mary's, Talbot, Wicomico and Worcester counties and parts of Anne Arundel, Charles, Prince George's and Queen Anne's counties.)"

"Allstate also will no longer write new homeowners policies in 19 coastal counties of Virginia, said regional corporate relations manager Debbie Pickford. And in the coast-hugging states of Delaware, New Jersey and Connecticut, the company will not write new business no matter where the property is."