Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Existing-home sales increased 2.0 percent from April, but are 15.9 percent below the 5.93 million-unit pace in May 2007. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $208,600 in May, down 6.3 percent from a year ago when the median was $222,700."

"Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there's still a lot of inventory in the market. 'The large supply of homes on the market clearly favors buyers, and it should take several months to draw the inventory down,' he said. 'Foreclosures and short sales appear to be a larger part of the market, particularly in California, and are creating a drag on current home prices.'"

From Realty Check. "I asked the Realtors how much of these sales are 'distressed' properties, that is, short sales and REO sales which are bank-owned properties."

"According to the Realtors, a full one third of sales are distressed properties. Think about that. Five million home sales expected this year and of those about 1.65 million will be homes that a seller couldn't afford to keep."

From MarketWatch. "Lennar Corp. reported Thursday a second-quarter loss that wasn't as deep as the year-ago period, but the home builder expects conditions in the housing market to worsen as the year wears on. Lennar posted a loss of $120.9 million in the three months ended May 31. Total revenue fell 61% to $1.13 billion, Lennar said."

"'We recognize that the remainder of 2008 will likely see further deterioration in overall market conditions,' said CEO Stuart Miller. 'Foreclosures have increased while higher unemployment and diminishing consumer confidence have defined overall economic weakness.'"

From Bloomberg. "Miller is reducing prices to lure buyers. The average price of a Lennar home in the fiscal first quarter fell 8.3 percent to $278,000 from a year earlier and the company sold the most homes in Arizona, Colorado and Texas. The median U.S. new home was $231,000 in May."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution. "No one wants to buy Atlanta-based Post Properties. So the builder of multifamily communities announced Wednesday that it has ended its five-month quest to be purchased. A number of other factors have worked against Post, said analyst Haendel St. Juste, including the high cost of construction and the prices Post paid for land when competing against condo builders."

"Post Properties owns 22,437 apartment homes in 62 communities. The company is also developing and selling 535 condominiums in four communities. 'Once people got in under the [Post] kimono they realized there were some issues going on,' St. Juste said."

From Business Week. "A subdued Angelo Mozilo got choked up at the last shareholder meeting for Countrywide Financial. Nearly 70% of Countrywide shareholders approved the firm's sale to Bank of America at the June 25 meeting. The deal is expected to close July 1."

"Security was extremely tight at the event, held at Countrywide's campus-like headquarters in suburban Calabasas, Calif., northwest of Los Angeles. Security guards in dark suits and earpieces roamed the premises. Mozilo entered the auditorium quickly from the side of the stage just before the meeting began."

"Mozilo gave a short speech as the votes were being tallied. 'Despite widespread and often unfounded headlines of the past year, Countrywide has made a positive impact on the country,' he said."

"He recounted how the company had invested early in new technologies that made mortgage processing quicker and more efficient. He said Countrywide was the first to pass $500 billion in loans made in a single year, and the first to pass $1 trillion in loans being serviced."

"Countrywide's passing means the end of such 'monoline' firms, in favor of more diversified institutions, Mozilo told shareholders. In the future, he said, 'the business of mortgages will be housed within a banking protocol.'"

"Scott Adams, a regional coordinator with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees's pension fund, came prepared with a speech he did not get to read. Adams scoffed at Mozilo's claim that Countrywide's efforts had kept 143,000 troubled borrowers in their homes. 'He said they made 22 million loans; 143,000 is not a whole lot,' he said."

"'I'm very proud of our accomplishments,' Mozilo said. 'We've made the dream of home ownership available to everyone regardless of ethnicity. We've helped millions of people in good times and bad.'"

The Seattle PI. "State regulators are seeking to revoke the license of Countrywide Financial and fine the nation's largest mortgage lender $1 million after its investigation showed it engaged in alleged predatory practices."

"'The allegation offers evidence that Countrywide engaged in a pattern to target minority groups and engage in predatory practices,' Gov. Chris Gregoire said at a news conference Wednesday."

"Gregoire said Bank of America's takeover of Countrywide 'will not stop our enforcement actions. We want these consumers to be made whole.'"

The Chicago Tribune. "Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan won the race by a nose Wednesday, suing mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. for fraud hours before her California counterpart did the same."

"Madigan then introduced Schaumburg special-education teacher Melissa White, who said she was one of the victims of Countrywide's business practices. White, a single mother, said she approached Countrywide in 2005 because she wanted to refinance her two-bedroom home to pay medical bills."

"When White showed up at the closing, she was told she didn't qualify for a fixed-rate loan and instead would be receiving a loan known as a 3/27-a fixed rate of 8.75 percent for three years, which would beginning adjusting at regular intervals."

"When the first reset approached, White could refinance again, her broker told her. But by then, the credit crisis was in full swing and White was stuck."

"It took her six months and hours on the phone trying to reach someone before the mess was straightened out. Yet her credit remains damaged, White said."

"'I was sold a bill of goods and there are just so many more out there,' she said. Since the problems with her mortgage, White said she and her son have been 'going without, going to a food pantry, deciding which medication to take and which to go without.'"

"The bigger issue, said Bert Ely, a banking consultant in Virginia, is whether subprime lenders were doing exactly what the nation's public officials wanted them to do-finding new and creative ways to boost home ownership among people who would not have qualified for traditional loans."

"'Public policy has done everything it can to help people make bad bets on housing,' Ely said. 'We've been encouraging people to take risks they shouldn't have taken. There is plenty of blame to go around.'"

From CNN Money. "CNN's Larry King on Tuesday talked to several experts in the real estate industry to get advice on handling the mortgage meltdown."

"King: 'Let's take a call from Tuscaloosa, Alabama.' Caller: 'I have a loan with Countrywide, and they will not refinance our interest-only loan, because they say our debt-to-income ratio is too high, and their workout department won't even look at us because we've never been behind on our mortgage and we're not currently behind. It's going to reset in August. What can we do?'"

"Barbara Corcoran: 'I have a solution, and it's a fall-back solution, but it sure gets attention. You can make an appointment, or not make an appointment, go over there with the deed to your property and the keys to your front door and say, OK, I've had it. Here's my deed, here's my keys, and you'll get attention.'"

"King: 'Is this a good time to sell a house?' Corcoran: 'Of course it's not a good time to sell a house. The question is, if you must sell a house, how do you unload it?'"

The Connexion on France. "Falling sales of homes are forcing owners to slash up to 30% off the value of their house. Property websites targeting foreign buyers are seeing some of the largest drops in prices."

"British estate agent in the Dordogne Gil Kendall, who has specialised in second homes for foreigners for 20 years, said 'the number of sales in our part of the world has fallen dramatically.'"

"The percentage of foreign buyers was 'greatly reduced,' she added. 'In the last two years prices have not risen overall and are starting to fall from the level two years ago. This explains why deals are being done at 20-30 percent below the asking price,' she explained."

"'I wouldn't be surprised if it's another three to four years before things line up again,' Mrs Kendall said. 'People thought prices could only go up. Property was cheaper than at home. Suddenly the situation has changed quite dramatically.'"

The Star Phoenix from Canada. "Ron and Wendy Balezantis and their children packed their minivan Wednesday and drove south to Arizona. This will be the first time the kids see the new condominium Ron and Wendy bought a few months ago."

"The Balezantis family has joined a growing number of Saskatchewan residents buying up houses and condos in American states, particularly Arizona. The strong Canadian dollar, combined with rock-bottom prices for real estate in many cities such as Phoenix, means Canadians can snap up vacation homes or investment properties for less than half of the price of just one year ago."

"'You can get brand-new houses here for nothing. Nice three-, four-bedroom places for $200,000. There is a real opportunity,' said Glenn Williamson, CEO of the Phoenix-based Canada Arizona Business Council."

"'We fell in love with the area and just said, 'Let's do it. Let's go for it.' The prices are way cheaper than in Saskatoon,' Mike Losie said."

"The brand-new units, which Losie said range from $120,000 to $160,000, have a pool, deluxe fitness centre and other amenities. Both families intend to use the places for several weeks a year and more when they retire in a few years. If they decide to sell in the future, the market will undoubtedly have bounced back by that point, they say."

"Phoenix Realtor Jay Thompson said if it wasn't for Canadian buyers, 'we'd be starving.'"

"Al Didur of Realty Executives in Saskatoon said...some of his clients are taking equity out of their Saskatoon properties and investing it in Phoenix, which is seen as a severely undervalued market that will bounce back, he said."

"Even groups in Arizona working with low-income buyers or sellers, or those stung by predatory lending companies, welcome the influx of homebuyers from Canada. 'Right now, we see it as a good thing,' said Mayra Khunpannya, a counsellor with the non-profit group Acorn Housing."

"For the Balezantis and Losie families, they say they intend to make the most of this unexpected chance to own property in such a great spot. 'It's a good investment and a golden opportunity for us to do something we never dreamed of doing,' said Mike Losie."