Items of Interest:
Holman Jenkins, Wall Street Journal:
Why a Housing Bailout Won't Help -- "We are working with borrowers to keep them in their homes, but a lot of them really don't want to stay."
So spoke the chairwoman of a Southern California home lender to the Los Angeles Times, inadvertently putting her finger on why trying to bail out the mortgages behind today's uptick in the foreclosure rate may be self-defeating, and why many in Congress rightly have gotten cold feet...
---
Wall Street Journal:Foreclosures Prompt Schools to Get Tough -- Some school districts are intensifying efforts to make sure students actually live where they are registered. One reason: The rise in home foreclosures may prod parents into faking addresses to keep their children at their current schools...
---
Housing Wire:Mortgage Applications Tumble 7.8 Percent: MBA -- Mortgage applications fell last week as purchases and refinancing volume slid, and mortgage rates likely rose slightly, according to a weekly report published Wednesday morning by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s market composite index dropped to 621.6 for the week ended May 16, a drop of 7.8 percent from one week earlier...
Mortgage applications drop 7.8% - CNN Money
---
NY Times:Economic Tide Is Rising for Repo Man -- So many people have so many things they can no longer afford. This is an excellent time to be a repo man.
When a boat owner defaults on his loan, the bank hires Jeff Henderson to seize its property. The former Army detective tracks the boat down in a backyard or a marina or a garage and hauls it to his storage area and later auctions it off. After nearly 20 years in the repossession business, Mr. Henderson has never been busier.
“I used to take the weak ones,” he said. “Now I’m taking the whole herd.” ...
Boats - the newest economic proxy - Blown Mortgage blog
----
- Bolstering Fannie and Freddie - Editorial, Washington Post
- A Compromise on Fannie, Freddie - Wall Street Journal
- Retail Commercial Real Estate Declines, Discounters Faring Better - Seeking Alpha
- Macklowe in talks for $3.6bn skyscraper sale - Financial Times
- A College Diploma's Worth? Ask Her - David Leonhardt, New York Times
