Fed Keeps Its Options Open (BUILDER Online) Minutes of December meeting reveal a Fed willing to make more cuts if necessary, but open to reversing cuts if conditions improve in 2008.
Orleans Homebuilders Sells Off 1,400 Lots (BUILDER Online) Builder closes nine transactions in five states worth $86 million.
M/I Leaves West Palm Beach Market (BUILDER Online) Big builder operated in Florida hot spot since 1985; sells off 3,700 lots overall.
Existing-Home Sales Inch Up in November (CNBC/Reuters) The pace of existing U.S. home sales edged up in November to a 5 million-unit annual rate, and the median price fell from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors reports.
With Levitt and Sons in Bankruptcy, Buyers Are Left Out (The New York Times) The collapse of Levitt, the first big home builder to fail in the current slump, illustrates how the turmoil in real estate is spreading far beyond subprime borrowers who cannot pay their mortgages.
Seven States Standardize Mortgage Broker Laws (MSNBC/Associated Press) The effort could be expanded upon by Congressional Democrats, who are expected in 2008 to continue pushing for tighter national standards.
Blog: Plan of Attack (BUILDER Online) Agree or disagree with the thoughts of BUILDER Editorial Director Boyce Thompson.
BUILDER Business Update (BUILDER Online) A weekly e-mail newsletter with breaking industry news on the business of building homes. Sign up for the BUILDER Business Update and other Hanley Wood newsletters.
Take the BUILDER Poll (BUILDER Online) What effect will Bush's mortgage plan have on the housing crisis?
From the Pages of BUILDER: A Tale of Two Master Plans (BUILDER Online) The redevelopment of a blighted waterfront neighborhood in Virginia and the grounds of a state mental hospital in Oregon show just how much public-private partnerships can accomplish. Check out more from the current issue of BUILDER.
Robb Crocker is the senior editor for BUILDER Online. Please e-mail any comments, questions, suggestions, and news tips to rcrocker@hanleywood.com.