Countrywide shares sink; KB Home results abysmal
January 9, 2008 Detroit Free Press
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS REPORTS
Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, sank to an all-time low Tuesday as a major homebuilder offered a grim outlook for the industry and the Bush administration signaled it is growing more concerned about rising mortgage defaults.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading of Countrywide before the company issued a statement denying rumors that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.
KB Home reported a fourth-quarter loss of $772.7 million versus a loss of $49.6 million in the same period in 2006 and said there are no indications that the housing market is stabilizing.
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush conceded, "It's going to take a while to work through the downturn," and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he is concerned about additional home defaults. Paulson added the administration is exploring expanding a deal it brokered with lenders last fall to include relief to people who borrowed at conventional rates as well as those with subprime, adjustable-rate loans.
Still, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday it expects the sales pace of existing homes to pick up significantly in the second half of the year and projected U.S. existing home sales would increase 0.9% this year to 5.7 million.
In hard-hit southeast Michigan, Gerry Banister, a real estate agent with Re/Max Showcase Homes in Birmingham, said Tuesday that buyers and sellers are starting to feel optimistic. In the past two weeks, he has seen a marked increase in traffic on his Web site from people interested in listings for homes and condos.
"People want to be positive and want to get back in, whether it's buying a house or a car," Banister said.
January 9, 2008 Detroit Free Press
FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS REPORTS
Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, sank to an all-time low Tuesday as a major homebuilder offered a grim outlook for the industry and the Bush administration signaled it is growing more concerned about rising mortgage defaults.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading of Countrywide before the company issued a statement denying rumors that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.
KB Home reported a fourth-quarter loss of $772.7 million versus a loss of $49.6 million in the same period in 2006 and said there are no indications that the housing market is stabilizing.
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush conceded, "It's going to take a while to work through the downturn," and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he is concerned about additional home defaults. Paulson added the administration is exploring expanding a deal it brokered with lenders last fall to include relief to people who borrowed at conventional rates as well as those with subprime, adjustable-rate loans.
Still, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday it expects the sales pace of existing homes to pick up significantly in the second half of the year and projected U.S. existing home sales would increase 0.9% this year to 5.7 million.
In hard-hit southeast Michigan, Gerry Banister, a real estate agent with Re/Max Showcase Homes in Birmingham, said Tuesday that buyers and sellers are starting to feel optimistic. In the past two weeks, he has seen a marked increase in traffic on his Web site from people interested in listings for homes and condos.
"People want to be positive and want to get back in, whether it's buying a house or a car," Banister said.
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