<strong>SENATE PASSES FHA MODERNIZATION BILL</strong>In a significant victory for REALTORS® and homeowners across the country, the U.S. Senate on Dec. 14 approved legislation designed to modernize the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) mortgage insurance program by increasing loan limits and helping troubled borrowers with subprime loans refinance into federally insured mortgages. The Senate's approval followed an aggressive call to action by C.A.R. urging REALTORS® to contact Sen. Barbara Boxer seeking her support in passage of the bill.<br /><p>The FHA Modernization Act, approved in a 93-1 vote, would increase loan limits for FHA-insured loans from $362,790 to $417,000, to mirror current conforming loan limits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may purchase. In addition, the Senate bill would allow the FHA to insure refinanced loans for borrowers who are delinquent on their mortgages due to ballooning payments on subprime loans.<br /><br />"This is a tremendous victory for REALTORS® and C.A.R., and I want to thank REALTORS® who responded to our Calls to Action and urged their elected officials to help us pass this bill," said C.A.R. President William E. Brown. "The Senate's action is a milestone in our efforts to provide safe alternatives for financing a home mortgage, not only for those borrowers who are facing foreclosure today, but for future homeowners as well."</p><p><strong>CONGRESS PASSES MORTGAGE RELIEF ACT</strong> <br />Congress approved a bill offering tax relief to struggling homeowners Tuesday, paving the way for final signature by the President of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. H.R. 3648 would eliminate the tax implication of mortgage debt relief. H.R. 3648 covers any mortgage debt relief from Jan. 1, 2007, and will continue to cover mortgage debt relief until Dec. 31, 2009. Additionally, H.R. 3648 will expand the tax deduction for private mortgage insurance (PMI) through Dec. 31, 2010.</p><p><strong>BUILDER CONFIDENCE UNCHANGED IN DECEMBER</strong>Builder confidence in the single-family home category remained unchanged for the third consecutive month in December, reflecting protracted problems in the mortgage sector, coupled with a glut of inventory, according to the latest NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market survey released Monday. The HMI index remains at 19, the lowest reading since the series began in January 1985.</p><p><strong>CALIFORNIANS FEAR SLOWDOWN'S LONG-TERM IMPACT, STUDY SHOWS</strong>The percentage of Californians who identify the current housing slowdown as the most important issue facing the state has increased to 8 percent, up from 4 percent in June, according to a new study by the Public Policy Institute of California. The study says that 28 percent of California adults surveyed fear the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis and housing downturn will damper their own financial circumstances a great deal, while 24 percent say they expect "somewhat" of an impact.</p><p><strong>INTERNET USERS' DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS ARE EXPANDING</strong>As Internet users voluntarily provide more personal information about themselves online, the more "findable" they are becoming, which is slowly changing the age of Web 2.0, according to "Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency," a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.<br /><br />Some 47 percent of adult Internet users have searched for information about themselves, up from just 22 percent in 2002; few monitor their online presence with any regularity, and most do not take steps to limit the information, according to the study. In addition, one in 10 Internet users has a job that requires them to self-promote or market their name on the Web. More than half of all adult Internet users who have created social networking pages for themselves, on sites like Myspace or Facebook, have used a search engine to track others' footprints, according to the study.</p><p><strong>NEW HOME SALES DOWN 46 PERCENT</strong>The pace of new-home sales declined 46 percent in October, according to the latest CBIA/HWMI report. In October, 3,292 homes and condominiums were sold, compared with 6,047 in October 2006. Sales of single family homes fell by 37 percent, while sales of condominiums declined 71 percent.<br /><br />"There doesn't currently seem to be an end in sight in regard to the problems in the mortgage industry," said Jonathan Dienhart, director of Published Research for HWMI. "The market must once again find equilibrium; that can only happen when more homebuyers gain access to credit again, and home prices have relaxed to the point where they can still qualify for a mortgage under more strict lending guidelines."</p><p><strong>NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION FALLS 3.7 PERCENT</strong> <br />Construction of new homes declined in November by 3.7 percent to 1,187,000 units, compared with 1,232,000 units in October, marking a 24.2 percent drop from 1,565,000 units in November 2006, according to the latest data from the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family construction in November fell to 829,000 units, a 5.4 percent decline from October at 876,000 units.</p><p><strong>NEW LEGAL ARTICLE ON STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS</strong>C.A.R.'s Member Legal Services team has published a new legal article, "Statute of Limitations: Deadline on Time to Sue." The article provides members with a guideline on how much time they have to file a lawsuit in the event they have suffered an injury (e.g., breach of contract, personal injury). It focuses only on civil actions and actions in California state courts.<br /><br />This article is available on the What's New and Legal Articles pages of the Legal section on C.A.R. Online (<a title="http://www.car.org/" href="http://www.car.org/"><strong><font color="#333366">www.car.org</font></strong></a>), or go directly to <a title="http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzgwNjk=" href="http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzgwNjk="><strong><font color="#333366">http://www.car.org/index.php?id=MzgwNjk=</font></strong></a> .</p>
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