Housing Prices

The housing market's long, cold winter may finally be heading into a springtime thaw. New data show price declines easing in big cities, sales of new homes improving nationally and foreclosures in California dropping to levels not seen since before the start of the credit crunch nearly five years ago. The easing of foreclosures is seen as key by many economists, since the glut of these properties being sold at a discount has been...

WASHINGTON - In a potential turning point for one of the biggest financial crisis bailouts, Fannie Mae reported a first-quarter profit and - for the first time since the government seized it in 2008 - does not need a quarterly infusion of taxpayer money. The $2.7-billion profit that the giant housing finance company posted Wednesday was its largest since the housing bubble burst in 2007 and is another signal that the real estate market finally might have hit bottom. "It's always hard to call a turn until everything is in the rear-view mirror," said Susan McFarland, Fannie Mae's chief financial officer.

For a clue to why California is losing its allure as a place to settle down, just ask Jennifer McCluer, who moved out of California in 2007 after she obtained her license in skin care. Unable to afford Orange County's sky-high rents, she opted for Portland, Ore. "A big motivator was that I lived with roommate after roommate after roommate," said McCluer, 30. "Friends said you could probably live on your own up here. The rent was a huge deal for me. " McCluer would like to move back, but it's still too expensive.

Less than a year before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Bros. plunged the global economy into a terrifying free fall, the Wall Street firm awarded nearly $700 million to 50 of its highest-paid employees, according to internal documents reviewed by The Times . The documents, which were among the millions of pages submitted in Lehman's bankruptcy, show the list of top earners each were pledged $8 million to $51 million in cash, stock and other compensation....

Less than a year before the 2008 collapse of Lehman Bros. plunged the global economy into a terrifying free fall, the Wall Street firm awarded nearly $700 million to 50 of its highest-paid employees, according to internal documents reviewed by The Times . The documents, which were among the millions of pages submitted in Lehman's bankruptcy, show the list of top earners each were pledged $8 million to $51 million in cash, stock and other compensation....

Home prices are way down in Southern California. But the real estate information service Zillow.com says the median values in Los Angeles and Orange counties may not have fallen quite as much as is often reported. That's because the median sale price -- which provides a quick market snapshot and is reported each month in the Los Angeles Times and other media -- can exaggerate the extent of a market downturn, economists say.

There are homes. And then there is Candy Land -- all 56,500 square feet of it. Candy Spelling, widow of legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, has put her 4.7-acre residence in Holmby Hills up for sale. Priced at $150 million, it's currently the most expensive residential listing in the U.S. Whether Spelling will have to take a haircut on that asking price in today's market remains to be seen. If so, she'll be prepared: The home has its own barbershop. Plus a whole lot more.

For the first time in almost four years, the Orange County Housing Authority will accept applications for a federal program providing $45 million in subsidized rents to low-income families. Advocates for the poor said the new program offers a rare opportunity for thousands of families, but stressed that it won't make much of a dent in the county's affordable housing shortage. Rents have climbed to an all-time high in Orange County, averaging more than $1,000 a month.

The top two floors of a Century City residential tower still under construction have been sold for a record $47 million to Candy Spelling, the widow of TV mogul Aaron Spelling. A $47-million price tag may seem like an enormous sum, but this is all about downshifting in the fast lane.

The wood-frame Carousel grammar school survived the earthquake that destroyed much of this city in January. Beatrice Moise had taught there for five years and hoped she would continue when schools reopened in spring. But in February she found out that the director had rented the building out to the international relief group Oxfam. Buildings in the upscale suburb of Petionville, where foreigners like to live and work, were in high demand, and Oxfam paid $10,000 a month. The students, mostly from wealthy families, would probably have little problem finding other schools.

The housing market's long, cold winter may finally be heading into a springtime thaw. New data show price declines easing in big cities, sales of new homes improving nationally and foreclosures in California dropping to levels not seen since before the start of the credit crunch nearly five years ago. The easing of foreclosures is seen as key by many economists, since the glut of these properties being sold at a discount has been...

Despite signs of trouble for the nation's overheated housing market in 2006, there was plenty of banter and laughter around the big mahogany and granite table inside the Federal Reserve where top policymakers gathered one day in March. Running his first meeting as chairman of the central bank, Ben S. Bernanke, in his collegial style, solicited observations about the economy from colleagues. Some of the Fed's staff earlier had talked about the potential risks, but in that meeting and in subsequent ones that year, there was a glaring absence of alarm about the dangers of the housing bubble and what might lie ahead for the broader economy.

For a clue to why California is losing its allure as a place to settle down, just ask Jennifer McCluer, who moved out of California in 2007 after she obtained her license in skin care. Unable to afford Orange County's sky-high rents, she opted for Portland, Ore. "A big motivator was that I lived with roommate after roommate after roommate," said McCluer, 30. "Friends said you could probably live on your own up here. The rent was a huge deal for me. " McCluer would like to move back, but it's still too expensive.

The Strand House Rating: half a star Rating is based on food, service and ambience, with price taken into account in relation to quality. ****: Outstanding on every level. ***: Excellent. **: Very good. *: Good. No star: Poor to satisfactory. Location: 117 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Manhattan Beach, (310) 545-7470, http://www.thestrandhousemb.com Prices: Salads, $11 to $15; appetizers, $13 to $18; pizzas, $13 to $19; mains, $23 to $39; sides, $8; desserts, $8 to $12. Corkage fee, $30 per bottle.

More than 49 million Americans live in poverty, an increase from previous counts that reflects heavy medical expenses for older people and high housing costs in Western states, especially California, according to new estimates announced Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau. The estimates, produced by a first-ever experimental recalibration of the federal model of hardship, adds 2.5 million people to the 46.6 million included in the official poverty count for 2010 released in September.

By Edmund Sanders The burgeoning tent encampment along this city's elegant Rothschild Boulevard may not be the start of a Tahrir Square-style revolution, but Israeli student protests over rising rents have exposed a deep middle-class frustration over the economy and are presenting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his biggest domestic challenge yet. The protests began small in central Tel Aviv two weeks ago, but expanded in recent days...

The rich may indeed be like the rest of us. Prices of their homes are now falling too. Gated mansions and hillside estates have held their own through most of the real estate slump, but data released Monday showed big drops in the region's most exclusive neighborhoods. Median sale prices fell by 13% in Beverly Hills in April, compared with the same month last year.

U.S. demand for home loans fell for a third straight week last week, while prices for single-family homes retreated further in July as the housing market struggles for balance with less government support. Loan applications to buy homes fell 3.3%, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said Wednesday. A second report showed the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index dropped 0.5% after falling 1.2% in June. The housing market, the main catalyst of the worst recession since the 1930s, has hit a soft patch since the end of a popular home buyer tax credit in April, posing a threat to the fragile economic recovery.

As she unloaded groceries in the driveway of her Palo Alto home, Lisen Stromberg was approached by a real estate broker who asked whether she'd be willing to sell her five-bedroom house to a senior Facebook executive. "There is a house down the street selling for $6.3 million. I'll sell you mine for an even $6 million," she replied. Her tongue-in-cheek asking price was about twice what her house is worth, but the broker didn't miss a beat and said he would speak with his client.