Although there were no major economic reports out today and the housing reform bill was approved and signed into law this weekend,wil be signed into law, the market could not hold on to positive territory. It's expected that this will help Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stay in business and will help mortgage originators who sell the loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The Financial sector dragged the markets down and what's being termed as a "bear market rally" stumbled in a big way. Continued concern over earnings, financial sector mortgage writedowns and the economy are weighing heaviy on the stock market.
The warning from the International Monetary Fund that bad credit conditions will continue to be a strain on the economy certainly did not help. I know we all want to declare that this is over, but unfortunately it's not.
Again, the caveat that while all this is happening on a macro basis, it's the microcosm of your particular real estate community that has to be evaluated. Looking at certain areas of Burbank and the San Fernando Valley will tell you that not all areas are created equal and while some areas are feeling the pain of many short sales and foreclosures, many areas are not.
We'll see what the rest of the week brings........
