Home Values Up Disputed advice: Making payments on 2nd loan can discourage bank from helping on the first one - By Kenneth R. Harney -  Are you delinquent on your first mortgage but still making monthly payments on your home-equity credit line or second mortgage?  If so, a finance and real estate professor from DePaul University has some controversial advice for you: Stop paying on your second immediately. - Washington Post

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New Home Sales: August 2010 -  by Sold at the Top - ... the U.S. Census Department released its monthly New Residential Home Sales Report for August showing continued stunning weakness with sales remaining flat at an all-time low of 288K annualized units, the lowest level on record. ... These results provide even more evidence that the government's housing tax scam policy was ultimately a complete and total failure accomplishing nothing but creating a temporary distortion of the underlying "organic" housing trends. ... - Paper Economy Blog

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New Proof Wall Street Knew Its Mortgage Securities Were Subpar: Clayton Execs Testify — Andrew T. Berman -  During a little-noticed hearing this week in Sacramento, Calif., a firm hired by Wall Street to analyze mortgages given to borrowers with poor credit, which were then packaged and sold to investors during the boom years, revealed that as much as 28 percent of those loans failed to meet basic underwriting standards -- and Wall Street knew all along. - National Mortrgage Professional

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(Home prices) The Pig in the Python - The title of this post may sound like a fable told by Aesop, but we assure you it’s not. - Annaly Salvos

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Default Is Class Warfare - by Sudden Debt - ... If the "bottom" 90% of the people owe their debts to the "top" 10% and can no longer generate enough earned income to service them and maintain a decent lifestyle, isn't default a great benefit to them? ... - more - Seeking Alpha

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US Home Values Increase By $1 Trillion - By Peter G. Miller - Given the weak state of the housing sector it was surprising to hear that home values have grown by $1 trillion since June 2009.  According to FHA Commission David H. Stevens, “homeowner equity started growing again in the second quarter of 2009 — to date, increasing over a trillion dollars, or close to $14,000 on average for the nation’s nearly 78 million homeowners.”  Better Values — But Not Everywhere ... more - OurBroker.com