The good news is the pace of loan deterioration is slowing. The bad news is we are still seeing record high delinquencies, and new delinquencies are outpacing loss mitigation efforts.

Today the Treasury Department released its monthly Servicer Performance Report through February on the 75 billion dollar Home Affordable Modification Program. This is the report that shows how many loans are in the trial phase, how many have been converted to the permanent phase, and which banks are doing more and which are doing less.

The American Institute of Architects reports that, "functionality is now preferred to more and larger bathrooms within U.S. homes." Functionality. How banal.

Mortgage insurers are rescinding (denying) claims, claiming themselves that the loans were fraudulent and misrepresented to them.

Big surprise that yesterday's blog garnered quite a few responses, not just on the page, but from folks here in DC who are involved in all those closed-door negotiations at Administration office buildings.

Politicians want to keep borrowers in the homes because that's the compassionate thing to do. The big bad banks just want to cut their losses right? Well, maybe not.

Retail is flailing under job losses and consequent weak consumer spending, and rock-bottom priced housing is forcing rental rates down and vacancies up in the apartment sector. How could REITs in these sectors be performing so well?

Today the National Association of Realtors reported an unexpected 7.6 percent monthly drop in its Pending Homes Sales Index in January.

I've been talking to a lot of Realtors this week, who tell me that there are definitely folks out there kicking the tires, but it's all about price point.

Despite the fact that government officials continue to tell me that mortgage "walkaways" (borrowers who voluntarily stop paying their mortgages because their loans are worth so much more than the value of their homes) are really not a big problem, today they extended the Home Affordable Refinance Program by a year.

Two reports, two sets of bad numbers from the housing market. Both new construction and existing homes sold pretty poorly in January, pushing months' supplies up and putting more downward pressure on prices.

I'm not sure why exactly the hue and cry is rising from Capitol Hill to K Street to focus attention on Fannie and Freddie and their current state of government conservatorship.

What exactly is the monetary tipping point for a homeowner, someone occupying the home, hanging pictures on the walls, perhaps raising their kids in the second and third bedrooms, going to the neighborhood block parties...what exactly is the negative equity number that makes them say, "We're outta here."

Unlike residential real estate, which anyone with a pulse would agree took a rather desperate tumble over the last several years, the existence of a commercial real estate crash continues to be a subject of debate. Put a panel of "experts" up in the Brady Bunch boxes, and there will be a few who will argue that commercial real estate is on the upswing, and, in fact, a great investment.

It should come as no surprise to anyone following the housing crash that the government's $75 billion Making Home Affordable program, a.k.a. mortgage bailout, is not all things to all borrowers.