SOURCE: CNN

November brings a $10 billion drop in Fannie Mae's mortgage portfolio.

Shares of Fannie Mae climbed by 3% last Friday even though its gross mortgage portfolio fell from $732.3 billion down to $722 billion in November. Fannie's book of business grew at an annualized compound interest rate of 15.4% and its net retained commitments fell to $4.5 billion.

Now, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight will no longer require Fannie Mae to report the numbers for its mortgage portfolio assets.

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SOURCE: NPR

The housing market collapse is prompting many economists to warn that a recession is becoming more likely.

The real estate industry is shedding tens of thousands of jobs, mortgage lenders are skittish, and homeowners are no longer spending confidently due to declining equity in their property. In fact, housing prices have fallen more than ever since before World War II and foreclosures are no longer considered a rare event.

The hundreds of billions of dollars in losses to the mortgage industry have forced many residential and commercial mortgage companies into bankruptcy and other industries are seeing the effects as well. New home construction and renovations are down which is causing layoffs in those industries in addition to the suppliers of construction materials.

Some economists feel that there is a long ways to go before the bottom is reached.

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SOURCE: Yahoo News

If you are having a hard time selling your home consider trading it with a seller who is in the same position.

This new strategy is becoming more popular as the real estate crash continues and while buyers are hard to find.

Match maker web sites such as DomuSwap.com and GoSwap.org match sellers who are willing to be swappers rather than holding out until the residential mortgage market improves.

It's like a dating service for your house.

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SOURCE: Reuters

The definition of a recession is two quarters of negative growth.

Economists are now saying that the probability of a recession is as high as 50 percent.

The Commerce Department said new home sales in October were at an annual rate of 728,000 units, well below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 750,000-unit rate. The department revised down September new-home sales steeply to a 716,000-unit rate from a previously reported 770,000, further underlining the housing sector's decline.

Separately, the Labor Department said new claims for unemployment aid jumped by 23,000 last week to the highest since February.

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SOURCE: NPR

According to NPR, the subprime mortgages interest rate is now looking at a freeze for up to five years.

President Bust announced Thursday a deal made with the mortgage industry to help subprime mortgage holders. The program will make it possible for lenders to "freeze" certain mortgage rates that are scheduled to be reset between January 1st, 2008 - July 31st, 2010 and will last for five years.

The plan covers loans taken out between January 1st, 2005 - July 30th, 2007 and targets borrowers who have not gotten behind in their mortgages, but face a reset of their rates, which may put them into default.

It excludes real estate investors, speculators or borrowers whose mortgages have already been reset to higher interest rates, people who are behind in their mortgages and people who are deemed by their lenders able to afford a reset.

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SOURCE: CNN Money

Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide (Charts, Fortune 500) Financial, is stating that the government needs to step up and let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy larger home loans.

Debate on how to restructure the troubled mortgage industry is being heard from different views including interest rate cuts, tighter restrictions on mortgage lending and freezing interest rates. One thing that is agreed on is that tighter restrictions are needed to avoid a recurrence of what is happening today.

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