Obama camp: Clinton trying to ‘distract attention’

(CNN) — As Sen. Barack Obama returns from his Caribbean vacation, he and his campaign pick up where they left off — wrapped up in the controversy surrounding his former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

The issue returned to the spotlight Tuesday when Sen. Hillary Clinton responded to a reporter’s question about what she would have done if she were a member of Wright’s church.

I think given all we have heard and seen, he would not have been my pastor, Clinton said at a news conference in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.

Obama on Wednesday again condemned the remarks Wright made but implied the sermons were taken out of context.

They found five or six of the most offensive statements, and boiled it down into a half an hour sound clip or a half-minute sound clip, and just played it over and over and over again, Obama said while campaigning in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Some of Wright’s past sermons came under scrutiny nearly two weeks ago when a news report highlighted ones that included racially charged remarks.

Clinton avoided commenting on the controversy when it first surfaced. Watch Clinton on the Wright issue

Obama’s camp said Clinton’s remarks were part of a transparent effort to distract attention away from the story she made up about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia, a reference to comments Clinton made last week.

The truth is Barack Obama has already spoken out against his pastor’s offensive comments and addressed the issue of race in America with a deeply personal and uncommonly honest speech, Obama campaign press secretary Bill Burton said.

The American people deserve better than tired political games that do nothing to solve the larger challenges facing this country.

Clinton later said she misspoke when describing a dangerous arrival in Bosnia in 1996.

In a foreign policy speech last week at George Washington University, Clinton described landing under sniper fire and having to run across the tarmac.

But video footage of her arrival at Tuzla shows Clinton, then first lady, calmly walking from the rear ramp of a U.S. Air Force plane with her daughter, Chelsea, then 16, at her side. Both Clintons held their heads up and did not appear rushed.

Chelsea Clinton also got thrown into the middle of another controversy Tuesday while campaigning for her mother at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.

An audience member asked her whether the Monica Lewinsky scandal had damaged her mother’s credibility. Watch Chelsea Clinton’s response

Wow, you’re the first person actually that’s ever asked me that question in the, I don’t know maybe, 70 college campuses I’ve now been to, and I do not think that is any of your business, Clinton responded, appearing a bit surprised.

The 28-year-old was expected to continue campaigning Wednesday, speaking at the University of Notre Dame before teaming up with her mother in Washington for a March to Victory event.

In North Carolina on Wednesday, Obama focused on the housing crisis and drew contrasts with Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

McCain delivered a speech about world affairs Wednesday, outlining his vision for U.S. national security policy and emphasizing strengthening alliances with democracies.

He spent the first half of the week campaigning and fundraising in California.

McCain has been able to shift his focus to the general election, while the Democrats are still duking it out for a nominee.

Neither Clinton nor Obama may get enough delegates — 2,024 — to clinch the nomination before the national convention in August. Clinton is trailing Obama in delegates, 1,485 to 1,622.

For the second time this week, Clinton hinted that even pledged delegates awarded in primaries and caucuses are up for grabs.

Every delegate with very few exceptions is free to make up his or her mind however they choose, she told Time’s Mark Halperin in an interview published Wednesday. We talk a lot about so-called pledged delegates, but every delegate is expected to exercise independent judgment.

According to a Gallup Poll released Wednesday, 28 percent of Clinton supporters may break ranks to back McCain in November should Obama capture the Democratic nomination.

Meanwhile, 19 percent of Obama supporters say they will favor McCain should Clinton be the party’s nominee.

The poll was conducted March 7-22 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Pennsylvania is the next battleground for the two Democrats, and the state’s demographics could play in Clinton’s favor in the April 22 primary.

Two million residents over the age of 65 … a very heavily unionized state … a lot of Catholics in this state … women in Pennsylvania vote at a higher rate than men in Pennsylvania, said John Baer of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Clinton also has family roots in Pennsylvania. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was the son of a factory worker from Scranton, according to the Clinton campaign.

Obama is campaigning on a message of change, but it might not be an issue that resonates with Pennsylvania voters, according to Bill Schneider, CNN’s senior political analyst. More than three-quarters of the people who live in the state were born there, he noted.

It speaks to a state where change isn’t an important element in day-to-day life, Baer said.

Pennsylvania’s a diverse state — part Midwest, part Northeast, according to a pollster.

The eastern part of Pennsylvania is more like New Jersey, and the western part is more like Ohio, and she won both of them, said pollster Terry Madonna.
Obama camp: Clinton trying to ‘distract attention’ – found here.

Kidnapped boy found after 16 years

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — A 16-year-old Latvian boy who was kidnapped as an infant has been placed in foster care and could soon be reunited with his mother after a startling break in the case, authorities said Wednesday.

Investigators made the discovery after the woman who raised the boy in Daugavpils, near the border with Belarus, was arrested in a separate case and questions arose about the boy’s identity, police spokeswoman Inguna Dunda said.

The boy had no birth certificate or personal ID code — obligatory in Latvia — which prompted investigators to reopen the 1992 kidnapping case that was closed six years ago because of a lack of leads.

Dunda said investigators who worked on the case at the time recalled how the woman had gone shopping and left her child in a baby carriage outside a store. When she came back out, both the child and carriage had disappeared, she said.

A DNA test confirmed that the teenager was the boy who was kidnapped when he was one and a half months old, the State Police said.

The case has shocked Latvia, a country of 2.3 million, and particularly Daugavpils, whose 150,000 residents are mainly ethnic Russians.

The woman who raised the boy denied kidnapping him and told police her husband, who died several years ago, had brought the boy home claiming he came from the Russian region of Dagestan, Dunda said.

Authorities placed the boy in a foster family pending a custody hearing that will determine if he can live with his biological mother, who also lives in Daugavpils, Latvia’s second largest city.

The Ministry for Children and Family Affairs said that the custody court would weigh all factors — including the teenage boy’s wish — when deciding where he should live until he turns 18.

Dunda said the boy was the only child for both the biological and false mothers.

Police said boy has been removed from school and is receiving psychological help.
Kidnapped boy found after 16 years – found here.

U.S. ship fires warning shots at boat in Suez Canal

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States is working with the Egyptian government to figure out the details of a shooting incident in the Suez Canal involving a cargo vessel contracted by the U.S. military.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo on Wednesday acknowledged that an Egyptian man was killed by one of what the U.S. military team aboard the cargo ship intended to be warning shots.

Egypt’s state-run news agency and other media reports said Tuesday one person was killed and at least two others wounded on Monday when the U.S. security team aboard the vessel fired on a small boat that approached it.

An embassy statement said the incident is being investigated by the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet Command and Egyptian authorities, including the Suez Canal Authority and other local officials.

According to the embassy statement and a senior U.S. military official, several small boats approached the Global Patriot, a cargo vessel contracted by the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

The incident happened as the ship prepared to cross the Suez Canal, a 100-mile long waterway that crosses through Egypt and connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea.

The boats were hailed and warned by a native Arabic speaker using a bullhorn to warn them to turn away, the embassy statement said.

After a warning flare was fired, one of the small boats continued to approach the ship, prompting the U.S. forces on board to fire two sets of warning shots which landed in the water, about 20 yards to 30 yards in front of the boat.

The senior U.S. military official said an armed military security team was on board for the canal transit, but it was not clear if the team was made up of U.S. Marines or sailors.

The military official said the security team fired six warning shots with small caliber weapons. The shots hit the water, prompting the boat to veer off, he said.

Cmdr. Lydia Robertson stressed that U.S. troops are trained to fire warning shots if ships get too close, but they use the minimum amount of fire possible.

It’s worth emphasizing that we have our teams well-trained to exercise disciplined restraint to minimize impact, to take graduated steps to keep any incidents from happening, Robertson told CNN.

But an Egyptian security official told The Associated Press that after the warning shots, further gunfire killed one man in the small boat and wounded three others.

Abbas al-Amrikani, the head of the Suez seaman’s union, told AP the dead man was Mohammed Fouad, a 27-year-old father of three.

We are praying over his the body right now, al-Amrikani told the AP by telephone. Prayers could be heard in the background as he spoke, AP reported.

The bullet entered his heart and went out the other side, AP quoted al-Amrikani as saying.

The Egyptian security official, speaking to AP on condition of anonymity, said merchants often use small boats to try to sell cigarettes and other items to ships transiting the Suez Canal.

The merchants know not to approach military vessels, he told AP, but the fact that the Global Patriot was a civilian vessel may have led to confusion.
U.S. ship fires warning shots at boat in Suez Canal – found here.

McCain: ‘Complacent’ lenders led to mortgage crisis

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain Tuesday blamed rampant speculation and complacent lenders for the current mortgage crisis.

But one of McCain’s potential Democratic rivals in the general election, Sen. Hillary Clinton, said McCain’s reluctance to bail out banks and borrowers in trouble sounded like Herbert Hoover, the Republican president in office at the start of the Great Depression.

During his speech in Santa Ana, California, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said lenders ended up violating the basic rule of banking: Don’t lend people money who can’t pay it back.

While the Democratic presidential candidates have both proposed specific plans to address the mortgage crisis, Tuesday’s speech included McCain’s most extensive comments on the subject to date.

McCain, however, did not offer any specific proposals in the speech to fix the problem.

The economic slowdown caused by the credit crunch has become a top concern for voters. Consumer confidence in March dropped to its lowest level in five years, according to The Conference Board. Watch McCain take on the mortgage crisis

Vowing not to play election year politics, McCain called for more transparency in lending, and higher capital reserves for lenders.

McCain also called on homeowners to provide responsible down payments for homes, saying government-backed companies, like Fannie Mae, should never back loans when the borrower clearly does not have skin in the game.

McCain said he opposed any government bailout of those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.

Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren’t, McCain said.

McCain did not propose any specific regulatory changes, but did say regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital should be removed to help institutions create larger buffers against losses.

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign lashed out at McCain’s solutions to the country’s economic problems.

It’s deeply troubling that John McCain is suggesting that the best way to address the housing crisis is to sit back and watch it happen — which is just further evidence that he would continue President Bush’s failed economic policies, said campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

McCain made his speech shortly before Sen. Hillary Clinton discussed the country’s economic situation at an event in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Tuesday.

Speaking to the media after her speech, Clinton criticized McCain for opposing bailouts for banks and borrowers who acted irresponsibly. Watch Clinton send a message

It sounds remarkably like Herbert Hoover … I don’t think that’s a good economic policy. Clinton said. We have a framework of regulation, it needs to be updated and modernized. Watch the candidates spar on the issues

The government has a number of tools at its disposal that are well-suited for just this situation, and I think that inaction has contributed to the problems we face today, she added. Watch Clinton discuss the economy

During her speech Clinton urged McCain to reject President Bush’s proposal to privatize Social Security, saying Social Security privatization is a bad idea whose time has come and gone.

The American people rejected the Bush privatization plan in 2005 and the American people will reject the Bush-McCain privatization plan in 2008.

The New York senator also discussed retirement reform.

Fewer than half of all American families have retirement savings accounts in any given year … and those who do contribute are saving too little, she said. As president I will create an American retirement account, that will take the best of 401k plans and make it available to every working person in America.

On Monday, Clinton outlined a four-point plan to address the current economic troubles. Watch CNN’s Ali Velshi explain Clinton’s plan

In a speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Clinton proposed allowing Federal Housing Authority to guarantee more mortgages, which would allow homeowners to restructure their loans.

The New York senator also called for President Bush to immediately bring together an emergency working group of financial experts to come up with ways to deal with the crisis. Watch Clinton call the problem a crisis in confidence

Clinton proposed giving mortgage service companies legal protections to allow them to help troubled homeowners, and she re-introduced an idea for a second economic stimulus package that would include $30 billion to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

We need a president who can restore our confidence, a president who is ready to confront complex economic problems with comprehensive solutions. … If you give me the chance, I will be that president. I will start by facing our economic situation as it is, not as we wish it would be, she said.Watch how Clinton would fix the housing crisis

Reacting to Clinton’s proposals, the campaign of her rival, Obama said her proposals sounded like measures they have already proposed.

Most of them are repackaged ideas, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters during a conference call Monday. We’ve talked about many of the same solutions.

The Obama camp said Clinton’s proposal for an emergency group echoes a letter Obama sent to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a year ago.

A Republican committee spokesman assailed the plans of both Democrats.

Both Barack Obama and Senator Clinton’s plans to increase taxes would hurt hardworking families and take money out of their pockets to place it in the hands of government bureaucrats, Danny Diaz said.

As Senator McCain focuses on dealing with the important issues confronting the nation, Democrats’ attacks further underscore their inability to demonstrate the leadership Americans expect.
McCain: ‘Complacent’ lenders led to mortgage crisis – found here.

McCain: ‘Complacent’ lenders led to mortgage crisis

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain Tuesday blamed rampant speculation and complacent lenders for the current mortgage crisis.

But one of McCain’s potential Democratic rivals in the general election, Sen. Hillary Clinton, said McCain’s reluctance to bail out banks and borrowers in trouble sounded like Herbert Hoover, the Republican president in office at the start of the Great Depression.

During his speech in Santa Ana, California, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said lenders ended up violating the basic rule of banking: Don’t lend people money who can’t pay it back.

While the Democratic presidential candidates have both proposed specific plans to address the mortgage crisis, Tuesday’s speech included McCain’s most extensive comments on the subject to date.

McCain, however, did not offer any specific proposals in the speech to fix the problem.

The economic slowdown caused by the credit crunch has become a top concern for voters. Consumer confidence in March dropped to its lowest level in five years, according to The Conference Board. Watch McCain take on the mortgage crisis

Vowing not to play election year politics, McCain called for more transparency in lending, and higher capital reserves for lenders.

McCain also called on homeowners to provide responsible down payments for homes, saying government-backed companies, like Fannie Mae, should never back loans when the borrower clearly does not have skin in the game.

McCain said he opposed any government bailout of those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.

Any assistance must be temporary and must not reward people who were irresponsible at the expense of those who weren’t, McCain said.

McCain did not propose any specific regulatory changes, but did say regulatory, accounting and tax impediments to raising capital should be removed to help institutions create larger buffers against losses.

Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign lashed out at McCain’s solutions to the country’s economic problems.

It’s deeply troubling that John McCain is suggesting that the best way to address the housing crisis is to sit back and watch it happen — which is just further evidence that he would continue President Bush’s failed economic policies, said campaign spokesman Bill Burton.

McCain made his speech shortly before Sen. Hillary Clinton discussed the country’s economic situation at an event in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Tuesday.

Speaking to the media after her speech, Clinton criticized McCain for opposing bailouts for banks and borrowers who acted irresponsibly. Watch Clinton send a message

It sounds remarkably like Herbert Hoover … I don’t think that’s a good economic policy. Clinton said. We have a framework of regulation, it needs to be updated and modernized. Watch the candidates spar on the issues

The government has a number of tools at its disposal that are well-suited for just this situation, and I think that inaction has contributed to the problems we face today, she added. Watch Clinton discuss the economy

During her speech Clinton urged McCain to reject President Bush’s proposal to privatize Social Security, saying Social Security privatization is a bad idea whose time has come and gone.

The American people rejected the Bush privatization plan in 2005 and the American people will reject the Bush-McCain privatization plan in 2008.

The New York senator also discussed retirement reform.

Fewer than half of all American families have retirement savings accounts in any given year … and those who do contribute are saving too little, she said. As president I will create an American retirement account, that will take the best of 401k plans and make it available to every working person in America.

On Monday, Clinton outlined a four-point plan to address the current economic troubles. Watch CNN’s Ali Velshi explain Clinton’s plan

In a speech in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Clinton proposed allowing Federal Housing Authority to guarantee more mortgages, which would allow homeowners to restructure their loans.

The New York senator also called for President Bush to immediately bring together an emergency working group of financial experts to come up with ways to deal with the crisis. Watch Clinton call the problem a crisis in confidence

Clinton proposed giving mortgage service companies legal protections to allow them to help troubled homeowners, and she re-introduced an idea for a second economic stimulus package that would include $30 billion to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

We need a president who can restore our confidence, a president who is ready to confront complex economic problems with comprehensive solutions. … If you give me the chance, I will be that president. I will start by facing our economic situation as it is, not as we wish it would be, she said.Watch how Clinton would fix the housing crisis

Reacting to Clinton’s proposals, the campaign of her rival, Obama said her proposals sounded like measures they have already proposed.

Most of them are repackaged ideas, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe told reporters during a conference call Monday. We’ve talked about many of the same solutions.

The Obama camp said Clinton’s proposal for an emergency group echoes a letter Obama sent to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a year ago.

A Republican committee spokesman assailed the plans of both Democrats.

Both Barack Obama and Senator Clinton’s plans to increase taxes would hurt hardworking families and take money out of their pockets to place it in the hands of government bureaucrats, Danny Diaz said.

As Senator McCain focuses on dealing with the important issues confronting the nation, Democrats’ attacks further underscore their inability to demonstrate the leadership Americans expect.
McCain: ‘Complacent’ lenders led to mortgage crisis – found here.

U.S. home prices brace for dismal spring

NEW YORK (AP) — Home prices plunged by record levels in January from a year ago, with almost no major cities immune from the spiraling market. Analysts worried that even the usually reliable spring selling season would fall flat.

The closely watched Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities fell nearly 11 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest drop in its two-decade history.

Prices were down about 20 percent in Las Vegas and Miami, both paying the price for especially rampant speculation and too much new construction during the housing boom. Fourteen other cities posted record declines in the Tuesday report.

The only bright spot was a 1.8 percent increase in Charlotte, N.C., where real estate agents say prices rose more modestly during the boom years and the regional economy is relatively strong.

Everywhere else, mounting foreclosures, falling consumer confidence and sellers slashing their asking prices are taking an increasing toll on the market.

It’s just a spiral that will end up taking this year to get out of, said Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Detroit, adding that the market there is not expected to improve until the spring of 2009.

In Las Vegas alone, nearly half the homes currently on the market have seen their prices reduced at least once, according to an analysis by ZipRealty, a discount real-estate firm.

Greg and Barbara Abbott have already cut the price twice on the two-bedroom condominium they are trying to sell on the Las Vegas strip. They’re asking $669,900 now — and an offer in the $650,000 range means they’ll lose money.

Abbott thinks hesitant buyers don’t realize how reasonable the current price is. They’re not really being realistic about what the place is worth, he said.

Rising foreclosures have become the biggest factor driving prices lower, Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi said.

There were already too many homes on the market, and foreclosures bring even more property — priced at a deep discount — into the mix. Zandi said while prices are still falling steeply, demand seems to have stabilized.

The psychology of the market has completely shifted, Zandi said. Sellers do realize that homes are worth fundamentally less than they thought.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence is spiraling down as buyers worry about tighter credit and the weaker job market. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that confidence sank to a five-year low in March.

On Wednesday, economists will watch a Commerce Department report on February new-home sales for any improvement in volume. Those figures are more forward-looking than existing-home sales.

Economists are already worried that the usually busy spring season could be in jeopardy.

I wouldn’t be looking for a pattern of improvement until April, May or June, said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight.

On Monday, new data for February showed the biggest drop in at least nine years in the median sales price of existing homes. Still, more homes were sold in February — 3 percent more, the first increase in seven months.

Home prices continue to fall, decelerate and reach record lows across the nation, said David Blitzer, index committee chairman at SP. No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis.

Prices have fallen month-to-month for five straight months in all 20 cities tracked by SP. And the declines are getting steeper, with 13 of the 20 cities reporting their biggest single monthly decline in January.

The vast majority of homes in the U.S. are not in danger of foreclosure. But the housing slump has raised concerns about a recession and has had ripple effects across the economy.

A separate survey Tuesday from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said home prices fell 3 percent in January from the same month last year. That index is calculated using mortgages of $417,000 or less that are bought or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

With prices falling, more would-be buyers have decided to rent.

Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors in Miami, said three-quarters of all transactions in the past few months were for rentals and the rest were for home sales, a reversal of historical trends.

Abbott, the condo owner in Las Vegas, is asking a monthly rent of $2,300, down from the $3,500 he had originally wanted.

It’s empty at the moment, Abbott said. We’d intended to rent it, but the timing, of course, was bad.

His broker, Bruce Hiatt of the Luxury Realty Group in Las Vegas, said there was no shortage of interested buyers — but none had decided to buy.

They’re all waiting for the magic bottom, he said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

U.S. home prices brace for dismal spring – found here.

U.S. home prices brace for dismal spring

NEW YORK (AP) — Home prices plunged by record levels in January from a year ago, with almost no major cities immune from the spiraling market. Analysts worried that even the usually reliable spring selling season would fall flat.

The closely watched Standard Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 cities fell nearly 11 percent in January from a year earlier, the biggest drop in its two-decade history.

Prices were down about 20 percent in Las Vegas and Miami, both paying the price for especially rampant speculation and too much new construction during the housing boom. Fourteen other cities posted record declines in the Tuesday report.

The only bright spot was a 1.8 percent increase in Charlotte, N.C., where real estate agents say prices rose more modestly during the boom years and the regional economy is relatively strong.

Everywhere else, mounting foreclosures, falling consumer confidence and sellers slashing their asking prices are taking an increasing toll on the market.

It’s just a spiral that will end up taking this year to get out of, said Pava Leyrer, president of Heritage National Mortgage in Detroit, adding that the market there is not expected to improve until the spring of 2009.

In Las Vegas alone, nearly half the homes currently on the market have seen their prices reduced at least once, according to an analysis by ZipRealty, a discount real-estate firm.

Greg and Barbara Abbott have already cut the price twice on the two-bedroom condominium they are trying to sell on the Las Vegas strip. They’re asking $669,900 now — and an offer in the $650,000 range means they’ll lose money.

Abbott thinks hesitant buyers don’t realize how reasonable the current price is. They’re not really being realistic about what the place is worth, he said.

Rising foreclosures have become the biggest factor driving prices lower, Moody’s Economy.com chief economist Mark Zandi said.

There were already too many homes on the market, and foreclosures bring even more property — priced at a deep discount — into the mix. Zandi said while prices are still falling steeply, demand seems to have stabilized.

The psychology of the market has completely shifted, Zandi said. Sellers do realize that homes are worth fundamentally less than they thought.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence is spiraling down as buyers worry about tighter credit and the weaker job market. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that confidence sank to a five-year low in March.

On Wednesday, economists will watch a Commerce Department report on February new-home sales for any improvement in volume. Those figures are more forward-looking than existing-home sales.

Economists are already worried that the usually busy spring season could be in jeopardy.

I wouldn’t be looking for a pattern of improvement until April, May or June, said Brian Bethune, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight.

On Monday, new data for February showed the biggest drop in at least nine years in the median sales price of existing homes. Still, more homes were sold in February — 3 percent more, the first increase in seven months.

Home prices continue to fall, decelerate and reach record lows across the nation, said David Blitzer, index committee chairman at SP. No markets seem to be completely immune from the housing crisis.

Prices have fallen month-to-month for five straight months in all 20 cities tracked by SP. And the declines are getting steeper, with 13 of the 20 cities reporting their biggest single monthly decline in January.

The vast majority of homes in the U.S. are not in danger of foreclosure. But the housing slump has raised concerns about a recession and has had ripple effects across the economy.

A separate survey Tuesday from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said home prices fell 3 percent in January from the same month last year. That index is calculated using mortgages of $417,000 or less that are bought or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

With prices falling, more would-be buyers have decided to rent.

Ron Shuffield, president of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors in Miami, said three-quarters of all transactions in the past few months were for rentals and the rest were for home sales, a reversal of historical trends.

Abbott, the condo owner in Las Vegas, is asking a monthly rent of $2,300, down from the $3,500 he had originally wanted.

It’s empty at the moment, Abbott said. We’d intended to rent it, but the timing, of course, was bad.

His broker, Bruce Hiatt of the Luxury Realty Group in Las Vegas, said there was no shortage of interested buyers — but none had decided to buy.

They’re all waiting for the magic bottom, he said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

U.S. home prices brace for dismal spring – found here.