On borrowers whose loan-to-values are no more than 95 percent, HUD can charge an annual FHA premium of 1.5 percent of the remaining principal balance. The limit was increased from 0.50 percent.

On loans in excess of 95 percent LTV, HUD was authorized to boost the annual FHA premium to 1.55 percent, up from the prior limit of 0.55 percent... HUD is lowering up-front premiums to 100 basis points on purchase and refinance transactions. But the annual premiums are being raised to 85 BPS on loans with LTVs up to 95 percent and 90 BPS for LTVs above 95 percent.

One thing can be said with certainty about the Phoenix-area homebuilders still operating in 2010: They aren't building and selling houses because it's easy.

With an estimated one in 10 homes vacant, foreclosure rampant, local unemployment nearing double digits and area banks reluctant to lend, the Valley has never been more inhospitable to members of the building profession.

Right now, we are at a stage where Treasury bonds are as weakened as a termite-riddled house. They look fine: Nice glossy coat of paint, pretty shingles, bright clear windows, sturdy-looking plankings on the open-aired porch.

But Treasuries are well on their way to a complete collapse. Why? Because of the way they have been mishandled and mistreated by the Federal Reserve Board, and the U.S. Treasury. Whether by incompetence or by design, U.S. Treasury bonds have become the New & Improved Toxic Asset. The question is no longer if they will collapse—it’s when.

The sort of nonsense the Realtor’s group peddles helps explain why sellers have incorrectly believed a recovery was imminent, even as housing went through a historic collapse. It is why home owners incorrectly still expect their homes to go appreciate by 10% a year.

These false beliefs have real world consequences. They create ridiculous expectations among sellers, who selectively grab onto any positive news they can. They choose the temporary blissful ignorance of illusion — that damned blue pill — versus embracing the painful truth of reality (i.e., the red pill).

I would go further: the continual lying is going to eventually discredit real estate in the eyes of a scarred generation, leading to overall less business for real estate agents (and other transactional beneficiaries) than if they had just been more honest to start with.