Existing Home Sales May Drop to Five Year Low, Realtors Say

"The forecasts signal the housing decline is deepening and the market shows no sign of recovery. Mortgage lenders such as Countrywide Financial Corp., the largest, and Wells Fargo & Co., the second-biggest, have raised standards in reaction to a surge of foreclosures, Donald Kohn, Federal Reserve vice chairman, said in an Oct. 5 speech in Philadelphia."