JP Morgan Projects a Peak-to-Trough 34% decline for the Case-Shiller, RealtyTrac data reveals foreclosures fell 9% in Apr vs. Mar $URE

· US Housing – JPMorgan's May home price monitor continues to project a peak-to-trough 34% decline for the Case-Shiller national index, or another 4% drop from Q4 2010 to a bottom by the middle of 2011. A slow and modest housing recovery is expected in 2012-2013.  The excess supply of homes will keep a lid on any home price growth at a national level for several years.  The risk of leaking lower is still significant. The rise in distressed sales and all cash purchases are also expected to weigh on home prices, and regional divergence will continue.    

· CoreLogic HPI March 2011 Update - Home prices in the U.S. declined for the eighth month in a row. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 7.5 percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010 after declining by 5.8 percent* in February 2011 compared to Fe

bruary 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.96 percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010 and by 2.0 percent in February 2011 compared to February 2010 – CoreLogic

· Foreclosures – RealtyTrac data out today reveals that foreclosures fell 9% in Apr vs. Mar (and fell 34% Y/Y).  Foreclosure activity decreased on an annual basis for the seventh
straight month in April, bringing foreclosure activity to a 40-month low," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.  "This slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure.  The foreclosure process took much longer in some states. The average timeframe from initial default notice to REO in New Jersey and New York was more than 900 days in the first quarter of 2011, more than three times the average timeline in the first quarter of 2007 for both states.

· Home-buying rule would hit recovery - banking regulators are dangerously close to issuing a rule that would put homes out of reach for many Americans and further cripple the fragile housing recovery.  Politico.   

· Alex Pollock: On Housing, There Will Be More Lean Years Ahead    Expect another decade before U.S. housing prices return to their 2006 highs – WSJ