Home sales are up but prices are falling: Who's buying houses? (San Jose Mercury News)

Current home shoppers, experts say, generally fall into two camps '” first-time home buyers and investors. Almost all other buyers remain on the sidelines, either because they're unable to qualify for low-interest loans or because their current home has lost so much value they don't have enough equity for a down payment on a new one.

Now spectre of negative equity stalks thousands of CAR owners (Daily Mail: World News)

Plunging car prices are leaving thousands of UK motorists in 'negative equity' on their vehicle loans, experts warned today.

Retirees who counted on home equity looking for new options (The Pantagraph)

The safety net is almost gone, the nest egg is cracking. Many Americans have recently found themselves changing retirement plans after losing a substantial amount of home equity as the housing market and the overall U.S. economy struggle.

Plan B for retirees who counted on home equity (San Francisco Chronicle)

The safety net is almost gone, the nest egg is cracking. Many Americans have recently found themselves changing retirement plans after losing a substantial amount of home equity as the housing market and the overall U.S. economy struggle. These folks face...

Analysts predict 'cleansing' period (Post-Bulletin)

The year of reckoning has begun for retailers. After a long stretch of easy access to capital, a store-building boom and effortless selling to shoppers flush with cash from home-equity loans, the retail lands