Beige Book Cites Tighter Credit, Weak Housing

Credit standards for residential and commercial real estate loans got tighter in May, and housing markets "remained weak across most of the nation," according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book. The New York and Chicago Federal Reserve district banks reported that potential homebuyers are having difficulty obtaining financing. And it is causing builders in the Chicago district to "suffer losses" on existing projects. "Inventory levels of new and existing homes remained high or were rising in New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond and San Francisco," the Beige Book says. Meanwhile, the Boston, Atlanta, Kansas City, and San Francisco banks reported declining house prices in their districts. "Commercial real estate conditions varied in April and May," with the Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco districts reporting that CRE activity had "softened."