The sector has lost at least 76,000 jobs nationwide since peaking at 500,000 a year ago, according to federal data released this month. And more cuts have been announced. If the industry's numbers fall back to 2002 levels, when home sales were similar to what they are today, 137,000 jobs would vanish, rivaling the 146,000 jobs lost in the airline industry in the four years following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

SELLERS TAKE NOTE: The Los Angeles Times reports that homeowners trying to sell are affected by banks marketing foreclosures and builders pushing to move product.

Home builders have excess inventory and are making deals left and right, ... often undercutting the listing prices of existing homes' owners who are trying to sell in the same development or nearby.

STATE BUDGETS: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, reporting on Georgia's finances, says that states "across the country, from California to Florida, are facing budget problems for the first time in years because of the slumping housing market and slow sales tax collections."

FHA BAN: I follow up on an earlier blog post with a story in today's paper about Gaithersburg-based AmeriDream fighting a soon-to-be-enacted ban against a certain kind of down payment assistance for FHA-insured loans. HUD, which oversees FHA, intends to stop accepting deals in which borrowers get down payment assistance from charities funded by money from home sellers:

Holden Lewis, who follows mortgage and real estate matters for Bankrate.com, said there's been talk of banning the practice for almost as long as it has been allowed. The debate comes down to a value judgment, he said: If 15 percent of the homeowners end up in foreclosure, is it better to ban the assistance altogether to avoid that or continue it for all the buyers who don't end up in trouble?