Number Crunch

Mortgage applications reached an eight-year low after a 24 percent week-over-week decrease was reported by the Mortgage Bankers' Association.

President Obama's new housing rescue plan commits up to $275 billion to help curtail the mortgage foreclosure crisis and stabilize the housing market. The plan could help as many as 9 million homeowners who are facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.

BusinessWeek and Gadberry Group identified communities across the U.S. that have experienced the largest growth from 2000 to 2008. Summerlin South, Nev., is at the top with a 618 percent increase. Oswego, Ill., rounds out the list at No. 10 with a 98 percent increase.

With all the talk about economic packages to restart the economy, has anyone registered what $1 trillion means? All the loans and bailouts that the government is spitting out about $9.7 trillion. According to CNN.com, 1 trillion stacked dollars would reach nearly 68,000 miles, or one-third of the way to the moon. A professor interviewed by CNN.com computes you couldn't spend $1 trillion if you spent $1 million a day since the day of Jesus' birth.

More than 30 percent of 33 U.S. home builders generating more than $10 million in revenue are in danger of filing for bankruptcy, reports Reuters. Eventually cutting costs won't be enough to survive.

In the 29 markets that ZipRealty covers, the company reported an average of 2.5 percent decline in the inventory of existing homes for sale in January 2009, reports The Wall Street Journal. Compared with January 2008, it is down 13 percent.

K. Hovnanian's CEO got a 20 percent raise and bonus despite a 76 percent drop in company value, Bloomberg reports. But, other CEOs have, too.

According to Winans International Real Estate Index, new home prices in the U.S. are down 23 percent since March 2007. The worst decline occurred between 1929 to 1932, at 68 percent.