The Housing Bubble

The Ledger reports from Florida. “Polk County’s existing home sales dropped for the 13th consecutive month. June’s total fell nearly 40 percent from 554 in June 2006 to 333. It is the county’s longest sales drought since The Ledger began tracking home sales in 1994. ‘There’s just so much more to pick from,’ said Linda Jackson, a Realtor in Lakeland.”

“It is estimated that local builders have an inventory of about 5,000 new homes. Median home prices suffered along with sales last month. For Polk, prices dropped 5 percent from $183,900 in June 2006 to $175,300 last month.”

The Orlando Sentinel from Florida. “The number of individuals and families moving into new homes in Orlando-area subdivisions plunged 26 percent during the second quarter, and home builders continued to slam on the brakes.”

“And despite efforts by builders to entice buyers with discounts and deals, more than 5,600 new homes still sit empty in the Orlando area, a research company reported.”

“‘The Orlando MSA [metropolitan statistical area] is experiencing the same problems many Florida markets are experiencing, large new- and existing-home inventories,’ said Anthony Crocco, director of Metrostudy’s Central and Northeast Florida divisions. ‘The high percentage of finished, vacant inventory remains a major concern.’”

The Palm Beach Post from Florida. “Lenders once eager to extend credit are seeing mortgage defaults pile up and are tightening loan standards in response. That has kept people from moving into vacant homes - and there are lots and lots of vacant homes. In St. Lucie County alone, according to Metrostudy, 1,368 finished homes stand empty.”

“At the annual rate of buyer move-ins, it would take 9.5 months before St. Lucie would fill its roof-and-mortar inventory. Yet during the second quarter, builders started work on another 205 homes.”

“Not everyone is optimistic. Centex recently opted out of a planned 800-acre, 1,650-home development in Martin County. Developers in Palm Beach County also are building less. The second quarter’s 423 new housing starts represent a 71.8 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2006.”

“The pool of available buyers also is drying up: 1,143 buyers moved in during the second quarter of this year, down 29.6 percent compared with the second quarter of 2006.”

From TC Palm in Florida. “A glut of new but vacant homes continues to dominate the landscape of the central and northern portions of the Treasure Coast, a housing report suggested.”

“Metrostudy reported 2,391 homes were completed in St. Lucie and Indian River counties during the past three months, and they still have no occupants. At the current pace of people buying homes and moving in, it should take about nine months to fill the St. Lucie County inventory and 13 months in Indian River County, according to Metrostudy.”

“Jack McCabe, CEO of McCabe Research and Consulting, said subdivisions with an overabundance of vacant new homes and ‘For Rent’ signs may be deterring renters from becoming home buyers, further pushing up local inventory levels.”

“‘Some of the homes are sitting out there with weeds, without air-conditioning, maybe even growing some mold,’ McCabe said. ‘If I am buying a house, I want to buy in the community with swing sets and bicycles on the street, not where it’s empty and I’d be taking a risk.’”

“Don Santos, past president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association, wasn’t surprised at the statistics in the report. ‘Unfortunately these are a high count, which reinforces the fact that builders overbuilt inventory,’ Santos said. ‘But there’s never been a better time to buy.’”

The Miami Herald from Florida. “Ocean Bank, the largest commercial bank chartered in Florida, lost $33.7 million in the second quarter after taking losses on real estate loans that had gone bad. The red ink at Ocean Bank was a further sign that Florida’s real estate problems have begun to spill over into the rest of the economy.”

“Ocean Bank, which lent heavily in the condo market, said the bank increased its loan loss reserves to $77.5 million in June.”

“In June, Ocean Bank filed a foreclosure notice in Palm Beach County against six individuals and NRW Development, a South Florida real estate development firm, which held $50 million in unpaid loans on a Boca Raton condo conversion project. Other problem loans involved Hialeah condo converter Puig, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month.”

“Miami bank analyst Ken Thomas said the losses at Ocean Bank were an indication of tougher times for the banking sector. ‘This again is a sign that the good times in banking are gone,’ he said. ‘It’s one thing to report decreased earnings like BankUnited and BankAtlantic did in recent days. It’s another to report a loss.’”

“Both BankUnited and BankAtlantic, big Florida thrifts, announced declines in quarterly profits this week. Ocean Bank’s loss, Thomas said, signals that the impact of the troubled real estate market will continue to ripple through the economy.”

From Bay News 9 in Florida. “The foreclosure rate in Pinellas County is soaring, experts say. ‘If you look at the properties in one new construction project in St. Petersburg, you will see that nine out of 56 townhomes have had court action filed by the lenders, which normally indicates pre-foreclosure activity,’ said real estate agent Roger Buchanan.”

“The recently built upscale properties are listed for between $500,000 and $800,000, and share the same 33705 ZIP code as part of Midtown, Buchanan said.”

“Investors who sunk large amounts of money into new developments are now feeling the burn since the market has changed so drastically.”

The Independent Mail from South Carolina. “You’ve found the house you want but can’t seem to sell the one you have. It’s become an all-too-familiar problem for many people.”

“As residential building and new home sales slow across the Upstate, housing is a buyer’s market, said Debbie Dorn, a Realtor in Anderson. One of her clients, who wanted to move from Florida to Anderson, dropped the asking price on a home from $450,000 to $375,000 after 120 days on the market.”

“‘There’s not too many people who can afford to buy a new house before their old house sells,’ said Tom Carr, a Realtor in Anderson.”

“Not even Hartwell Lake properties are bucking the trend, with home sales down 51.5 percent from last year, according to statistics Mr. Carr pulled from the Upstate MLS. ‘We’re not scared, but it’s definitely not as good a market as it has been over the past few years,’ Mr. Carr said.”

“The drop in sales could be the result of low water levels. It also could be a sign that the baby boomers who have been driving the marketplace for lake homes, second homes and resort properties have reached the tipping point as buyers, said Dave Chamblee, owner of Anderson Area Properties.”

“At some point, baby boomers’ buying will slow. Then they’ll become sellers, Mr. Chamblee said.”

The News & Observer from North Carolina. “The auctioneer was warmed up and ready with a microphone. The spectators watched eagerly. The house was open, spotless and decorated. The only things missing Thursday were the bidders.”

“Despite publicity, no qualified bidders showed up to bid on the four-bedroom home, with a tax value of $466,472.”

“The house has been on the market for more than a year. The broker then turned to a home auction company. Sarah Sonke, AuctionFirst co-founder, says the Triangle market for home sellers isn’t as robust as people think.”

“‘What’s happening is the resell homes are sitting out there, and [sellers] are really not getting desperate, but they’re getting concerned that no one is coming for a showing,’ she said. ‘The resell homes are really suffering.’”

“Thursday’s result didn’t dishearten Laura Brockington of Chapel Hill. She, too, is planning to auction her home in August. After many showings and no offers, ‘not even a bad offer,’ she’s ready for a new strategy. ‘I need to be out of that house.’”

The Dickson Herald from Tennessee. “Don Dey flips a house about once every three years, and there’s no question that his latest listing, a 5,200-square-foot home that he describes as having a French style with a mansard roof, has taken longer than Dey’s previous two homes to sell.”

“Despite searching for a buyer for more than three months and living in a section of town that’s crowded with ‘for sale’ listings, Dey has no intention of lowering his asking price of $700,000. It’s just a matter of waiting, he says, and keeping realistic expectations.”

“‘There’s nothing that is a red flag. We experienced record growth in ‘04 and ‘05, and it’s hard to keep that pace,’ he said of the Nashville-area housing market.”

“‘There are more listings and it’s taking longer, but it’s back to reality,’ he said.”

“Realtors say much of the sizzle of the recent past appears to have seeped out of the Nashville market. The inventory of homes for sale is on the rise. The number of detached homes, condos, multifamily buildings, farms and lots on the market has increased 34 percent in the past year to more than 21,000 properties.”

“Buyers seem less eager to make an offer on a home, and when they do, they are often asking for more concessions, or adding a clause that voids the sales contract if they cannot sell their previous home, real estate professionals say.”

“Evidence of the slower market can be found in the area around Dey’s house. More than two-dozen homes are on the market in the Green Hills neighborhoods nearest the border with Belle Meade, including nine in Dey’s Sugartree subdivision, not counting his. Two years ago, many of these homes probably would have already sold.”

“‘It’s like the buyers huddled all over town and said, ‘We’re going to be tough,’ said Bill Bainbridge, an agent in Green Hills.”