The Housing Bubble

Seacoast Online reports on Maine. “After more than 20 years in business, Downeast Mortgage has closed all but one of its offices in Maine, including its York Branch. According to William Lund, superintendent of Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, Downeast Mortgage’s demise reflects a statewide crisis that began last year. ‘It’s very reflective of what’s been happening the last 12 months,’ Lund said. ‘Nearly every week, we’ve been in conference calls with regulators in other states to deal with other mortgage companies in other states.’”

“‘A decade ago, there were 150 lenders and brokers who were licensed in Maine,’ Lund said. ‘Last year, we had over 1,000. This past year, the number of lenders is down 20 percent, so we’re down to 800. Obviously, there’s been a severe contraction in the business.’”

“Lund said there are no easy solutions to the mortgage predicament, and cited the secondary market, in which lenders sell mortgages to investors, as the culprit.”

“‘There was a growing reluctance of investors to get involved,’ he said. ‘When the investors looked at the quality of subprime loans, they saw they were not as advertised. This sentiment spilled over and trickled down.’”

“Not even Jeffrey Turcotte, who opened the York branch in 2005 and resigned this past February, saw it coming. ‘I had a feeling something wasn’t right, but I did not know it would close its doors within two months,’ said Turcotte, who has since moved on to First Horizon Home Loans.”

“Turcotte does believe, however, some good can come from what has transpired in the past year within the mortgage industry. ‘I think a lot of the loan officers and companies that took advantage of loose underwriting and consumers are gone,’ he said.”

Vermont Public Radio. “Vermont has avoided the most serious problems in the housing and credit markets. But a new report shows that real estate sales and prices have both declined over the winter.”

“‘Median prices of single-family primary homes are not rising anymore. In fact for this one four-month period we looked at, they had dropped 2.6 compared to the same four-month period a year earlier,’ (said) Phil Dodd who publishes the Vermont Property Owners Report.”

“‘Over the last four or five, six years, people saw their house as a giant ATM machine. And as it went up in value 6, 7, 8, 10 percent per year, on a $150,000-$200,000 house, you’re talking about significant increases in the value of that house … And people were spending based on their increased wealth,’ said economist Art Woolf.”

“Woolf believes it will get worse - and prices will continue to decline into next year. (Woolf) ‘I think that it’s going to be quite a long time before housing prices start increasing at any significant rate of growth. And that harkens back to the 1990s. From about 1990 until about 1997, the average price house in Vermont didn’t change at all.’”

The Telegraph from New Hampshire. “Foreclosures in Hillsborough County accelerated during the first quarter of the year compared to last year’s level, which was very high.”

“According to the Hillsborough County Registry of Deeds, 224 foreclosures were completed between Jan. 1 and March 31 this year, compared to 96 in the same period in 2007 – an increase of more than 130 percent.”

“The jump was particularly sharp in Nashua, Hudson and Merrimack, all of which saw foreclosures triple during the first quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2007. Last year, Hillsborough County had 629 foreclosures, more than twice as many as the year before and six times the tally of 2005.”

“(In) Nashua, foreclosures are…growing quickly enough to attract the Foreclosure Express – a whirlwind Saturday tour of about 10 bank-owned properties…the first of its kind in New Hampshire.”

“Prices started at $95,000 for a condo with severe water damage, averaged in the mid to upper $100s or low to mid $200s for single-family homes, and capped out at $419,900 for the standout – a brand new home in Hudson that went into foreclosure while the builder still owned it.”

“‘We liked the brand new one, of course,’ said Mary Clawson, 24, of Nashua. ‘Other than that, most of these are too much work.’”

The Standard Times from Massachusetts. “The developer in the transit-related apartment and condo complex near the Middleboro/Lakeville commuter rail station is seeking to build all market-rate condominiums due to the housing slump.”

“Developer Jonathan White said the project can no longer secure financing if the condos are not all built at market-rate prices. There also is the possibility that more units would be used as apartments rather than condos.”

“‘If I don’t get this sort of relief, I may not be able to build this complex,’ Mr. White told the selectmen.”

“Mr. White said, the condos would level off at a lower price due to the elimination of the affordable units. He said condos would sell for less than $200,000.”

The Boston Channel from Massachusetts. “NewsCenter 5’s Gail Huff reported that there are concerns about arson fires becoming a problem around the state as more and more properties are abandonded and become vacant.”

“Back in the early 1990s, when the real estate market tanket, many properties succumbed to arson and officials don’t want history repeating itself. In Brockton, at least six houses burned down over the winter and state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan fears there will be a similar surge if something isn’t done proactively to address the foreclosure crisis.”

The Hartford Courant from Connecticut. “Connecticut’s declining housing market showed no signs of improvement in February, with the median sales price of single-family homes dropping by $15,000 compared to a year ago — the third month in a row that prices have fallen.”

“Sales of single-family houses also plunged in February, the sixth month in a row that the number of home sales in Connecticut dropped by double-digit percentages, according to The Warren Group.”

“Local observers of the real estate market said that it will probably get worse before it gets better.”

“‘I think it’s really going to be a slow market for housing in Connecticut. This is not the kind of thing that is going to turn on a dime and start to improve,’ said Steven P. Lanza, executive editor of the University of Connecticut’s economic publication. ‘It’s a weak market and it is going to take time to work our way out of it. We’re just not seeing signs that the market is even beginning to work its way out.’”

“‘Whether or not your house sells depends purely on the improvements in the house. If it’s nice and shows well, there are people still out there who will pay a premium for that,’ said Charlie Kaylor, an agent in West Hartford. ‘People don’t want fixer-uppers, even at a reduced price. Sellers know that they…can’t just put it on the market and hope they get a buyer like they could three years ago. It just won’t happen.’”

The Litchfield County Times from Connecticut. “David Bain of Bain Real Estate in Kent feels that the Connecticut market has remained healthy despite the national market’s doldrums.”

“‘Buyers are being very cautious right now,’ Mr. Bain said. ‘They’re expecting sellers to come down [on price], and sellers know they don’t have to, because they know that buyers’ mentality is because of bad press. It’s a great time for someone to buy a house. These prices are going to be ones that you will be dreaming about six months from now.’”

“‘I think we are really in a separate market than the national, and we continue to be,’ Mr. Bain continued. ‘Once it’s perceived that you’ve hit the bottom, these prices won’t be available. The sellers will dig their heels in all the more.’”

The Journal News from New York. “The median price for a single-family home in Rockland fell 5.2 percent during the first three months of the year to $455,000 compared with $480,000 in the same period a year ago, according to figures from the Greater Hudson Valley MLS.”

“Calling the figures ‘disappointing,’ said Ann Garti, CEO at Greater Hudson Valley MLS., ‘There’s been a significant change in the number of units sold.’”

“During the first three months of the year, 216 single-family homes changed hands in Rockland County, more than a third fewer than last year when 329 units found new owners. At the current pace, it would take about a year and a half to sell all of the single-family homes currently for sale in Rockland County, according to calculations by The Journal News.”

“The same phenomena that afflicted Rockland homes - far fewer transactions - occurred in Orange, with sales falling by nearly half to 383 during the quarter, compared with 563 last year.”

“Pricing aggressively is a good strategy, said Matt Rand, managing partner at Prudential Rand Realty, which has offices throughout Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and other Hudson Valley counties.”

“Buyers want to pay what a home is worth, he said, but not a penny more.”

“With the spring selling season under way, April could be a key month for those looking to sell, Rand said, noting that his firm planned about 145 open houses in Rockland alone this weekend.”

“‘We have demand out there,’ Rand said. ‘What we need is some new inventory that’s priced well.’”

AHN News on New York. “The MLS of Long Island’s Website showed a list with almost a thousand homes with price ranging from $1 million to $1.5 million on its roster. The units are located mostly in Nassau and Suffolk.”

“But it would likely take time to sell these pricey properties since purchasing one involves more than just paying a $250,000 to $500,000 downpayment. New owners would also need to shoulder the mansion tax, equivalent to 1 percent of the home’s price tag.”

“Peter Elkowitz, CEO of the Long Island Housing Partnership, pointed out these large houses would require a job that pays $400,000 yearly, although most of their buyers source their down payment from the sale of their current unit.”

“Homeowners, from large ones to smaller ones, have been struggling with keeping up with their monthly amortizations. On the last quarter of 2007, delinquency rates rose to 5.82 percent, a 23-year high.”

The Press of Atlantic City from New Jersey. “The United States is in a recession, according to the Economic Cycle Research Institute. And southern New Jersey’s economic activity is receding, too, losing jobs and falling behind the rest of the state for the first time in years.”

“‘Everybody and your mother knows it’s a recession, except for President Bush and Bernanke,’ said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of ECRI. ‘They know in private, but it’s their role to be cheerleaders for the economy.’”

“The region’s recession is clearer in the construction segment, said Richard Perniciaro, dean of administration at Atlantic Cape Community College and director of its Center for Regional and Business Research. Building permits in the two-county market have fallen from 2,432 in 2005 to 1,070 last year, a level not seen since the last recession.”

“The loss of jobs has been led by the area’s dominant casino industry, which shed 500 jobs in the past year, he said.”

“‘We continue to attract retirees with a fair amount of money, but we’re not attracting the working families because there is no job growth going on,’ Perniciaro said.”

The Courier Post from New Jersey. “A Pennsylvania company has withdrawn as redeveloper for a controversial project along Big Timber Creek here, officials said Wednesday.”

“Fieldstone Associates said the weak housing market doomed its $50 million project, which had called for 253 condominiums and 15,000 square feet of retail space.”

“Wednesday’s announcement, which was welcomed by the project’s critics, was the second big redevelopment project to fall through in South Jersey in recent weeks. Cherokee Investment Partners of North Carolina also cited the housing slump when it dropped plans last week for a $1 billion makeover of Pennsauken’s Delaware River waterfront, including Petty’s Island.”

“‘The Westville project is a victim of the national recession and a depressed housing market,’ said Art Corsini, a principal in the Doylestown firm.”

“The project sparked opposition because 27 property owners would have had to make way for planned construction. Critics feared some landowners would be forced to sell their property by eminent domain.”

“‘I’m glad if it eliminates the threat of eminent domain,’ said Paul Demier, a resident who lives just outside the redevelopment zone. ‘Maybe this could be a new starting point, where we could improve Westville without hurting anybody.’”