The Housing Bubble Blog

Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.

The Crash Shut Off The Lights At This Party

The Green Bay Press Gazette reports from Wisconsin. "Craig Haskins remembers when the lobbies of Knight Barry Title Group bustled with homebuyers and sellers optimistically waiting to finalize a new chapter in their lives. That was before 2008 — when the housing bubble burst and sent the real...
Read more (26 comments)

Time To Give Back The Toys

Taos News reports from New Mexico. "Records from the Eighth Judicial District Court show that 554 foreclosure cases have been filed in Taos County since 2007. About 150 were filed in 2009 alone — more than double the number filed in 2004. The flood of foreclosures means distressed properties now...
Read more (39 comments)

Another Recession; More Of The Same

Readers suggested a topic on current economics. "Is the double-dip recession outside the realm of possibility at this point? I guess the answer depends heavily upon whom you ask. However, this statement is patently lame: 'If we were going to have another recession, it would have been in the...
Read more (111 comments)

It Looked Like A Smart Move

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Heather Anderson ruefully admits that she should have known better. A veteran of nearly two decades in the credit-union industry, she had spent her career warning would-be borrowers about the perils lurking in home-equity loans, bells-and-whistles...
Read more (39 comments)

Expectations Of Boundless Increases In Value

A report from the Oregonian. "Though not historically a big home mortgage lender, West Coast Bank pushed aggressively into some of the hotter housing markets around the Northwest with its two-step program, a short-term construction loan. Two-step was geared for flippers, investors intended to...
Read more (28 comments)

Keep Working On That Price

The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "As the Occupy Wall Street movement expands across the nation, including to Oakland's downtown plaza Monday, supporters hope to make it more politically powerful by focusing on real-life stories of people such as Mark Schwetz. Schwetz stood...
Read more (64 comments)

Everything Went In The Opposite Direction

The Smoky Mountain News reports from North Carolina. "Developers in Western North Carolina and across the nation have seen business grind to a halt because of the crippled housing market. L.C. Jones and his investors recently purchased The Ridges, better known as Wildflower, the Macon County...
Read more (24 comments)

Things About The Meltdown You Need To Know

Readers suggested a topic on what to know when protesting. "I think we should put together a top ten list of 'things about the economic meltdown you need to know before you get in front of a camera at a protest rally'. For instance…I think one should be – the repeal of glass-steagall. What are some...
Read more (223 comments)