The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from Bisnow on Virginia. "The Fairfax County submarkets of Reston and Tysons, both emerging areas boosted by the opening of Metro's Silver Line, have pipelines full of new apartment construction. Several top developers at Bisnow's Fairfax County State of the Market, worried they might be...

A weekend topic starting with Silicon Beat in California. "Housing economist Lawrence Yun got everyone’s attention Thursday — he talked about bubbles in his address to the 27th Annual Convention and Expo of the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors. His assessments were largely reassuring....

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Sergio Pino is going 'super micro' at Midtown Doral. In a bid to attract local buyers, the Miami developer is including smaller units in phase two of his mixed-use Doral development. At Midtown Doral, more than 90 percent of buyers so far have been...

A report from the Credit Union Journal. "With the housing crisis and the recession firmly in the rear-view mirror, more and more credit unions are looking for ways to help consumers qualify for home loans — even if that means accepting a significantly lower down payment than might ordinarily be...

A report from the Financial Post in Canada. "Renters will tell you they can’t afford the escalating prices to lease out a unit in the Greater Toronto Area’s ridiculously tight condominium apartment market. Yet, as the average rental rate in the city for a 734-square-foot condo increased to $2.99...

A report from Multi-Housing Biz. "This week marks the release of the October Housing Tides Report, featuring an update to the Housing Tides Index, an objective and sophisticated approach to quantifying and comparing the health of U.S. housing markets. Driving the significant drop in the Index was...

A report from the New York Post. "A pair of top Obama-appointed bank regulators still serving in the Trump administration could spark another mortgage meltdown by lowering credit standards and encouraging risky lending practices. Democrat Mel Watt, who is serving a special five-year term as head of...

A report from LA Weekly in California. "City Hall is well on its way to requiring developers to help pay for affordable apartments, the governor recently signed legislation that could lead to $4 billion in new housing funds, and a slew of new units downtown has goosed the vacancy rate and slowed...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The appraisal profession has been changing over the last ten years as the economy, real estate market, demographics and laws have changed. Recently both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced lending programs that waive all appraisal requirements for...

A report from Nine News in Australia. "The Reserve Bank, regulators and the government have got their wish. Property prices in the white-hot Sydney property market are starting to recede. The problem now for those regulators - and for first home buyers and others who are keen to get into the market...

A report from the Washington Post. "Buyers in the Northern Virginia suburbs, like buyers in other areas, are slowing down a little this fall and opting to wait for the right place at the right price in some neighborhoods. In the most popular locations, though, the sales pace is still fast. 'Buyers...

A report from CBC News in Canada. "New buyers can expect home ownership to become even less affordable next year as mortgage costs rise, while current owners will be largely insulated from higher rates. That's one of the main takeaways of a new outlook from Scotiabank, which forecasts mortgage...

A report from NBC Montana. "The city of Missoula has issued more than 1,100 building permits so far this year and residents hope it will even out rent prices. New Missoula residents Carly and Greg Hill moved to the Garden City for law school with the hope of finding affordable housing. The Hill...

A weekend topic starting with The Real Deal. "In March 2013, financier Martin Zweig’s widow Barbara put her penthouse at the Pierre Hotel on the market for $125 million. This August, four years, several brokers and several price cuts later, it finally sold — for $44 million- one of the biggest...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "A new twist on Bravo’s successful 'Million Dollar Listing' franchise, 'Real Estate Wars' ratchets up the heat on professional rivalries. The show capitalizes on the real-life bad blood between two aggressive agents, John McMonigle and Jojo Romeo,...

A report from the Nashville Post in Tennessee. "On the surface, it’s been a stellar 2017 for the Nashville real estate market. In fact, the city’s real estate sector could easily be placed in the national 'supernova' category. Despite the positive press, there are complications hidden...

A report from Better Dwelling in Canada. "Toronto real estate is about to be hit with a flood of supply, while prices are in a precarious situation. A metric s**t ton of condos will be up for sale over the next two months. Almost 17,000 condo pre-construction units will go on sale according to...

A report from National Real Estate Investor. "Investors continue to buy fewer apartment properties than they did last year. Yet prices continue to rise. So far in 2017, the usual declines have been steeper than normal. Experts say fewer properties are available for sale, especially compared to the...

A report from the Times-News in North Carolina. "The Alamance County residential real estate market is more than just red hot. The average asking price of a single-family home in Alamance County has soared in the past year. From September 2015 to September 2016, the average active asking price was...

A report from Better Dwelling in Canada. "Toronto real estate sales were down in the million plus range in August. TREB reported 965 sales over a million dollars, down 37.66% from the same month last year. This was due mostly due to soft demand in the detached market, where sales above a million...