Something We Couldn’t Have Imagined 10 Years Ago

The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "At best, Chicago-area home prices are bouncing along the bottom or getting less bad as the depreciation rate slows. At worst, they continue in a free fall. 'I'm not seeing price increases but I am seeing stability on the lower end,' said Gary Christensen,...
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Home Ownership Looked Like A One-Way Bet

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Sarasota real estate agent Gerard Pirot was not the only person who broke the county's ordinance against short-term rentals last year, but he was the only one who got punished. In May, he was cited by the county's code enforcement department for renting a...
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An International Symbol For What Went Wrong

The Marin Independent Journal reports from California. "The number of Marin foreclosures in the first quarter of this year spiked 28.1 percent compared with the same period last year, by far the biggest increase in the Bay Area. The number of additional homeowners who fell behind on their mortgage...
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Part Of The Shrinking Process

The Gazette reports from Colorado. "From Colorado Springs’ swankiest neighborhoods to its middle-class subdivisions to El Paso County’s rural areas, 2010 was a tough year for home prices in the Pikes Peak region. Bill Hurt, broker in Colorado Springs, thinks the housing market has about hit bottom....
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Where Do We As A Country Go From Here?

A discussion in yesterdays comments is the subject of this post. One reader said, "Back in ‘05-’06 the fact that we were in the grips of a RE bubble seemed OBVIOUS to those of us who hung out here, but somehow invisible to many...Now, of course we have the satisfaction of being (mostly) right, but...
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