The Housing Bubble Blog

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

Draining The Swamp In California

The Press Enterprise reports from California. "Moreno Valley provides a window into the turbulent housing market left in Riverside and San Bernardino counties after real estate prices collapsed. When Inland home prices hit bottom in the second quarter of last year, existing Moreno Valley homes sold...
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Not The Boom-Time Windfall Once Expected

The Lake County News Sun reports from Illinois. "The fear of losing one’s home in these difficult times sent hundreds of area homeowners Saturday to a free program designed to help them. The homeowners seeking relief are hardly poverty-stricken. In the parking lot, there were a couple of late model...
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A Very Unrealistic Market

The News Herald reports from Florida. "Bay County’s foreclosure rate is among the top third of 67 counties in Florida— a state that ranks No. 3 in the nation for foreclosures, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation. The county court system is flooded with foreclosures, deputy clerk...
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The Unspoken Refrain Of Some Buyers

A report from the Alaska Dispatch. "Alaska saw 8,988 home loans in 2009, according to preliminary data from the state Department of Labor. That's down from 9,502 in 2008 and way down from the 12,749 signed back in booming 2006. There were fewer buyers in 2009 because people were waiting to see what...
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From Gangbusters To Zero

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Mr. Cai, a Shanghainese millionaire, owns three homes in Shanghai. Last year, Cai invested in a third home for $2,941 per square meter in the city’s central Xuhui district, or more than triple what he paid a decade ago. 'Every year there are more...
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An Unproductive Asset

The Age reports from Australia. "Melbourne's auction market is white hot. There have been few weekends in property to match the one just gone. The resulting $1 billion in total sales will no doubt be further evidence for some observers that Australia's market is headed for a US-style price crash....
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Feasting On Prime Rib; Now There's Only Hamburger

The Pittsburg Tribune Review reports from Pennsylvania. "Millions of America's homes are sliding 'under water,' meaning their value has fallen beneath the mortgage owed, data shows. And surfacing is a homeowner response long deemed unthinkable: Financially strapped people are simply walking away...
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The Perfect Storm Of Stupid In California

The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Hundreds of area homeowners poured into the Sacramento Convention Center on Friday with tales of financial distress, worry, fear and anger. They were looking for hope at an eight-hour foreclosure prevention workshop. One of those in line, Peggy Tripp, a...
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