The Housing Bubble Blog

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

Mired In Debt, Unlikely To Repay

The Tribune reports from California. "The three men once considered among San Luis Obispo County’s most prolific builders remain mired in debt, and appear unlikely to repay their creditors or return to their former prominence in 2010. Paso Robles’ David Weyrich, San Luis Obispo’s Andy Fetyko and...
Read more (57 comments)

It Started And Ended With A Bursting Bubble

The Post Cresent reports from Wisconsin. "Darek Flanigan is giving himself a big Christmas present this year — a new house. The 21-year-old from Black Creek is scheduled to close on his purchase today. Flanigan got a great deal, too — a 920-square-foot, three-bedroom ranch home with a full basement...
Read more (66 comments)

A Period Of Epic Abnormality

The News Journal reports from Delaware. "Milton Delgado put a down payment on his dream three years ago: a three-bedroom 1,715-square-foot condominium at The Promenade in Middletown. Delgado was one of dozens who laid out thousands of dollars after seeing glossy brochures showing a deluxe housing...
Read more (87 comments)

The Risks Just Were Not There

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "They won’t be home for Christmas, but a Roslindale family who lost their house to foreclosure, just miles from where Bank of America’s CEO lives, still hopes to have a happy new year. 'If we can do anything to get our home back, we’re willing to...
Read more (116 comments)

The World Turned Upside Down

The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "Miami's skyline at dusk tells the story of the condo crisis in stark relief: Some of the luminous towers beam with life, others flicker half-full, and still others are completely dark, mired in legal disputes over past-due loans and stalled sales. In many...
Read more (64 comments)

Ditching California

The Los Angeles Business Journal reports from California. "FirstFed Financial Corp., one of L.A.’s oldest and largest financial institutions, was closed late Friday by federal and state regulators. FirstFed has been a fixture in the area since opening its doors in downtown Santa Monica in 1929,...
Read more (123 comments)

An Existential Whiplash From The Illusion Of Value

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Homeowners with mortgages of more than $1 million are defaulting at almost twice the U.S. rate and some are turning to so-called short sales to unload properties as stock-market losses and pay cuts squeeze wealthy borrowers. Masoud Bokaie,...
Read more (100 comments)