The Housing Bubble Blog

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

Realtors Conclude Value

By The Magnificent Flying Miser Those who follow the main-stream news media may have heard about the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) rules, designed to reduce bias and allow for more honest real estate appraisals. We have heard from myriad real estate agents who tell of underappraisals...
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July 4th Observations And Predictions

What do you see in your local housing market this holiday weekend? And what are your mid-year predictions? The Times Herald. "Travel on the national level is projected to decline by almost three percent with 37.1 million Americans, or 12.2 percent of the total population, traveling this weekend....
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The Consumer Rules

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "All 40 Murano units were sold yesterday, as well as two more units, in a span of just under two hours - a clear signal that there is a demand for condos in Center City, albeit at much lower prices, according to experts. The lowest winning bid was...
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Bits Bucket For June 30, 2009

Post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here. Please visit the HBB Forum. And see the American Visionaries series from Schwarzfilm. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCEkP8XKuJk" target="_blank">Part One</a>, <a...
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An Unsustainable Trajectory In California

The Daily Breeze reports from California. "The median price of all South Bay homes sold last month was $513,000, down 12.3 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to a report released by the California Association of Realtors. For strictly single-family home resales, May's statewide...
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The System Always Returns to Stability

-by The Mysterious Flying Miser Everyone’s asking what’s next. In a world inured to bubbles, many are champing at the bit to multiply their cash on the next irrational boom. But is it possible that we are done with bubbles for a while? Could it be that we are entering into a period of relative...
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To Prosper Again

-by The Mysterious Flying Miser Recent headlines have made much ado about homeowners who tap themselves out trying to pay their mortgages and keep their houses. And recent spending has been aimed at helping them do it. An oft-repeated premise behind this action has been that homeowners must be...
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The Fun Is Just Beginning

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Joshua Hamann jokingly compares himself to the last human in a city overrun by zombies. He's not suggesting his neighbors are zombies. The problem is, he has no neighbors.Hamann occupies one of only about 50 sold condos in his 49-story tower, out of...
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Drop The Price Or Bulldoze Them Down

A report from Marketplace. "Stacey Vanek-Smith: The median home price is down about 17 percent from last year. The reason? Foreclosures, of course. Buyers are bargain hunting. And owners of more expensive houses aren't selling unless they have to. But there's another problem says economist Lawrence...
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