The Housing Bubble Blog

The Indy Star reports from Indiana. "Desperate to stay in her Putnam County house in a pending foreclosure last year, Melissa Adams turned to a mortgage consultant she found online. Adams ended up paying $1,500 to the Florida company to negotiate a modification to the mortgage she could no longer...

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The Summit Daily News reports from Colorado. "Winter stormed into Aspen in a major way in December, smashing at least one record for total snowfall accumulation at a local ski mountain. Aspen was quiet, at least compared to what March is usually like. Advance bookings for last week were 53 percent,...

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The News & Observer reports from North Carolina. "At Brighton Ridge, a new subdivision in Angier, a sign welcoming buyers features a child in sunglasses and bathing suit, lazing on an inflatable doughnut. But the neighborhood is hardly so inviting. Empty lots are littered with bricks, sewer pipes...

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The Times Herald reports from California. "Local Realtors are applauding a new statewide industry plan designed to nudge reluctant homebuyers over the edge. Like Ford and GM have vowed in recent days to make limited car payments for qualified buyers who lose their jobs because of the economy,...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The California Association of Realtors has launched a program to provide a flat $1,500 monthly payment for as long as six months to cover mortgage payments for first-time homebuyers who get laid off from a job. The flip side of home-buying...

Instead of a bits bucket, let's have a look at some interviews from Las Vegas. Part One Part Two More to come, I'm told.

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The Post Independent reports from Colorado. "In recent months, tightening credit markets have stalled many projects, particularly the so-called luxury spec homes built by developers, said Ryan Grobler, owner of Carbondale-based Oracle Building Group. 'The whole valley has been hammered,' Grobler...

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A report from the Associated Press. "Sales of vacation and investment homes slid 22 percent last year, a sign that tough economic conditions and tight lending requirements shut out buyers, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday. Deeply discounted foreclosures and homebuilders'...

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The Desert Sun reports from California. "There's no dispute, it's been a buyer's market in real estate. Buyers with good credit, decent income and the stamina to withstand a rigorous loan approval process — some taking as long as 90 days to clear escrow — are standing pat and getting some of the...

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A report from the Idaho Statesman. "Legal advertisements announcing foreclosure auctions fill page after page of the Idaho Statesman and other newspapers. And advertisers hawk sure-fire methods to make money at the auctions. But very few auctions actually take place in the Treasure Valley. Most...

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The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "In Fort Lauderdale, Miles and Laura Brannan are raffling their six-bedroom waterfront estate in Coral Ridge Country Club. The plan is to draw the winning name after 300,000 tickets are sold, at $10 apiece. Part of the proceeds will benefit St. Simeon Church...