The Housing Bubble Blog

USA Today reports from California. "Ramona Garcia of Corona, Calif., says she did everything she could to ease the effects of her foreclosure on her young children. Garcia and her husband, Dominic, both real estate agents, saw their business crash as the local housing market toppled. The family...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Marketplace, "The SEC has released a report on the agencies that gave high marks to subprime securities. Kai Ryssdal: 'Christopher Cox is the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Today, the SEC released its report on credit...

The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "New-home sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth area continued to dive in the second quarter - down almost a third from a year ago. It was the lowest quarterly home sales total in a decade. And starts of new homes were off about 30 percent from second quarter...

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "Bank of America CEO Kenneth D. Lewis yesterday called on the lending industry to avoid foreclosure whenever possible 'to help borrowers manage through the current crisis.' Now it's time for the lending industry to 'return to a more disciplined view of...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes declined more than forecast in May, a sign prices that have been sliding for more than two years have yet to touch bottom. The index of pending home resales fell 4.7 percent, the...

The Press of Atlantic City reports from New Jersey. "When Matthew Altier became the new VP of administration and finance at Richard Stockton College in April, he got more than just an office. He also got temporary use of a house. As part of his contract, Altier is caretaker of the state-owned home...

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The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "There was a time when all that Sacramento County Sheriff's Deputy Mark Habecker knew about mortgages was his own monthly payment. He had never heard of subprime loans or the term 'cash for keys.' The deputy could count on one hand the times he'd evicted...

Consumer Affairs reports on Missouri. "When Sheila Smith got a look at what she thought was her dream home, she didn't hesitate to take it. Smith, a social services and business consultant in Independence, Missouri, and her family took the chance and signed the papers on the house in May 2000. It...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "More than 2,100 homes in Lake County have fallen into foreclosure through the first half of 2008, making this a record year for mortgage defaults in just six months. The unofficial total of 2,191 foreclosure filings through the end of June shattered the...

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The North County Times reports from California. "As economists debate whether San Diego County has entered a recession, homeowners have lost $118 billion in equity, thousands have lost their jobs and fewer from out of the area are visiting. Many analysts look to jobs as a primary indicator of local...

The Times Call reports from Colorado. "Randy Wilber moved his wife and two kids to Longmont in 2003. He bought a house here with an adjustable-rate mortgage. At first, his monthly payment was nearly $2,000. Two years into the loan, when his rate adjusted upward, the payment went up about $600 a...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Cancelled projects? "The Penfield, an upscale condominium project that was to be downtown St. Paul's first residential high-rise in more than 20 years, is the latest casualty of the condo market meltdown. The Penfield condos were priced from...

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Readers suggested a topic on housing bubble solutions. "On this July 4 weekend - how do we declare economic independence from the housing and credit mess that some very unpatriotic business and gov't leaders got us into? HBB remedies for getting the nation back on its feet." One posted, "We need a...

The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "In a hopeful sign for the moribund condo market, the developer of a struggling downtown condominium decided not to sell 156 units in a discounted bulk sale - a decision that has West Palm Beach condo owners breathing a sigh of relief. Instead of a fire...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The construction industry has been hit particularly hard. Sites that were once vibrant areas of future planning are now just desolate fields with a lot of people out of work. And the construction industry is one that Barbara Hartman, of the Career...