The Housing Bubble Blog

The News Press reports from Florida. "In historic fashion, taxable property values tumbled 12.4 percent across the county compared with last year, which means less money for local governments to spend on services or a tax-rate increase. Preliminary figures released Monday by Lee County Property...

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The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "Owners with units for sale in the towering Beauvallon building at East 10th Avenue and Lincoln Street are struggling to sell their units because a lawsuit against the developer is dissuading potential buyers and hanging up financing for anyone still...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "Wachovia Corp. ousted Kennedy Thompson as CEO of the fourth-largest U.S. bank after the board blamed him for losses that cost the lender more than half its market value in the past year. Thompson's credibility was dented after he...

The Concord Monitor reports from New Hampshire. "When Louise and Bob Cloutier walked into their dream home on Buck Street in Pembroke, there was an old mattress in the living room and mold lining the insulation on the front-porch windows. The couple got the deal from Bert Cox, a real estate...

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The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Gracie and Louis Prado moved to Yuba County's new commuter subdivisions later than most people, arriving just 16 months ago from Elk Grove. But they came for the same reason thousands did since 2002: more elbow room and a big house for less money. Yet...

The Columbus Dispatch reports from Ohio. "For decades, central Ohio residents could count on steadily rising home prices that provided a bedrock of financial stability in good times and bad. That ended in 2005. Franklin County home values peaked that year, and the median sale price began dropping...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? More construction? "With the rest of the country still reeling from the worst housing crisis since the Great Depression, New York will today unveil fresh plans for its tallest residential tower. The Beekman Tower, a 76-storey, 867ft luxury...

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Readers suggested a topic on when it is a good time to buy a house. "Are there areas where it IS a good time to buy? Here in Riverside, CA., I'm not so sure. We have put a few offers on homes, but we are offering LESS than asking, not more like most people." "The problem for us is nicer homes at...

The Bradenton Herald reports from Florida. "Foreclosure filings in May for Manatee County numbered 446, down slightly from April's record-setting 495. By noon Friday, filings for the month had already reached 431, according to Manatee County Clerk of Court. Just four hours later, 15 more...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Valet attendants stand poised at the porte-cochere of the Ritz-Carlton's first-ever condominium-only project as a doorman ushers visitors toward the marble lobby. Pathways wind through the manicured lawn and gardens, just steps from a new stretch of...

The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "When home builders ruled the earth earlier this decade, a customer had to be humble. You waited in line, paid to get on eligibility lists and endured lotteries to buy houses that might jump another $5,000 if you didn't sign now and use the builder's...

And send in your housing bubble pics to: hbbphotos@gmail.com

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I'm going to be visiting San Diego not this weekend but the next. We'll be having a meet-up for anyone interested. I'm also going to Los Angeles and San Francisco the two days after that. Send me an email for detail. Please put OTR-SD, or OTR-LA, etc, in the message bar. thehousingbubble@gmail.com...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "Complaints to the county about algae-laden "green pools" behind vacant or abandoned homes have leaped almost 250 percent since a year ago, increasing to 2,069 during the first five months of 2008 compared with 597 during the same period in 2007, said Johnny...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "House prices fell a record 2.5 percent in May, the Nationwide Building Society says. The monthly decline, the largest since the lender started compiling records in 1991, wiped 5,000 pounds off the value of the average home and took...