The Housing Bubble Blog

Readers suggested a topic on proximity and the housing bubble. "I’m in Washington, DC. I’ve been watching the local market here since 2004. In the past year, I’ve noticed the exurbs and suburbs getting hit really hard. Parts of Prince William County are down 50+% since the peak, and the county as a...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Sixteen houses and 273 lots ready for building, many of which are in Lapeer County, will be on the auction block April 19 in Rochester, as two southeast Michigan builders look to sell properties in a slow new housing market. Opening bids on the...

The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Across the colorful history of Sacramento, it's likely that few people have received as much advance celebrity as Cathy Del Brocco for the simple act of selling their house and leaving town. And few took so long to leave. She listed her house in the...

The Patriot News reports from Pennsylvania. "The nationwide housing slowdown that took hold in 2007 might be showing up in the midstate. In the first quarter of 2008, the number of homes sold dropped 21.6 percent from the first quarter of 2007. It was the lowest first quarter for home sales since...

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The Wall Street Journal reports on California. "While tighter lending standards have cut off all but the most credit-worthy borrowers from auto loans and home loans, many people are turning to credit cards and tapping more of their home-equity lines of credit to dig themselves in deeper. Theresa...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street, Washington and beyond. AP, "The U.S. economy has "turned down sharply" and is at risk for further weakening, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. Paulson also called it a 'disgrace' that there hasn't been any legislation to reform oversight of Fannie...

Seacoast Online reports on Maine. "After more than 20 years in business, Downeast Mortgage has closed all but one of its offices in Maine, including its York Branch. According to William Lund, superintendent of Maine's Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, Downeast Mortgage's demise reflects a...

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The North County Times reports from California. "Despite relatively high February home sales and real estate agent reports about a swarm of buyer activity, North County's housing market hit a new low in March. North County home sales posted the biggest year-over-year drop since the start of the...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Staten Island Advance, "Rep. Vito Fossella has an idea on how to jump-start the moribund housing market: Give folks a $10,000 break on their federal taxes if they buy a home. Fossella pushed his bill during a press conference yesterday in...

Wink News reports from Florida. "The housing market. It's been a dirty word in Southwest Florida as the insatiable appetite for real estate hits starvation mode. 'It's always on your mind. Is it going to sell and when is it going to sell?' said Rachel Hilsmann. 'We originally started at about...

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A report from the Oregonian. "Condo king Homer Williams gambled that Portland's condo mania had reached such a fevered pitch that he could sell Pearl District luxury on a humdrum stretch of Southeast Portland. He and his partners launched a $40 million building, a sprawling, 123-condo complex,...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "An industry group said Tuesday that pending U.S. home sales fell in February to the lowest reading since the index began. The National Association of Realtors' seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes...

The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "Homebuilders spend countless hours dreaming up promotions. They offer deep discounts. They come up with giveaways. They take out radio, television, Internet and newspaper ads. They even hire people with iPods to stand along the side of the road, listening to...

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KMPH reports from California. "An inventory closeout auction in Chowchilla, Sunday afternoon, placed high-end homes in the reach of buyers in need of a break. In a time when home sales are low and foreclosure rates high, Michael and Hermosa Dopheide landed their 4-bedroom home. It was previously...