The Housing Bubble Blog

The Daily Camera reports from Colorado. "It's been a little more than two years since Michael Kirby and his wife put their 3,200-square-foot Longmont home on the market, which is listed at $474,000. And Kirby says he doesn't expect to sell it anytime soon. Although the house's fixtures are up to...

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The Times Herald reports from California. "The median home price in Vallejo dropped about 21 percent in December over December 2006, said Solano Association of Realtors president Lori Collins. Benicia's median home prices fell even more dramatically during that same period - slipping about 54...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "Shares of American International Group Inc. hit a new 52-week low Monday after the insurer said in a regulatory filing that auditors have found material weakness in how it reports the value of certain credit default swaps....

The Baltimore Sun reports from Maryland. "Half the communities in the Baltimore metro area saw average home sale prices decline last year as the housing slump deepened. The most expensive counties - Howard, Anne Arundel and Carroll, had the biggest share of ZIP codes where average sale prices fell...

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The Press Democrat reports from California. "Borrowers routinely exaggerated their incomes to obtain thousands of Sonoma County home loans during the housing boom, a major reason foreclosures are now spiraling to unprecedented highs. In their eagerness to buy a home, many borrowers inflated...

The Beacon Journal reports from Ohio. "A three-year slide in the sales of existing homes in the Akron area accelerated dramatically last year, with 20 percent less money changing hands in 2007 than in the recent peak of 2004, according to the Akron Area Board of Realtors. 'The housing market did...

What do you see in your local housing market? Lending changes? "At a time when many lenders are pulling back on nontraditional mortgages, Wachovia Corp. is diving in deeper. The Charlotte bank argues that its 'Pick-A-Payment' mortgage gives customers more flexibility to manage their personal...

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The San Mateo County Times reports from California. "Home sales plunged in San Mateo County in January, as housing prices fell significantly in poorer neighborhoods but held up in upscale areas, a new report revealed Thursday. It was the worst January in 10 years for sales, which dove nearly 45...

A report from the Washington Post. "As home prices peaked in the first half of this decade, roughly 40 percent of buyers took out two loans, often from two lenders, to cover the purchase. These loans, known as piggyback mortgages, enabled home buyers to put little or no money down and avoid paying...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Median condo prices dropped 24 percent, from $218,000 to $166,500, according to statistics released Thursday by the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. Realtors said the price declines stem from the vast oversupply of homes on the market...

The Hungry Horse News reports from Montana. "Flathead County could be edging its way towards a larger surplus in the housing market. That was the message presented by appraiser Jim Kelley at the sixth annual Economic Forecast. According to Kelley the supply of land and housing being created is...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Foreclosures in the region more than doubled between 2006 and last year, when 1,211 homes were taken. The hardest-hit community in the region, and among the worst hit in the state, is Brockton. Last year, 363 homes were foreclosed there, far more than...

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

The Contra Costa Times reports from California. "Zena Hall figured the eagerness of lenders to sell foreclosed houses would help her capture a great price on her next home. About $380,000 later, Hall found out she was right on the mark when she bought a foreclosed townhouse in San Lorenzo. 'I think...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "D.R. Horton Inc, the largest U.S. home builder, posted a wider first-quarter loss on Thursday, as sales fell by more than a third and new orders dropped 61 percent, reflecting the depressed U.S. housing market. Markets such as...