The Housing Bubble Blog

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "A flood of foreclosures has forced county offices in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to expand their services to handle the load. With more than 1,000 foreclosed homes ready to hit the auction block in February, the Miami-Dade County Clerk's office is...

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The LA Daily News reports from California "Home sales in the San Fernando Valley plunged a record 35 percent last year to their lowest level in more than two decades as fewer buyers qualified for loans amid the ongoing mortgage meltdown, the Southland Regional Association of Realtors said. Annual...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "Toll Brothers Inc. said Wednesday that home building revenue fell by 22 percent in the first quarter, its seventh consecutive quarterly decline, and warned that it's 'not yet seeing much light at the end of the tunnel.'...

The Courier News from New Jersey. "When Barbara Taylor, a Realtor in Bridgewater, inherited two homes from her brother a couple years ago, she thought the one in Bridgewater would sell as fast as the one in Lavallette. She put them both on the market last year, hoping to get out of the landlord...

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A report from the Oregonian. "The 10,000-square-foot estate home in West Linn comes loaded with Mount Hood views, three wet bars and nanny quarters. It once fetched $3.3 million. The neoclassical Italian-style villa in the West Hills: $1.4 million. The 17th-floor riverfront condo in South...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "Home builder Standard Pacific Corp reported sharply higher losses amid a downturn in the U.S. housing market and said conditions will likely worsen. Fourth-quarter home-building revenue fell 20 percent from a year earlier as new...

The Times Union reports from Florida. "Northeast Florida homeowners applying for home equity loans - also known as second mortgages - are finding the cup isn't as full as it was during the real estate boom. Instead of making such loans based on 100 percent of a home's equity, most lenders have...

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Bloomberg reports on California. "In the sprawling new subdivisions of Southern California's Riverside County, newspapers litter empty driveways and coffee-colored lawns are reminders of neighbors who had to abandon their dream homes. California leads the nation in home foreclosures, and economic...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "Corporate America is pouring money into the U.S. presidential campaign at an unprecedented rate, with a torrent of donations coming from the businesses behind the subprime mortgage crisis. Facing a government crackdown over...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "Home evictions have risen about 15 percent since January 2006 in parts of the East Valley, including Scottsdale and Tempe, constables said. They are substantially higher, up to 45 percent, in parts of Phoenix, Ahwatukee, Chandler, the north Valley and the West...

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The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Sacramento home builders have tried practically everything to move product in a slow market: lower prices, auctions, luxurious upgrades and so on. Now they're offering cheap money. Working in tandem with lenders, two home builders are offering mortgage...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "The nation's largest home-loan lender, Countrywide, told its brokers in a memo last week to immediately raise the down payment required for all loans made in the tricounty area by 5 percent. For a median-priced $362,500 home in Miami-Dade County, this...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Speculation? "For the first time ever, condominium prices in key areas across the GTA rose faster than those for single family homes in 2007, a Mississauga-based real estate firm says." "'Condominiums are clearly a viable alternative to...

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