The Housing Bubble Blog

It's holiday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Skyline Pines East, the hilltop development project planned for the southern edge of Rapid City, South Dakota, will include four condominium towers standing seven stories tall. The 196-unit project will offer great views of Rapid City and the...

The Daily Press reports from Virginia. "When the developers of City Center at Oyster Point were putting together condo plans a few years ago, builders could pre-sell half the units before they were done. Now the first 54 condos will go on sale at The Point at City Center in January amid a very...

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "Homeowners desperately trying to save their dwellings from foreclosure in the subprime lending crisis say they are being led to a series of wrong turns, dead ends and blind alleys as they seek relief from lenders. 'Sometimes it takes 45 minutes to an hour...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "A major Valley real estate broker shut its doors just days before Christmas, leaving 350 agents without a home, and about 20 salaried employees without a job. RE/MAX 2000, based in Gilbert, is closing its 13 offices around the Valley. An attorney for owner...

The Daily News reports from Florida. "The slumping real estate market of 2007 took a dramatic toll on sellers, buyers and everyone in between. 'There are a lot of people who are just walking away,' Realtor Ray DiTirro observed in April. 'They do their cash-flow analysis and they say, 'It’ll cost me...

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The Daily Democrat reports from California. "The median price of homes in Yolo County has fallen by 12.35 percent in November compared to the same period in 2006, according to California Association of Realtors report. Yolo County homes are at a median price of $355,000, while in 2006, it was at...

Time for the annual Christmas shopping thread. "How about what to get your favorite used house salesperson, or FB for Christmas?" Several replies: "A pre-paid bus ticket, if it’s a metro area. Recommend a particular row." "A gift basket with a squeegee, a spray bottle, and a piece of cardboard."...

The Missoulian reports from Montana. "Missoula builder Joe Stanford doesn't need fancy statistics or color-coded foreclosure maps to tell him America's subprime mortgage crisis has arrived here. Like other builders and real estate agents, his deals have been scotched or delayed by buyers who first...

What do you see in your local housing market this weekend? Builder troubles? "Nearly 70 construction or related businesses in Northwest Arkansas filed for bankruptcy protection during the year, according to U. S. Bankruptcy Court filings. Springdale-based custom home builder Tim McMahon filed for...

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The Used House Salespeople report from California. "Home sales decreased 36.2 percent in November in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 11.9 percent, C.A.R. reported today. 'While it is normal for sales to decline at this time of...

Reades suggested a topic on recent credit market trends. "MBIA has a liquidity issue, Fitch places on negative watch over 170K muninicpal issues. Banks reporting losses that have never lost money before, even in the Great Depression. California’s debt mushrooms from 4 to 14 billion in 6 months....

The Review Journal reports from Nevada. "Local housing indicators in November continued to soften, two Las Vegas research firms said this week. Closings and median prices in the new- and existing-home categories fell from a year earlier, data from SalesTraq and Home Builders Research showed. The...

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "The Bay Area housing market showed no signs of recovery in November, as sales fell to a nearly two-decade low and buyers still struggled to find mortgages. There's little to suggest that this month is shaping up any better than November....

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "An estimated 2.5 billion euro ($3.59 billion) writedown at French bank Credit Agricole raised fresh concerns among analysts on Friday over Agricole's risk management and investment banking arm. France's biggest retail bank said...

The News Journal reports from Florida. "More than 900 area homeowners were notified last month they could lose their properties as local foreclosure activity continued at nearly triple last year's level. The new monthly numbers from RealtyTrac place Volusia and Flagler counties among the more...

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