The Housing Bubble Blog

Newsday reports from New York. "To give an idea of the state of the home builders' business these days, Ira Tane has switched from Model A to Model B. The big difference is that not only is Model B smaller, 2,000 square feet smaller, but the lower price means it's the one selling nowadays in Long...

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "A year and a half ago, Saverio Bellomo and his wife, Amy Robinson Bellomo, thought about selling their house. A real estate agent urged them to list it at $930,000. They decided to hold off for a while. Big mistake. Today, their two-story stucco...

Inside Tucson Business reports from Arizona. "University of Arizona economist Marshall Vest looked around the room at the Arizona Inn before delivering an economic update last week. 'Does anyone know a good joke? We need to lighten things up a bit.' No one offered, so Vest continued." "'The economy...

The Press Register reports from Alabama. "Two years of slow sales have killed many new condo development plans and put others on hold. The inventory glut -- almost 3,000 units for sale on Alabama's Gulf Coast, has kept bankers away and Realtors hunting for buyers. 'I think it's going to be an...

What do you see in your local housing market this weekend? Industry layoffs? "Charlotte-based online mortgage broker service LendingTree announced late Friday it will lay off 255 people, or 17 percent of its workers in its mortgage origination business. Most of LendingTree's cuts will be in Irvine,...

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "Home builder D.R. Horton has clamped down on public attendance and media coverage of a planned auction today of condominium units at two San Diego developments amid a growing national interest in its marketing strategy. 'We are going to be closing the...

Readers suggested a topic on who is buying. "I propose the following weekend topic: With all the bad news from the housing market, you’d have to be an idiot to buy now, right? Yet people are still buying. Are they deluded homeowners, or knife-catching 'vulture investors' who are going to be creamed...

The Saugus Advertiser reports from Massachusetts. "Homebuyers are paying less these days to jump in to the Saugus market, following the nationwide trend. Prices have fallen to an average of $380,100 for a single-family home in Saugus, according to MLS statistics. At the same time, it’s taking...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The mulish housing market will bedevil us for another year or so, a pair of economists predicted. 'Sellers are having trouble getting over the fact that they can't get 10 percent appreciation anymore, and buyers are looking for deals at $50,000 or...

The Tracy Press reports from California. "The number of houses on the market in Tracy, 946, is closing in on the total number of houses built in town at the peak of the housing boom in 2004, the last year the city added more than 1,000 houses. At the same time, RealtyTrac reported this month that...

The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "By any measure, including the two released Tuesday, little is coming up roses for the housing market, locally and nationally. Chip Wagner, a Naperville appraiser, said sellers' asking prices appear to be on the way down, which might generate some...

The Roanoke Times reports from Virginia. "The latest figures from the New River Valley Association of Realtors indicate...the volume of sales is down 4 percent from the first eight months of last year, and real estate agents say sellers are facing a far tougher environment than they did at the...

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

KCBS reports from California. "About 500 Sacramento and Bay Area homes are being auctioned off over the next two weekends, and next month 34 homes in a Manteca subdivision will be on the block, starting at 40 percent below previous prices. The idea is to get qualified buyers off the fence, says...

The East Valley Tribune reports from Arizona. "Valley home prices fell at a faster pace in July than in prior months, mirroring a national trend, a home price index released Tuesday shows. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of 10 cities, which measures change in single-family home values, slid 4.5 percent...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Dow Jones, "New-home sales resumed falling in August, sinking to the lowest level in seven years, and prices tumbled. Year-to-year, new-home sales were 21.2% lower than the level in August 2006. The median price of a new home decreased by...