The Housing Bubble Blog

The Guardian reports on California. "Alvin and Debbie Clavon have been caught up in the American sub-prime mortgage crisis that has rocked financial markets across the world. They bought their first home in south Los Angeles in April 2002 and in September 2005 refinanced to a mortgage at a fixed...

The Beacon Journal reports from Ohio. "Area home sales in July were down just slightly from a year ago and there still is a lot of inventory available. 'Gone are the days when you could put a 'for sale' sign on your front lawn and the offers would start pouring in immediately,' said Marc Hustek,...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "Mortgage defaults are slamming the savings and loan industry. Troubled assets, loans that are 90 or more days past due, jumped to $14.2 billion last quarter, up from $9.2 billion in the same quarter last year, the Office...

The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "Investor Harold Stark paid $365,000 for a three-bedroom Boynton Beach townhouse last year. But the monthly mortgage payments soon started to feel like a noose around his neck. His property's value dropped below what he still owed, $329,000. But rather than...

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The Mercury News reports from California. "Starting in 2003, thousands of Silicon Valley residents desperate for a house, two-car garage and back yard made the hour-plus commute from the job-rich Bay Area over the Altamont Pass to Mountain House, where home prices started in the low $300,000s. But...

News reports from from Oklahoma. "There's a cooling trend, but not a cold snap, in Oklahoma City home values, once hot but apparently never as overheated as in many big cities' bubbly housing markets. Realtors said the excess of homes on the Oklahoma City-area market is causing it to take longer to...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, has begun laying off staff as part of its effort to ride out the credit crunch that has rocked the home loan industry, according to a report published...

CNN Money reports on New York. "What could the collapse in the subprime mortgage market possibly have to do with whether Dr. Jeffrey and Madeline Stier get full price for their four-bedroom house in the wealthy New York City suburb of Larchmont? It's clear that what's happening in the subprime...

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "The ugly side of San Diego's condominium downturn is on display along Fifth Avenue. The bones of what was supposed to be Atmosphere, nearly 80 'luxury live/work units for a life well-designed,' sit open to public view. Atmosphere is one of two downtown...

The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "David Bahr was all set to sell his Denver loft last year and move to Chicago, but the housing market had other plans. The loft lingered for six months without a serious bidder. 'We reduced our price by $25,000, but almost nobody came through (to look),' says...

The Gazette Mail reports from West Virginia. "West Virginia appears to be sheltered from the eye of the storm buffeting the nation’s mortgage markets, but that doesn’t mean it won’t get rained on. About 30,400 homes were sold in the state in the April-to-June period, down 13.6 percent from a year...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Lower median prices? "Median real estate prices in Nevada County dropped more than 9 percent to $425,000 in July compared to a year earlier, a real-estate tracking company confirmed today. 'Things just aren’t worth as much as they used to be,'...

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The Orange County Register reports from California. "It used to be easy to refinance, tap into home equity for cash or get 100-percent financing for a home. Mortgage experts say financing is still available to the right people, under the right conditions – at a cost. The danger is that home prices...

Readers suggested a topic on the recent banking problems and home prices. "My topic for discussion would be how fellow HBBers see the decline in housing prices over the next year in light of recent credit market developments?" "As this saga unfolds maybe we should update our projections including...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "In a blow to an already weak housing market, Option One Mortgage will no longer provide mortgages to buy Florida condos, a decision industry watchers warn other lenders could copy. Option One's move comes as the once-hot market for condominiums in Florida has...

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It's desk clearing time for this blogger. "While most of the nation is already in the midst of a residential real estate slump, industry watchers say New York City is about to experience a reality check. 'It's getting very scary,' said one generally optimistic high-end broker. 'We're just waiting...