The Housing Bubble Blog

The Wall Street Journal reports on California. "Many builders never expected the housing market to fall this far. Now they're struggling with empty land, too few buyers and an inventory of finished homes that have been sitting empty for months, and some are growing desperate to free the cash locked...

A report from the Idaho Statesman. "The Treasure Valley single-family residential market promises to remain in the doldrums for some time to come, according to a report released this week. Metrostudy reported this week that demand for housing has slowed because of saturated housing market and a...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "The Federal Reserve added $24 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system amid an increase in demand for cash from banks roiled by U.S. subprime loan losses. BNP Paribas SA halted withdrawals from three investment funds...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "A growing credit crisis is prompting lenders across Massachusetts to cut back suddenly on new loans, making it difficult for even creditworthy borrowers to get mortgages and causing some home sales to fall through at a time when the housing market is...

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The Contra Costa Times reports from California. "The East Bay's housing ailments are nowhere near over and are likely to afflict the region's economy for about another year and a half. That assessment came Tuesday from a quarterly outlook about the East Bay economy produced by the UCLA Anderson...

The Nogales International reports from Arizona. "Nogales Real Estate Broker Gabriel Gastelum said a housing glut in Santa Cruz County is due to the fact that property values soared on an upward spiral that began about three years ago, peaked and is now leveling off to more realistic prices....

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Financial Times, "Toll Brothers, the largest US luxury homebuilder, on Wednesday warned that home sales might fall even further in the latest sign that the worst housing slump in 16 years has yet to reach its lowest point. The rate of new...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "Room 350 of the Orange County Courthouse once buzzed with people trying to outbid one another for foreclosed homes so they could turn around and make a sale for a sizable and nearly instantaneous return on their investment. On Tuesday morning...more than...

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The Daily Bulletin reports from California. "New guidelines for federally regulated mortgage lenders announced Friday will make loans tougher to get, but those who follow the market disagree on how widespread their effect will be. 'This is going to hurt the housing market dramatically,' said Steve...

The Kane County Chronicle reports from Illinois. "Real-estate agent Rob Buhrow recently performed a market analysis on an Elgin property for a local bank, and every comparable home he turned up was a foreclosure property. 'I’m like, 'Oh my God,' Buhrow said. 'It makes you think – what’s really...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "As the market corrects itself Standard Pacific's investors are scared, sending shares of the homebuilder down to levels unseen since the last bubble." The Orange County Register. "'We're hearing they're about to violate bank covenants,'...

A report from the Washington Post. "If 2006 was the year the boom market began to fade, 2007 is shaping up to be the year that beach communities along the Delaware, Maryland and Virginia shorelines see their economic engines, largely driven by tourism and real estate, downshift from overdrive,...

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The Great Falls Tribune reports from Montana. "The local real state market is following the state's appreciation trend, said Realtor Jan Popa. Last year, the average selling price of a single family home was $148,620. This year, so far, the average price is $165,585. It's not quite a hot sellers'...

USA Today reports on Colorado. "While everyone agrees these more prudent lending standards should ensure future borrowers can afford to keep their homes over the life of the loan, many homeowners who got those loans in the past few years are now having grave problems refinancing as their interest...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg,"Frankfurt Trust stopped withdrawals from a fund after clients removed 20 percent of their money since the end of July amid concern about the U.S. subprime loan debacle. The FT ABS-Plus fund, which includes residential mortgage-...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "Horacio and Patsy Parra cashed out two retirement accounts last year to buy an Orlando condominium they couldn't afford. The developer, Cay Clubs Resorts & Marinas, agreed to lease back the $307,000 unit for 15 percent of the sales price, enough cash to cover...

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