The Housing Bubble Blog

The Union Tribune reports from California. "San Diego County's highflying housing boom is over, but real estate agents specializing in foreclosure sales say business hasn't been this good since the deep recession of the mid-1990s. In the first half of 2007, the county had a record 2,896...

The Houston Chronicle reports from Texas. "Looking for cheap land? Good luck. 'Land values have doubled in about a 2 1/2 -year period in better areas in Houston,' said Jim Hurd of Houston Income Properties. While the low end of the housing market slumps, Houston's ultrarich are shelling out more...

The Times Herald Record reports from New York. "The Route 17 billboard in Orange County promised a new era for the region: 'Drive 20 Minutes, Save $50,000,' blared the sign for the new development of homes in the Sullivan County hamlet of Hurleyville. This was America's largest home builder, D.R....

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Inventory? "The billboard along I-85 says it all: more than 110,000 homes for sale in metro Atlanta. Newly released figures indicate sales of new homes in Atlanta are down significantly. In north Atlanta, new housing sales have slumped more than...

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The Daily Bulletin reports from California. "Most folks who follow the housing market these days seem to agree on one thing: The news isn't good. Sales are way down, while prices are either declining or going sideways almost everywhere except at the high end of the price spectrum. Builders like KB...

Readers suggested a topic on what the credit meltdown means for the housing bubble. "A topic suggestion: The effects of the coming mortgage drought on the subprime & Alt-A homeowners. Will the 'new, improved' lending standards kite the foreclosure rates through the roof? Will LA (where a shack is...

The Naples News reports from Florida. "Local lenders say the collapse of American Home Mortgage, which has three offices in Lee County, is another sign the mortgage industry is purging itself of high-risk loan practices that are contributing the housing market’s woes and sending shock waves through...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The real estate slowdown, continuing nationwide according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors, is also having an impact on home sales and construction in Southeast Missouri. 'It is a lot slower than it was last year,'...

The Gazette reports from Colorado. "Another month, another record number of single-family homes for sale in the Colorado Springs area. The number of homes on the market jumped to 7,065 in July, the third straight monthly record and an 18 percent increase over the same time last year, according to...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "Standard & Poor's on Friday changed its rating outlook on Bear Stearns Cos. to negative from stable, indicating a greater chance of a downgrade over the next two years, as it warned of problems that could hurt the firm's...

The Times Union reports from New York. "If demand for a product drops, then prices being paid for it fall, too. That's Economics 101. Yet in the Capital Region, the number of homes sold in the last six months has declined significantly, but the median price being paid for those homes has not...

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

Sanluisobispo.com reports from California. "Foreclosure activity is at its highest level in a dozen years in San Luis Obispo County. Lenders sent county homeowners 653 notices of default from January to July, according to All American Foreclosure Service. That’s up from 296 in the same period a...

Las Vegas Now reports from Nevada. "The recent troubles in mortgage lending mean foreclosed homes are flooding the market. They're also making it tougher for other sellers who were hoping to make a profit selling their home. You can usually buy foreclosed homes for less than a regular house for...

The Rock Town Weekly reports from Virginia. "Heidi Sallee and her husband, Dave, have done most of the things required to sell a house. The 3,000-square-foot house in Lakewood has been on the market since mid-May and Dave starts a job at Radford University near Blacksburg the second week in August....

The Miami New Times reports from Florida. "Crossing the Lehman Causeway into Sunny Isles Beach, you might wonder if you've been sucked into an interstate wormhole in the space-time continuum and landed in downtown Miami. Construction cranes perch atop a skyline that, though dominated by high-rises,...

Please post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here.