The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from the Arizona Republic. "The deepening residential housing slump continues to hammer Scottsdale home builder Meritage Homes Corp. The company reported Thursday that it lost $56.6 million in the second quarter as home closings slid 32 percent and revenue dropped 37 percent. 'Weakened...

Readers suggested a topic on analysts and the housing bubble. "One thing that interests me a lot about this bubble is the practice of 'excuse-onomics' in market analysts’/economists’ reports. Whereby 99 percent of their data point strongly to one conclusion (a housing bubble, a credit bubble, P/E...

The Ledger reports from Florida. "Polk County's existing home sales dropped for the 13th consecutive month. June's total fell nearly 40 percent from 554 in June 2006 to 333. It is the county's longest sales drought since The Ledger began tracking home sales in 1994. 'There's just so much more to...

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It's desk clearing time for this blogger. "As Miami's unofficial prophet of doom during a condo bubble that is no longer in dispute, I wrote column after column counseling caution rather than unbridled euphoria. Now the slide has become reality, Miami's condo-construction wave is about to end, and...

Time Magazine reports on California. "Up to now, the booming housing markets in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties had barely felt the chill that hit Miami and Denver. But this week's spate of gloomy housing data included ominous reports from the West Coast. Led by an astonishing 799% rise...

The Whitefish Pilot reports from Montana. "A growing backlog of homes for sale in the Flathead Valley coupled with increases in foreclosures and bankruptcy filings have drawn the attention of professionals concerned about local real estate trends. Northwest Montana Realtor Association president Ted...

The Journal News reports from New York. "The housing market in Putnam County continued to weaken in the second quarter as sales fell and the median price of a single-family house dropped by 9.1 percent, to $398,500, the Westchester-Putnam MLS said. It was the second quarter in a row that saw a...

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

The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "Sacramento real estate broker Carey Covey has so much business these days he can hardly handle any more. Covey sells homes repossessed by the banks. And all signs point to a lot more of them coming onto the market. 'It's steadily been increasing for a...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "One of the Valley's top housing analysts lowered his projection for the area's new-home market for this year on Tuesday, saying that such stubborn problems as an oversupply of houses and turmoil in the mortgage business will delay the recovery. RL Brown said he...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Associated Press, "Sales of new homes fell in June by the largest amount in five months as the housing industry continued to struggle with its worst downturn in 16 years. The Commerce Department reported that sales of new single-family homes...

The Florida realtors report on June sales. "Despite favorable mortgage interest rates, strong job growth and other positive economic conditions, statewide sales of existing single-family homes in Florida totaled 12,954 in June and were closer to activity levels in June 2002, prior to the housing...

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The California realtors have the June sales numbers. "Home sales decreased 24.7 percent in June in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 3.2 percent, CAR reported today. 'The focus on foreclosures and subprime lending is ongoing...

MarketWatch reports on Texas. "Executives at (Texas-based) Centex Corp. on Wednesday didn't provide a profit outlook for the rest of the year as the industry continues to struggle with an uncertain housing market. 'We know that challenges will persist for awhile,' CEO Tim Eller said. 'Most markets...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "Sales of existing homes in the U.S. fell more than forecast last month, a sign that residential real estate remains mired in its worst recession in 16 years. Purchases declined 3.8 percent to an annual rate of 5.75 million, the...

The Record reports from New Jersey. "Real estate agents overwhelmingly believe house prices will not rise significantly over the next year, according to a new survey by the National Association of Realtors. Beverly Lanterman, a veteran agent with in Saddle River, said the survey matches her own...

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