The Housing Bubble Blog

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "If there was ever anything real estate agents could agree on, it’s that Sawyer County, (Wisconsin) is a buyers’ market. 'One of the questions is: Has the bubble burst? Yes, it burst last summer. We saw a turnaround from a sellers’ market to a...

The Press Enterprise reports from California. "A Murrieta-based real estate investment company and a broker that sparked a rash of lawsuits and a criminal investigation have agreed to forefeit their real estate licenses, according to a document filed with the California Department of Real Estate....

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "U.S. banking regulators told mortgage lenders to tighten standards for subprime home loans in a belated effort to end abuses that led to a surge in defaults and the highest foreclosure rate in five years. Lenders, in most cases,...

Newsday reports from New York. "Sales at Pulte Homes' nine developments on Long Island are brisk, but the national builder's local office has shifted its focus from land acquisition and approvals to reaping the proceeds of the projects that are ready to build, consultant Don Eversoll said...

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

The Union reports from California. "In May, the median price for a house or condominium sold in Nevada County dropped slightly more than 5 percent to $460,000, down from $484,500 in May 2006, according to DataQuick. In Nevada County, an older, three-bedroom house that once would have fetched more...

The Jeffersonian reports from Maryland. "The national increase in mortgage defaults during the last six months has not spared the northeast area of Baltimore County. During the 2002-2006 boom years, as house values kept escalating, home owners could easily refinance, since rising appraisals gave...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Bloomberg, "KB Home reported an unexpected second- quarter loss as sales fell to the lowest in three years and its chief executive officer said a glut of homes is hindering any chance for a rebound in the U.S. housing market. The company...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Real estate push has come to foreclosure shove in Palmetto. Roughly 200 individual property owners are finding themselves in the first step of a foreclosure because of a legal tussle between well-known Palmetto builder deMorgan Communities and the company...

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The San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports from California. "'In terms of activity, we continue to see a slowdown throughout California' said Robert A. Kleinhenz, CAR's deputy chief economist. 'We had initially said sales would fall 7 percent this year, but we revised that to 14 percent,' Kleinhenz...

The Houston Chronicle reports from Texas. "Until recently, Houston has avoided the housing slowdown that's been felt in other parts of the country. The number of homes built in the Houston area this year is expected to drop for the first time in more than a decade. Builders are projected to...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. The Telegraph, "Housebuilders Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey, which are due to complete their £5bn merger next week, have warned that the US housing market remains 'very challenging,' adding to fears that weakening demand for new homes in...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Maybe next spring. With the key selling season for the real estate market nearing an end, the hoped-for rebound in Massachusetts home sales hasn't materialized. Sales of single-family homes fell by as much as 9 percent in May from a year ago,...

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The Daily Bulletin reports from California. "There are exceptions, but for the most part, housing prices are falling in the Inland Empire. That's the word from the California Association of Realtors. Sales in Riverside/San Bernardino were down 43 percent from a year ago. 'Sales are very weak in the...

The Daily Herald reports from Illinois. "The highest number of existing homes in two years are sitting on the market in the suburbs, and they’re facing the lowest percentage of sales in recent times, according to figures released by local Realtors. Existing, single family homes for sale in...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. CNN Money, "New home sales posted a surprising drop at the start of the crucial spring selling season in May, the latest sign that the battered housing market could have a ways to go before hitting bottom. The pace of new home sales fell to...