The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from KPCC in California. "The five year run-up in Southern California housing prices could be coming to an end and homeowners thinking about selling may want to act sooner rather than later, according to economists and a leading real estate broker in Orange County. Even before the...

A report from MENAFN-AFP on China. "Chinese household debt has risen at an 'alarming' pace as property values have soared, analysts say, raising the risk that a real estate downturn could send shockwaves through the world's second largest economy. Loose credit and changing habits have rapidly...

A report from the New York Times. "When Jared Rutledge called his mortgage broker one morning last week after putting in an offer on a home in Glendale, Ariz., just west of Phoenix, he discovered that the 3.8 percent rate he had been quoted a couple of months ago had already gone up to 4.125...

A report from Salon by Paul Rosenberg. "With Donald Trump representing a frightening unknown future, more akin to foreign authoritarian leaders like Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Ergodan of Turkey and Abdel Fattah el-Sis of Egypt than anything in American history, Barack Obama looks better all the...

A report from Agriculture.com. "The value of agricultural land, especially in the Midwest, is likely to continue falling in 2017, two experts told lenders attending the National Agricultural Bankers Conference in Indianapolis. '2017 is going to look a lot like 2016,' said Jason Henderson, director...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "A new report confirms what many have been saying for several months now: The residential real estate market is losing steam around the Bay Area. Even in the inland counties — heretofore a safety valve for buyers seeking affordability — sales were...

Note: some of the following articles are intended for humor. It's up to the reader to decide which. The Waco Tribune in Texas. "The city of Waco issued 130 permits to build single-family homes during the months of July, August and September, which is twice the 61 issued during the same three months...

A report from the New Zealand Herald. "Ron Hoy Fong, with 31 properties valued at $23 million, says the Reserve Bank loan to value (LVR) lending crackdown and the Government's moves against foreign buyers have taken their toll on places landlords would usually buy. Hoy Fong said many people did not...

A report from the Miami Herald in Florida. "The number of existing home sales in Miami-Dade County took another plunge in October, dropping 22 percent compared to October 2015, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. Condo sales took a big hit, as developers pump new inventory into the...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "The commercial real-estate industry remains in an expansion cycle, helped by a steady economy and few signs of overbuilding. Rising interest rates are a concern, but few other signs are flashing warnings, said Calvin Schnure, senior economist for the National...

A report from News.com.au in Australia. "Apartment prices are falling in Australia’s CBDs and it is a major cause for alarm. Prices in our major city centres dropped by an average of 6.3 per cent in the 12 months to July, according to CoreLogic figures. Every capital city CBD posted a decline in...

A report from the Real Deal on California. "Analysts say Downtown Los Angeles is at risk of being oversupplied with luxury apartments — a theory which will be tested as more projects open for leasing. Carmel Partners’ 33-story, 363-unit glass tower is up next. The development, which is rising at...

A report from Better Dwellings on Canada. "Empty homes are a unique Vancouver real estate problem. There’s been so much land speculation in the tiny city, that people are literally just buying homes to have them sit empty – sometimes for years. Actually, sometimes for decades. There are currently...

A report from the Southwest Farm Press. "'Things will get worse before they get better.' That’s the opening warning shot by Damona Doye, Oklahoma State University Regents Professor and Rainbolt Chair in Agriculture Finance, in her ag land management perspective presentation prepared for the recent...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Two large development projects in Palm Springs have hit the pause button, alarming residents who fear a work stoppage for months or even years to come. Construction equipment seems to have all but disappeared where Rael Development is constructing a...

A report from WLOS in North Carolina. "With Asheville's lack of affordable housing preventing many from buying a home, renting becomes the next best option. But Asheville's rental vacancy rate isn't any better than its housing stock numbers. Both are close to zero. That's allowed landlords to...

A report from Bloomberg on the UK. "Land values in central London’s best districts fell 10.3 percent in the year through September, the biggest drop in at least five years, as higher taxes and the Brexit vote caused luxury home prices to decline. Banks are less willing to lend for site acquisitions...

A report from the Orlando Sentinel in Florida. "Orlando neighborhoods saw a continued decline in for-sale signs last month, driving greater competition among buyers and holding prices steady at time of year when they usually soften, a new report shows. Debra Wingo, broker for the Selby Group, said...

A report from the Farm Journal. "The farm economy has seen better days. The Federal Reserve Banks in Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis have released the results of their quarterly farm economy surveys. The Kansas City District covers the Great Plains. The value of each type of farmland –...

A report from Bloomberg. "The spike in borrowing costs in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-growth agenda is causing some heartburn in America’s housing industry. San Diego mortgage broker Shanne Sleder said a third of his clients, many of whom were already stretching budgets to buy...