The Housing Bubble Blog

The Arizona Daily Star. "A consumer-rights group is warning people obtaining mortgages to read and understand the documents so that they don't lose their homes. Sophia Tesch of East Valley ACORN said...lenders and brokers have ignored borrowers' ability to pay and put them into loan agreements that...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street, Washington and beyond. "The outlook for home prices this year, already expected to post the first drop on record, got worse Wednesday as an industry group cut its forecasts for sales and prices for 2007. The National Association of Realtors said it now...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "'For Rent' signs litter lawns in almost every Southwest Florida neighborhood. The apartment and home rental vacancy rate is at nearly 10 percent because of the mass exodus of construction and service sector workers from the area. Instead of lowering rents,...

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

The Napa Valley Register reports from California. "As the number of homes in foreclosure rises in Napa County, American Canyon finds itself at the center of the storm. Of the 64 foreclosures recorded in Napa County during the first four months of 2007, 16 were in American Canyon." "In 2005, during...

The Sun News reports from New Mexico. "Do you want to sell a house in Las Cruces? A couple of years ago, you could have probably had buyers knocking on your door within hours of putting the home on the market. 'Sometimes, before you could put a sign on, it would sell,' said Louis Sauceda, owner of...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Forbes, "On Wednesday, 1,300 home builders will call on Capitol Hill as part of a legislative conference organized by their trade group, the National Association of Home Builders. They'll do so against a grim industry backdrop." "'For the...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "(For) the company known for its 'We Buy Ugly Houses' signs, Florida has been one of Home-Vestors' best markets. And there's no shortage of houses for sale, a virtual smorgasbord. But these days, many of the homes for sale in markets such as Central...

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

The North County Times reports from California. "Real estate appraiser Todd R. Lackner's second job as mortgage fraud investigator began when he stumbled onto a suspicious-looking transaction while online one day last March, he said. Within weeks, he was chest-deep in dozens of investigations, and...

The Star Tribune reports from Minnesota. "When Jerry Loh sold property he owned along the Gunflint Trail several years ago, he put the money right back into real estate, buying a condo in Florida and two pieces of land along the North Shore. His plan was to sell the Minnesota tracts to a developer...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Reuters, "Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co., a struggling subprime mortgage lender, said on Monday it agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Lone Star for $400 million. Accredited Home cut 1,300 of its 4,200 jobs in the first...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "After more than a year of plunging sales, lonely open houses, and proliferating for-sale signs, realtors said many sellers are finally willing to lower prices. As a result, houses sell. 'The mantra for sellers is price, price, price,' said Linda...

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

The Modesto Bee reports from California. "A bleak picture was painted of the region’s housing market at a recent conference for real estate appraisers. 'This year, we’re going to see prices drop in every market across the country for the first time since the Great Depression,' said Steven Smith, a...

The Mail Tribune reports from Oregon. "A well-intentioned attempt to cash in on a red-hot real estate market has turned sour as the unsold home's mortgage now gobbles up a big chunk of the regional Boy Scout council's budget. Rather than selling quickly for a profit, the house has sat vacant for...

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Last year, New Tampa real estate agent Sabrina Westenbarger sensed that home buyers were disappearing. She branched into managing rental properties. Real estate investor Rob Duncan sensed the same trend. And in Pasco County, Betsy Morgan has seen...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Foreclosures? "More people are losing their homes to foreclosure in Lake County. According to one source, there were a total of 457 total foreclosures in April, 80 more than the previous month. The Illinois foreclosure rate has escalated 23...

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

The Union Tribune reports from California. "Plans by lenders to auction more than 200 foreclosed homes in Southern California reflect the weakening nature of the housing market, analysts say. The increased presence of auction companies illustrates that the Southern California housing market is...