The Housing Bubble Blog

Newsday reports from New York. "In Queens, the trend of bucking the area's declining prices ended last month. The median closing price fell to $466,400 in April, versus $499,000 a month earlier and $473,000 a year ago. Home sellers have yet to come to terms with a slowing market, some agents said....

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KGET reports from California. "New numbers on home foreclosures in the metropolitan Bakersfield area, and they’re up—way up. We checked with the people who publish legal notices and they said there’s been an alarming spike in notices of default and trustee sales. There were just over 2,400 notices...

The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "In an effort to turn around a slowdown in sales of units in his luxury tower being built along the Chicago River, developer Donald Trump on Thursday will meet with reporters to deliver a message: He's got a sale going on. 'We're pricing to sell,' Trump...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly surged in April by the most in 14 years, ignited by the biggest decline in median prices since 1970. Compared with a year earlier, new home sales were down 11 percent, today's report showed."...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "If you need evidence of how the slumping housing market is impacting the local economy, look no further than Port Manatee. Shipments of lumber, plywood and fencing materials that exploded during the housing boom have dropped off significantly during the...

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "As other states adopt stricter regulations on subprime lending practices, California has not rushed to restrict an industry that spent $17.9 million in campaign contributions and on lobbying in the state during the past four years. Regulators...

The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. "Debra Dotson discovered the hard truth Tuesday, that the house she has lived in for 10 years was no longer hers. She joined thousands of others who have seen their adjustable mortgage rates climb, their monthly house payments climb and their hopes of...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "A high-ranking Treasury Department official on Wednesday chastised mortgage lenders for too-often failing to verify the income of borrowers with blemished credit histories, blaming the practice for rising defaults and foreclosures." "'Sound...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "The housing slump isn't over yet after all. After getting off to a strong start in 2007, home sales in Massachusetts fell 1.7 percent in April compared to the same period last year, and the median home price declined 2.3 percent, to $345,000, according...

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The Lompoc Record reports from California. "The number of homeowners in Santa Barbara County who have fallen behind in their house payments has quadrupled over the past two years. In Santa Barbara County between 2005 and 2006, notices of default more than doubled, increasing by 110 percent, from...

The Des Moines Register reports from Iowa. "Iowa Realty agent Lora Murphy could be called a motivated seller because the three-bedroom home she's marketing is her own. Murphy has no illusions that a new owner will emerge as quickly as she did a year ago, when the home sat on the market for a day....

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "NetBank Inc. will try to stay afloat by selling assets to EverBank Financial Corp. The sale will cause a loss of $60 million to $70 million, said NetBank. Regulators are 'increasingly concerned' about NetBank's losses and capital level and...

The Bradenton Herald reports from Florida. "Pre-construction sales at SevenShores condominiums on Perico Island have temporarily ground to a halt just a year after units first went on the market and despite developers reducing their prices by $60,000 in December. In December, officials at...

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The Orange County Register reports from California. "Location, location, location is the mantra of the real estate industry, but at a Southern California home foreclosure auction Saturday, it was all about price, price, price. And even at $1.95 million, the highest bid on any of the 90 properties...

The Clarion Ledger reports from Mississippi. "The national housing market has been cooling for some time, but local firms say the metro market, while it may have some problems, is generally bucking the trend. Only sales of high-end homes priced at $500,000 and up are languishing." "'The high-end...