The Housing Bubble Blog

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "After handling close to 30,000 cases in his career, Pinellas County bankruptcy lawyer Jay Weller insists home debt has never loomed so large. 'I've never had that many people walk away from their houses before,' Weller said. 'Real estate is playing a...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? More inventory? "Jill Stone and her husband have been trying to sell their Burlington, Vermont home for a month now. 'We've had a few showings, and we've had a few offers. But the offers are coming in lower than our listing price,' said Stone."...

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The Tracy Press reports from California. "The number of houses on the market in Tracy and Mountain House is still climbing, while prices either remain flat or have dropped since the beginning of the year. The latest numbers from the Central Valley Association of Realtors show 930 houses for sale in...

Readers suggested a topic around home prices and migration. "Florida migratory outflow: Could it stemmed by falling house prices?" A reply, "Given the rate at which home prices are falling there and the reluctance of buyers to catch falling knives, I would guess the migratory outfow could be...

The Capital Gazette reports from Maryland. "Anne Arundel County home prices dropped last month and sales slowed amid the national fallout from the subprime mortgage market. Homes also were sitting on the market nearly twice as long as they were at this time last year." "Meanwhile, people are losing...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "One million dollars will buy you a lot of real estate in Warren County, New York. Would you prefer to spend such money on a condominium in downtown Glens Falls? Yes, you read that right. Someone willing to spend that much usually gets a bonafide...

The Recordnet reports from California. "After some hope that existing-home sales were on the rise, the market slowed again last month, leaving some brokers and agents expecting a long downturn. The median sales price also slipped for the third consecutive month in April. 'Dead' was how Mike...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "More evidence of a continued housing market slump arrived Thursday morning, when Bensalem-based Orleans Homebuilders Inc. reported a loss of $51.9 million for the quarter ending March 31. Revenue fell 38 percent from last year's third...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "The last bit of good news vanished from Orlando's gloomy home market last month, when the median price of the houses and condos sold by local Realtors fell from a year earlier for the first time in more than five years. Meanwhile, existing-home sales by...

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

The Contra Costa Times reports from California. "The malaise in California home building will hound the state for a while longer, a top state government economist told an East Bay gathering Wednesday. Even worse, California is particularly vulnerable to ripple effects because the state depends on...

A report from Arizona State University. "The local resale home market may seem to be functioning at levels below desired activity, but it is following a very traditional pattern. April recordings at 4,855 sales are well below the 5,980 sales of April 2006 and 8,735 sales of April 2005." "'The new...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. MarketWatch, "Technical Olympic USA Inc. reported a first-quarter loss Thursday. The financial results showed that the Hollywood, Fla.-based company continues to struggle with a difficult housing market and with an investment in a joint...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "The meltdown in the subprime mortgage sector is making it harder for first-time and other home buyers with little down payment money to get even conventional loans, adding more troubles to a slumping real estate market. These are typically buyers who...

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The Wall Street Journal reports on California. "Last November, Allen Harper says he made an offer of $390,000 for a brand new three-bedroom house in a development sprouting here in the desert east of Palm Springs. Home builder Lennar Corp.'s response: No thanks. Six months later, Lennar jumped at...

The Mail Tribune reports from Oregon. "Prices are down, and Jackson County home sales grew in year-over-year figures for the first time since 2005. Countywide, April's median sales prices for existing homes declined 7.1 percent to $257,200, according to Southern Oregon MLS figures. For a...