The Housing Bubble Blog

The Associated Press reports on California. "Russ Valone, the CEO of (a) research firm, said speculators in San Diego were putting deposits on downtown condo units under construction, assuming they could sell them at a profit when they were finished. 'There were guys out there that were rolling the...

The Queens Chronicle reports from New York. "Foreclosures are rapidly rising in Queens, which has been the hardest hit of New York City’s five boroughs. As of March 19, some 1,223 homeowners lost their properties through foreclosure this year, up 57 percent over last year’s already abnormally high...

The News Herald reports from Florida. "In line with the rest of Florida, Panama City’s home sales declined in March as the state saw significant drops in most metropolitan-area housing markets. There were 814 sales spread across all Panama City MLS housing categories in the first three months. That...

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The Gazette Journal reports from Nevada. "The median price for an existing single-family home rose modestly in Washoe County but sales dropped during the first quarter, according to a report. The median price was in the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area was down 9 percent compared with the first...

The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "Lumber dealer Rick Baumgarten knew business wouldn't be good this year. But even after a career spent riding the ups and downs of the housing business, he said he was too optimistic. 'I didn't think that the slump was going to be as deep as it was,' said...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Pulte Homes Inc., the No. 2 U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly net loss Wednesday, chiefly because of charges related to the lower value of land and homes it owns. The first-quarter 2007 loss included $132.1 million for impairments and...

The Post & Courier reports from South Carolina. "Joe Desagun hopes to sell his mother's three-bedroom home in North Charleston by fall. So he put it on the market in February, knowing it could take that long to find a buyer in a slowing market. Desagun said he adjusted his expectations after...

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The LA Times reports from California. "The bottom line: The bottom isn't here yet, some experts say. 'The urgency that characterized the boom has definitely dissipated,' said economist Leslie Appleton-Young of the California Assn. of Realtors. 'For the first time in the last 10 years, we forecast a...

The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "In metro Denver, home resales were down 3 percent in March from the same period a year ago. The median price of single- family homes also fell 3 percent as foreclosures pushed down home values. 'People's interest in wanting to do something has gotten...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. MarketWatch, "Boosted by warmer weather in the Northeast and Midwest, sales of new homes increased by 2.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 858,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Sales of new homes were off...

The Ledger reports from Florida. "For the first time since the housing boom began in 2005, Polk's median home prices decreased 5 percent from March 2007 to March 2006: $178,300 to $168,300. Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Panama City and Punta Gorda all posted double-digit declines in median prices,...

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The California realtors report March sales. "Home sales decreased 20.8 percent in March in California compared with the same period a year ago, C.A.R. reported today. 'March sales fell below the levels of recent months in reaction to an uptick in mortgage rates earlier this year along with tighter...

The Florida realtors report on March sales. "Sales of existing homes in Florida remained at a sustainable pace in March, with buyers continuing to see favorable mortgage rates and a range of housing options available across the state, according to FAR. Statewide, sales of single-family existing...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Existing home sales posted their sharpest drop in 18 years in March, a real estate group said Tuesday, as the latest reading on the troubled housing sector came in much weaker than economists had forecast. Sales slowed to an annual pace of...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "Massachusetts house prices held steady in March, putting an end to the monthly price declines that have plagued sellers since last April. However, March sales fell, by 2.8 percent for houses and by 1.4 percent for condos, though the magnitude of those...

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The Press Telegram reports from California. "If you want a consistent opinion about the real estate market, talk to Leslie Appleton-Young. The chief economist of the California Association of Realtors will often use one of her favorite words: 'Cyclical.'" "Foreclosures are up, sales are down,...