The Housing Bubble Blog

The Star Ledger reports from New Jersey. "In New Jersey, the numbers are skyrocketing, according to an Oradell-based company that lists foreclosed properties. 'For years, we were averaging about 70 (lis penden) filings a day,' said VP Cynthia Ehrlich. But since September, that number has ballooned...

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

The LA Times reports from California. "John Rockey has been hanging drywall for 35 years, and he's seen it all in the boom-again, bust-again Antelope Valley housing market. By the time a new building spree peaked in 2005, Rockey's payroll had again grown to 200. Now, his Lancaster-based Progression...

The Dallas News reports from Texas. "Homebuilders hit the brakes in the first quarter, cutting Dallas-Fort Worth starts almost 35 percent. Local housing production totaled less than 8,000 single-family units, the lowest quarterly total since 2001, according to a report released Monday by Metrostudy...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. CNN Money, "In the latest sign of trouble for the battered real estate market, one of the nation's top home builders warned Tuesday that it has yet to see the normal start of the spring home buying season, as it reported sharply lower sales...

The News Press reports from Florida. "A Michigan credit union has collapsed following hundreds of questionable loans to people buying First Home Builder houses in Lee County. Meanwhile, some buyers have filed suit against First Home, the credit union and others, alleging fraud and conspiracy in the...

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

The Albuquerque Journal reports from New Mexico. "Remember the investors who swarmed the local residential real estate market, buying up lower-priced new homes just a few years ago? Well, they're back— only now they're in selling mode. The number of existing single-family homes on the market is...

The Post Tribune reports from Indiana. "The tiny two-bedroom cottage on Indianapolis Boulevard isn't flashy, but it's been home to Belinda Kovacik for 21 years. She and her ex-husband bought it for $60,000 in 1989. Her mortgage lender plans to foreclose because Kovacik can't afford the $1,010...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "When Matt Kihnke paid $15.5 million for a Bradenton apartment complex in March 2005, the Chicago investor looked primed to become the architect of another condo conversion success story. That was before the real estate market went soft and became saturated...

The Portsmouth Herald reports from New Hampshire. "As mortgage foreclosures increase nationally, the Northeast has not been as hard hit as other parts of the country. But the region is far from immune. 'We're seeing a significant increase in families that are unable to keep up with payments on...

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

The Mail Tribune reports from Oregon. "There is no argument that Jackson County's real estate market is far afield from what it was two years ago. Median prices arced higher and higher during the first half of the decade, sputtered then stalled and have slowly lost elevation in the past 18 months."...

The Baltimore Sun reports from Maryland. "An Edgewater house with a new siding-and-stone facade. A five-bedroom in Hanover, two-car garage attached. A West Friendship mansion on nearly an acre of gently sloping land. A million-dollar Colonial in a Columbia development so new, the sales office is...

The Daily News reports from Florida. "We hear it every day. Northwest Florida’s housing market is stabilizing, returning to normal, slowing to a more reasonable pace. But what does that really mean? Especially for folks whose 'For Sale' signs have started to grow moss?" "'If you want to sell your...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Graphs? Some new statistics? There were 30,313 homes available on Long Island and Queens in February, according to statistics compiled by the MLS of Long Island. In January there were about 25,000." "The median closing price in Suffolk was...

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

The Oakland Tribune reports from California. "Bay Area home listings rose in March at one of the nation's highest rates, according to a survey released this week. The number of homes for sale, both old and new listings, increased 12.2 percent in March from February. The only area that topped the...

Readers suggested a discussion on subprime 'contagion.' "Topic: Debunking the 'subprime is contained' meme, which is propagated from above by top U.S. economic policymakers." A reply, "Some are saying spill over, others say no problem. Being that alot of the debt was sliced, diced, pureed, and...

A report from the Washington Post. "At Glen Waye Gardens Condominiums in Silver Spring, 21 owners are more than 30 days behind on their monthly condo fees. Two other owners have not paid since they bought their units, one in April 2005 and the other in September 2006. Both properties went into...