The Housing Bubble Blog

Newsday reports from New York. "Sen. Charles Schumer, who heads the Senate banking subcommittee on housing, told an audience in Massapequa yesterday that he and others in Washington are working on legislation to regulate mortgage brokers for the first time and to end loans offer based on false...

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The LA Times reports from California. "New Century Financial Corp., once the largest independent maker of mortgages to high-risk borrowers, sank into bankruptcy proceedings today, swamped by demands that it buy back defaulted loans. The Irvine company also said it would eliminate 3,200 jobs, or...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "Three opportunistic home builders are jumping into metro Phoenix's new-home market, undeterred by the glut of unsold houses and high prices left over from the housing boom. Housing analysts say there is a risk in moving into a home-building market that is trying...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "New Century Financial Corp. became the biggest subprime mortgage company to go bankrupt in the past year after the lender, which specialized in loans to people with poor credit records, was overwhelmed by customer defaults. The company...

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Eleanor Andriole likes her new house in Sterling Hill, but she's not so sure about the neighborhood. Looking down the street from her driveway, she counted half a dozen vacant homes, a couple of rentals and only two other houses occupied by their...

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The Tracy Press reports from California. "The dipping housing market has yet to halt the number of building permits issued in Mountain House this year, despite the fact that home sales have slowed to a trickle. Just more than 200 home-building permits have been issued so far this year, according to...

The Keys News reports from Florida. "It took nearly an hour, but only a few minutes were needed Saturday for auctioneers to sell four residential properties and three commercial buildings. With less than 100 attendees at the auction, those in chairs seemed outnumbered by the agents moving around...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Repartments? "Citing sluggish sales, the residential developer in Rockville’s Town Square is shifting more than three-quarters of its units from condominiums to rentals. Scott Ross confirmed on Friday that all but one residential building would...

The Hartford Courant reports from Connecticut. "The Southington homeowners took a gamble on their housing purchase, believing they would be in the three-bedroom home for years and, therefore, taking out a home equity loan to make some improvements. The couple, hoping to avoid foreclosure, are now...

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The Orange County Register reports from California. "Realtor Mary Fry said the past month's turmoil in the subprime mortgage industry is shaking up one of her deals. When the buyers went into escrow on the purchase of two homes in Placentia, the lender required that they have three months of loan...

Readers suggested a topic around developments since housing bail-outs were proposed. "My thoughts are that getting behind some sort of bailout that would enable FBs to refi is a win-win for politicians and financial companies. If they can get Mr. Future Trailer Park Guy in a new mortgage that he...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Conceived in the halcyon real estate days of 2003, The Azure was aimed at capitalizing on Sarasota's rising status as the new Gulf Coast haven for the cultured and wealthy. Only now, the one acre of Lido Key that was to become The Azure sits empty, and for...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Dawn Erwin has had a tough time since moving to Maryland. Her husband has a new job and the Erwins want to sell their home. They put a Realtor sign up on Jan. 2 and have had 15 people interested in their house, but so far no takers. 'First I...

In Business Las Vegas reports from Nevada. "February's new-home closings fell to their lowest point this decade as prices tumbled 5 percent from January, but the Las Vegas housing industry had a bit of a silver lining as housing starts reached their highest level since August, according to...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Beazer Homes USA Inc. said late Thursday that it got a grand jury subpoena demanding documents relating to its mortgage origination business. Several major home builders also operate finance companies to help customers buy their houses....

The Bradenton Herald reports from Florida. "Condo buyers are getting a warm welcome these days with 2,246 condos actively listed for sale in Manatee County. A caveat might be: If you're selling condos, you'd better have them competitively priced or they won't sell, according to developers and real...