The Housing Bubble Blog

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "Homeowners throughout San Diego County are defaulting on their loans and losing their properties to foreclosure at an increasingly rapid pace. In the first two months of the year, there were four times more default notices issued in the county than in the...

A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Permits for new-home construction are on the rise in Maricopa and Pinal counties, jumping 26 percent in February compared with the previous month and building on two straight months of gains. The skyrocketing prices of the housing boom scared away buyers...

The Chicago Tribune reports from Illinois. "Nearly 29,000 foreclosures were filed in the six-county Chicago region in 2006, a one-year jump of 36 percent and the highest level in at least eight years, according to a study. 'The popularity of these complicated and risky products, combined with loose...

The Republican reports from Massachusetts. "Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts soared to new heights in February, the fifth consecutive month with more than 2,000 filings statewide, according to a report released yesterday. ForeclosuresMass.com reported that foreclosures almost doubled in the...

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Bloomberg reports from California. "The words 'New Century' used to flash several times a day on caller ID at Taleo Mexican Grill in Irvine, California. Reservations were often for 10 or more. Not anymore, said Nic Villarreal, the owner of the restaurant, located two blocks from New Century...

The Capital reports from Maryland. "Even though Maryland is insulated from the worst fallout from the proliferation of subprime loans in the past few years, it will still feel some consequences. These foreclosures also hurt lenders. To counteract any financial hit, lenders will try to clean up this...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street, Washington and Business Week. "BusinessWeek has learned that federal investigators have opened a broad criminal probe into lending practices, some financial transactions, and other dealings at Beazer Homes USA. The North Carolina field offices of the...

The Naples Daily News reports from Florida. "Frenzied flippers have walked away from contracts to purchase homes as the real estate market has slowed across Florida. In their dust, they've left behind cash. Rather than keep the cash, Taylor Woodrow is offering other buyers the opportunity to use...

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The Associated Press reports on California. "A divorce led Daniel Peart to refinance his four-bedroom home with a subprime loan. Like many borrowers with spotty credit, the self-employed handyman said he agreed to a relatively high interest rate in exchange for two years of low, fixed payments."...

The East Valley Tribune reports from Arizona. "The subprime mortgage market’s dramatic free fall is reverberating throughout the Valley as lenders tighten standards and would-be buyers watch in dismay as deals collapse without warning. Gilbert real estate agent Tra Bell recently felt the ripple...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Lennar Corp., the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, said earnings plummeted 73 percent during the fiscal first-quarter as the worst housing slump in more than a decade crushed demand. Lennar CEO Stuart Miller said the spring selling...

Newsday reports from New York. "The number of houses on the market on Long Island and in Queens increased last month, the MLS of Long Island said yesterday. According to the MLSLI, 30,313 houses were available on the Island and in Queens in February, about 5,000 more than in January. Real estate...

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The News Tribune reports from Washington. "Downtown Tacoma’s condominiums have helped to transform a once-troubled downtown where few previously wanted to live. Today, a patchwork of exposed steel, scaffolding and cranes showcases a decade of marketing, recruiting developers and trying to convince...

The Pioneer Press reports from Minnesota. "Welcome to an ultra-competitive spring housing market. Motivated sellers are cutting prices. Axing in some cases. And that new willingness to move the product marks the end of last year's stare-down between buyer and seller, and could spell a sharper...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Sales of new one-family houses in February 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 848,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 18.3...