The Housing Bubble Blog

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Subprime companies found fertile ground in the Tampa Bay area as home values soared in 2004 and much of 2005. The old rule of thumb, no mortgage within seven years of a bankruptcy, went out the window as lenders scrambled to make loans to borrowers...

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Inside Bay Area reports from California. "Last year, James and Barbara Morgan refinanced their mortgage into a subprime loan in hopes of lowering their house payments. Now the couple worry that the high-risk loan could force them to sell the East Oakland home they have lived in for more than 30...

The Houston Chronicle reports from Texas. "Last year, nearly 400 people who owned more than one home in the Houston area accounted for more than 1,000 foreclosures, an analysis of local data shows. That's up from about 150 investors who were responsible for about 350 foreclosures two years earlier,...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Puzzled analysts? "Chicago-area home sales in the first two months of the year declined 12.1 percent from 2006, confounding analysts who were looking for the first small signs of a spring bounce but instead saw a market continuing to struggle."...

A report from the Washington Post. "For almost anyone selling a condo, 2006 was a bleak year. The first two months of 2007 have been promising, though, real estate agents across the region say. But does that mean that the worst is over for the condo market? Probably not, analysts say." "Gregory...

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "In California, the number of homes sold fell 9.6 percent in February compared with the same period a year earlier, while the median price of a home climbed 5.7 percent to $564,700, according to a separate report from the California Association...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "The number of homes with 'For Sale' signs in South Florida reached new highs in February. At the current sales pace, it would take nearly three years to sell all the condominiums on the market. For single-family houses, it would take almost two years. 'The...

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It's Friday desk clearing time. "2007 is expected to be a year of transition,, according the National Association of Home Builders’ Regional Housing Starts Forecast. The earlier boom in housing can be attributed largely to excess demand generated by historically low interest rates coupled with...

The California realtors report on February sales. "Home sales decreased 9.6 percent in February in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 5.7 percent, CAR reported today. 'Next month’s report could tell a different story since sales...

The Florida realtors report on February sales. "According to the Florida Association of Realtors...sales of single-family existing homes totaled 10,779 last month compared to 14,080 homes sold in February 2006 for a 23 percent decrease. Florida’s median sales price for existing single-family homes...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "The National Association of Realtors reported Friday that price of a median home sold last month dropped to $212,800, down by 1.3 percent from the same month in 2006. It marked a record seven straight months that the median home prime...

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

The Wall Street Journal reports on California. "Some mortgage companies such as New Century Financial are halting new loans to borrowers with blemished credit histories, while others are tightening lending standards. Some lenders are backing out of loan agreements, leaving borrowers scrambling for...

The Daily Press reports from Virginia. "The percentage of Hampton Roads subprime loans at least 60 days late, which are close to default, rose from 4.5 percent at the end of 2005 to 7 percent at the end of 2006. Adam White, a Virginia Beach attorney who serves as a trustee for foreclosures, said he...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "KB Home reported Thursday that first-quarter profit dropped 84% and cautioned that problems in subprime mortgages and imposition of stricter lending standards may put more stress on what's already a wobbly market. 'It is hard to predict...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "In January, the developers of condo project 2 Midtown announced they would build 455 units instead of 459. That's all it took for buyers Barry and Rachel Craemer to declare their contract void a week later and demand their $117,000 deposit back. The buyers...