The Housing Bubble Blog

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

Reuters reports on California. "Andrew Thompson fears his mortgage lender is poised to foreclose on his Folsom. California, home because he will not be able to make his monthly loan payment when it jumps to $3,200 from $2,100. 'As of May 1, I'm dead in the water,' said Thompson, already behind on...

A housing report from the Idaho Statesman. "If you are in the market for a high-end house, you're in luck. Following more than a decade of boom, the Treasure Valley housing market this year will continue to undergo a market correction that started last year. 'We've been through a heckuva transition...

The Denver Post reports from Colorado. "One out of three mortgages made during the past three years with 'teaser' interest rates below 4 percent are expected to go into foreclosure because of rising payments, according to a study Tuesday from FirstAmerican CoreLogic. Zachary Urban in Denver,...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "The Massachusetts housing market showed signs of bumping along the bottom of a year long slump as it heads into the crucial spring season. Prices for single-family homes sold in February declined between 4 percent and 5 percent from February 2006,...

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

The Desert Sun reports from California. "Home sales in February dropped 25 percent across the Coachella Valley compared with the same month in 2006, with sales of new homes tumbling nearly 43 percent and fueling the overall decline, a new report shows. The valley’s overall median home price dropped...

Chicago Business reports from Illinois. "Slumping home sales are showing the first signs of hurting Chicago-area banks, which are reporting an increase in bad construction loans. Problem construction and land development loans by local lenders increased 58% at the end of 2006 to $169.4 million from...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Housing starts rebounded from a nine-year low in February, according to the latest government reading on the battered home-building industry, but ongoing weakness led builders to pull back on plans for more housing. The February starts...

The Wilmington Star reports from North Carolina. "A rising number of people in Brunswick County risk losing their homes to foreclosure, according to statistics from the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. So far this year, the repossession man is knocking more frequently, especially in...

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

Money Magazine reports from California. "Bo and Ana Apostolache loved their three-bedroom home on a cul-de-sac near Irvine, Calif. when they bought it six years ago. Best of all, they could easily cover the $1,400 monthly payments on their $175,000 mortgage. Over the next few years, as interest...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Builder confidence in the market for new single-family homes receded in March, largely on concerns about deepening problems in the subprime mortgage arena, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market...

The Boston Herald from Massachusetts. "The subprime-mortgage sector’s sudden implosion is putting some frost into forecasts for the Bay State housing market’s crucial spring season. 'I was looking for a recovery, or at least stabilization, in Massachusetts home prices this spring, but now I think...

The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "Many builders are experiencing sales slowdowns and contract cancellations because of the real estate market slump, and they're hungry for your business. Last week, Bradenton-based Taylor Woodrow Inc. announced a new program to attract home buyers. Under its...

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

Newsweek reports from California. "Regina Miller says she is tired of 'throwing away $1,520 each month' to rent the two-bedroom apartment in Long Beach, Calif. But at least for the foreseeable future, a house may be out of the question. 'I thought for sure I could buy something,' says Miller, who...

The Register Star reports from Illinois. "When Kim Thusing put her home up for sale in August, she was confident about her chances. 'When I put it on the market, honestly I thought it would sell in a week,' said Thusing. 'We’ve had lots of people looking and lots of complimentary remarks, but they...

The Hickory Daily Record reports from North Carolina. "In the Hickory region, the surplus occurred within the past three or four years. 'Everyone was hearing how great the market was and sellers couldn’t understand why we couldn’t sell their houses,' said (broker) Diane Cline in Hickory." "Dee...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Price reductions? "For Harver Bautista, these are the best of times in the mortgage-lending business and the worst. Mr. Bautista said that generally prices have fallen at least 10% or more in the past several months, depending on the...