The Housing Bubble Blog

It's desk clearing time for this blog. South Carolina. "Three Grand Strand real estate agents made the trek to Columbia on Tuesday to tell their stories of buyers backing out of deals because of insurance costs. Even sellers offering free homeowners association dues for a year can't sell because...

The Daily Bulletin reports from California. "They may be locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen, but California lawmakers want everyone to know they're very unhappy about these risky mortgages that are starting to go bad. So Wednesday in Sacramento, the Senate Banking, Finance and...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street. "Single-family homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. posted a fourth-quarter loss of $98.4 million, compared with net income of $154.9 million, in the year-ago period. The recent period's results include impairment charges of $290.7 million." "'Our guidance...

A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Valley home sellers frustrated by a lack of action on their listings will soon have another selling tool: the auction block. More than 100 homes are expected to go up for bid in a mass housing sale set for next month in downtown Phoenix." "Housing...

The TC Palm reports from Florida. "New vacant homes in St. Lucie County reached record levels during the fourth quarter of 2006, while the construction of new homes dropped 50 percent in Martin and Indian River counties, a quarterly housing report showed Thursday." "The report by Metrostudy stated...

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

The Associated Press reports on California. "California lawmakers on Wednesday began considering restrictions on unorthodox mortgage-lending practices that have allowed hundreds of thousands of Californians to buy homes they otherwise could not afford. About half of all new home loans in California...

The Des Moines Register reports from Iowa. "Homebuilding activity in Iowa dropped 15 percent last year, new U.S. Census data show, with most major cities having declines that ranged from 10 percent in Cedar Falls/Waterloo to 26 percent in Iowa City." "Last year, builders used incentives, offering...

The New York realtors have their December numbers out. "The New York housing market continued to slow down as the year drew to a close with sales falling 19.2 percent in December 2006 compared to the same time period in 2005. The statewide median selling price dropped 14.2 percent in December 2006...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. MarketWatch, "Pulte Homes Inc. swung to a quarterly loss late Wednesday, as the homebuilder took charges to reduce its land inventory in a slumping housing market. The homebuilding pretax income included about $350 million of land-related...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Over the past few years, Chris Fountain and her husband bought 10 small parcels in the largely undeveloped eastern section of North Port, part of the couple's plan to dabble in Florida real estate. Like other speculators in North Port real estate, they now...

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The Daily Bulletin reports from California. "The number of homes entering the first stage of the foreclosure process in San Bernardino County jumped 140 percent in the October-to-December period last year to 3,538, compared with 1,473 in the fourth quarter of 2005. It was even worse in Riverside...

A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Valley housing analyst RL Brown said Chandler will see more high-density housing as well as developers building on the smaller lots they ignored before. Construction of high-density housing has begun. Condos are being built downtown and at Fulton Ranch."...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. Origination News, "Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo estimates that 40 to 50 subprime firms are going out of business each day, a trend that likely will continue all year. During a conference call discussing Countrywide's earnings, Mr....

The TC Palm reports from Florida. "Affordable housing, welcome to Vero Beach. Centex Corp., is offering new single-family homes in the VeroLago subdivision starting at $158,990. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home was first offered at $218,000 in November." "Don Santos, past president of the...

The Journal News reports from New York. "The median price of a single-family house declined last quarter in Westchester County for the first time in nearly 12 years, and further price declines can be expected early this year, the Westchester-Putnam MLS said yesterday. Buyer resistance to...

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The Fresno Bee reports from California. "In the first half of this decade, Silicon Valley residents sought refuge by the thousands in the central San Joaquin Valley. The wave of high-income refugees from the Bay Area and Southern California helped fuel the San Joaquin Valley's real estate boom, in...