The Housing Bubble Blog

Readers wanted to know what you see in the year ahead. "How about predictions of what next year brings? 2007." And here are some predictions from the mid-year 2006 thread. "It appears the call I made late last year, of a y-o-y decline in June 2006 for national US median existing home sale prices,...

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The Sacramento Bee reports from California. "The Bee recently invited five real estate analysts to share their opinions. When did you know the boom was over? Greg Paquin: 'August '05. Initially, we saw Lincoln start to struggle. The very first market, and not long after that Centex came out and...

A housing report from the Coloradoan. "Throughout much of the year, Colorado led the country in the number of foreclosures. Mortgage lender Lou Barnes said most of the foreclosure activity stemmed from loans that required little or no down payment or was in areas with soft housing markets. He said...

Readers suggested a topic surrounding the changes in the lending industry. "Which of the big lenders are at the most risk of collapse in 2007? HSBC? Countrywide? etc. I suppose I’ll start looking through their 10KSB & 10Q’s for clues." One said, "1. Countrywide, Option One and Ameriquest go...

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Bruce Sparks painted a bright red '4 SALE' sign on his home's roof in September, hoping to attract a buyer for his waterfront home. It was a desperate attempt by a man who had hoped to flip the house for a quick profit. Now, several months later, the...

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The Tribune News reports from California. "Those looking to buy a house in San Luis Obispo County in 2007 are expected to have a lot to choose from, while those trying to sell may have to lower their prices to stay competitive. The softening housing market of 2006 is expected to continue into 2007,...

The Review Journal reports from Nevada. "Median prices for new homes in Las Vegas continue to rise in November, but at least one analyst believes incentives are keeping those prices high. 'Factoring out sales incentives offered by most home builders, new home prices would probably be down by double...

The Naples News reports from Florida. "Collier County single-family existing home sales dipped from 333 in November 2005 to 182 last month, a 45 percent decrease. Median sales prices for homes dropped by 13 percent from $479,800 in November 2006 to $415,200 last month. But it’s really not a dismal...

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It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. New York, "After years of inflating, the Island's housing bubble sprang a noisy leak; prices for homes, the largest investments for many Long Islanders, fell in Nassau and rose barely at all in Suffolk. Sensing the crest, more homeowners put their...

The Camarillo Acorn reports from California. "The housing market softened in 2006 but professionals aren’t anticipating a long-lasting slump. The market is only normalizing itself, experts say. 'The circumstances bringing the real estate market into balance are happening unusually quickly,' said...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street. The Chicago Tribune, "About 500 Chicago-area workers at LaSalle Bank Corp. and other ABN Amro Bank NV businesses will lose their jobs by mid-2007 as its Dutch parent company looks to cut costs in a competitive environment. ABN Amro has struggled to control...

The Star Tribune reports from Minnesota. "In a stagnant housing market, optimists already are calling 2007 the year of recovery. 'To me, the stars are all starting to align,' said Todd Shipman, outgoing president of the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors. Is that shameless optimism or an...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "Sarasota-Bradenton home sellers are cutting prices so aggressively that the median sales price was 18 percent lower this November than last, the biggest drop in the state. The median sales price for Sarasota-Bradenton fell from $343,600 in November 2005 to...

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The Desert Sun reports from California. "Home sales plummeted 44 percent in November across the Coachella Valley compared with a year ago, while the overall median home price dipped about 1 percentage point to $395,000, a new report shows." "Some 717 homes and condominiums sold last month across...

The Massachusetts realtors have their November numbers out. "November sales of single family homes in Massachusetts fell nearly 13 percent compared to a year earlier, the 8th consecutive month of year-over-year sales declines, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported. The median selling...