The Housing Bubble Blog

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. CNN Money, "Washington Mutual's chief executive said that he expects 2007 to be another tough year for the U.S. mortgage industry, which faces overcapacity and unsustainably low margins. Kerry Killinger, CEO of the largest U.S. savings...

The Miami Herald reports from Florida. "Coral Gables lawyer Brian Bieber is intimately acquainted with mortgage fraud, having represented people accused of the crime. But earlier this year, he was stunned when a broker instructed his own mother, a Broward County schoolteacher, to create phony...

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Some November numbers from Dataquick in California. "Southern California home sales remained at their slowest pace in nine years last month. A total of 20,388 new and resale homes sold in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, San Bernardino and Orange counties last month. That was down 26.2...

The November numbers for Arizona are out. "The local single-family resale market has settled into a very stable pattern, from the hyper-activity of last year. 'Even though mortgage interest rates have been declining for the last few months, limited home appreciation and household income continues...

A housing report from the Baltimore Sun. "The number of homes sold last month in metropolitan Baltimore posted the smallest decline in 10 months as sellers became increasingly willing to forgo price gains." "'Baltimore prices are still positive, and they haven't gotten into negative territory,' as...

Some housing bubble reports from Washington and Wall Street. "The Federal Reserve Bank held overnight interest rates steady at 5.25% for the fourth straight meeting on Tuesday and kept the door open for further rate increases, saying inflation risks remain elevated despite a substantial cooling in...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "Resales in the core Orlando market fell 34 percent in November to 1,597 homes compared with a year earlier, the Orlando Regional Realtor Association reported Tuesday. It was the largest year-over-year percentage decline so far in 2006." "Sellers, adrift...

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports from California. "Donald Anthony slashed the asking price on his four-bedroom, two-bathroom house by almost $80,000, and added $40,000 worth of improvements. He's used three different agents. He listed the 1,800-square-foot home on for-sale-by-owner sites, in...

The Capital Times reports from Wisconsin. "Talk about a tough term as president of the Madison Area Builders Association. Chad Wuebben has spent the past 11 months as front man for the industry trade group as builders suffer through the worst period in over a decade." "Just 1,321 permits were...

The Providence Journal reports from Rhode Island. "Rhode Island’s housing market continued to weaken in October, with prices showing double-digit declines from a year ago. The median price of a condominium in October was $225,000, down 12.2 percent from October of last year, according to The Warren...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and the Washington Times. "The risk of a financial crisis is growing as home prices continue to fall and questionable mortgages made in the past two years go into default, finance officials warned yesterday." "Banks and mortgage brokers have been passing...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "A Tampa Bay condominium converter bailed out of 40 units during the weekend by selling them at absolute auction. The auction raised $5.9 million through the sale of 40 units, meaning the average price was $147,500." "The developer had been selling the...

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The Union Tribune reports from California. "In a sign that San Diego County's once-soaring housing market has returned to earth, analysts say the number of homeowners seeking mortgage debt forgiveness is on the rise." "Such transactions, designed to prevent defaults, often are called 'short sales.'...

The Northwestern reports from Wisconsin. "Single-family homes remain on the market significantly longer now, have declined in the volume sold in the area and throughout the New North region, they sell at lower prices. According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, home sales in Winnebago County...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Existing-home sales are expected to rise gradually in 2007 from current levels, with annual totals comparable to 2006, while new-home sales will continue to slide, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of...

The LA Times reports from California. "Every day, Will Hertzberg owns a little less of his three-bedroom house in Corona. Like hundreds of thousands of other homeowners around the state, Hertzberg has a mortgage that lets him choose how much he pays each month. Like many of them, he always chooses...

The Worcester Telegram reports from Massachusetts. "In times of tough housing markets, the remodeling industry has historically seen a boost as homeowners tap into their equity to fix up their properties to sell or meet their changing needs. But after years of double-digit home price appreciation,...