The Housing Bubble Blog

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "The National Association of Realtors said Monday the pending home sales index fell 1.7% in October after a 1.1% drop in September. The index is down 13.2% in the past year." "'It's important to focus on where the housing market is now,...

The Orlando Sentinel reports from Florida. "Experts say they don't know how many of the Orlando area's newly converted condominium units now have tenants living in them again, because condo complexes aren't included in the industry's apartment surveys. But faced with a slump in sales, individual...

The Daily Star reports from New York. "Otsego County is bucking state and national trends in home sales, sales and prices continue to increase. 'The market is still very busy, but the market has normalized,' said broker Carol Chesser. 'We are still seeing home sales, but not as many...

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The San Francisco Chronicle from California. "Ask any real estate agent worth her lockbox key to identify the No. 1 reason houses sit on the market. Her likely answer: The sellers want too much for them. 'The first thing every buyer asks is: 'How long has it been on the market?' said Aldo Congi...

A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "New numbers are in on the fallout from the investor home-buying spree in metropolitan Phoenix. As many as 40 percent of the contracts on all the new homes in the Valley during 2005 and early this year have fallen through. That translates to 25,000 spec...

Several readers suggested a topic on the overall economy. "I would like to see a discussion on what 'nebulous' indicators do you see pointing to a recession: I was at a trade show in LA and noticed that a lot of women wearing long dress skirts. Recalling from my early econ class: An indication of a...

A report from the Seattle Times. "Former Washington Huskies football player Scott Greenlaw led the mortgage company he founded to dizzying heights, 400 employees, a sprawling new headquarters and kegs of beer at staff meetings. Now he's selling his house to avoid bankruptcy as creditors line up...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Auctions or builder incentives? Editorial cartoons? Statistics? "Remember when you could count on condominiums to carry the housing market, even as sales of single-families began to languish? Not anymore." "The amount of time it takes to sell a...

The Sun News reports from South Carolina. "The Grand Strand housing market is showing its first sign of quarter-over-quarter price declines. 'The condo market will see continued price declines that is going to get worse,' said Al Parish, economist at Charleston Southern University." "Skyrocketing...

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The LA Times reports form California. "It's not easy being a seller today, what with homes on the market seemingly everywhere. Should owners underprice or stick with neighborhood comparables? How long should their homes be on the market before they consider lowering the price? It's all about...

A condo report from the Washington Post. "With tens of thousands of new condos entering the market, some developers are moving beyond luxury cars, plasma televisions and other inducements to lure buyers. Instead, they're starting to negotiate the base price of homes, a tactic unimaginable during...

Readers suggested a topic about psychology and home prices. "How long did the 'psychology' of the market continue to push home values up even after fundementals were out of line? How long will the 'psychology' of the market continue to drive home values down even after fundementals get back in...

Some reports from the Arizona Republic. "The 1,276-acre parcel of state trust land in Fountain Hills has been re-appraised at $95 million, about 27 percent less than the original appraisal. The Arizona State Land Department was forced to abandon the first appraisal of $130 million this year when...

A housing report from Florida Today. "Stan Smith, professor of finance at the University of Central Florida, said the latest numbers from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight indicate there is no housing bubble bursting or about to burst. 'Central Florida housing markets are currently...

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Friday desk clearing time. Florida. "Recalling its recent boom, Palm Beach County's five-year appreciation rate was almost 130 percent, according to OFHEO. 'Did wages and salaries rise anywhere near that much?' asked analyst Mike Larson. 'Of course not. Our prices were driven up by a massive wave...

The Tucson Citizen reports from Arizona. "The real estate dip put the brakes on the downtown 44 Broadway Lofts project this year, but the developers expect to start looking for condo buyers in the next few weeks in the former federal courthouse annex. Managing partners Ron Schwabe and James LeBeau...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and the Washington Post. "Construction activity in October plunged by the largest amount since the recession in 2001 as home building fell for a record seventh consecutive month. It was the biggest decline since a similar 1 percent drop in September...