The Housing Bubble Blog

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street. "Dallas-based homebuilder Centex Corp. reported Tuesday that its profit for the latest quarter plunged 60 percent with the slowing of the U.S. housing market. Centex said it was forced to write off more than $130 million in costs in the quarter ended Sept....

The September numbers are out for existing home sales. "Sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped on an annual basis by the largest amount on record, further documenting a lukewarm housing market." "The National Association of Realtors...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "The Sarasota Association of Realtors wants to secede from the Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Area, at least as far as real estate statistics are concerned. In a first-ever move, the group released Sarasota housing data in advance of the monthly release of...

The Daily Sun reports from cal. "Step 1 in dealing with today's Coachella Valley real estate market: Don't panic. Bill Powers may have summarized sentiments of local real estate veterans best at this morning’s annual 'State of Real Estate in the Coachella Valley' forum at the Doral Palm Springs...

A housing report from the Washington Post. "At a recent meeting with her Las Vegas real estate firm's 200 agents, Joanne Levy told them they needed to deliver a stark message to clients. They would tell them that unsold homes are at a record level and sellers need to lower their prices." "In other...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "M.D.C. Holdings Inc. reported third-quarter net income fell 60% as profit margins narrowed in more competitive markets and home orders plunged 40% from a year earlier. The 'operating environment in most markets became increasingly...

The Miami Herald. "The state-run insurance pool is getting ready to move second homes, vacation homes and most investment properties off its books. An insurance bill passed in May requires Citizens Property Insurance to stop offering windstorm coverage to non-homestead properties after March 1,...

The Boston Herald. "Massachusetts is facing what looks like its worst autumn real estate market since 1996, with no clear signs that prices are bottoming out. 'I think we still have some more to go on the downside,' economist John Bitner of Boston-based Eastern Bank said yesterday after the...

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The Cincinatti Enquirer. "Home sales are slumping, prices are falling, and construction is ebbing in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. For buyers, it means they can play harder-to-get. For builders, it means they have to work harder to sell." "Throughout the country, builders are starting...

The Massachusetts realtors have the September numbers out. "Massachusetts home sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in September, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors reported today. Sales of detached single-family homes fell 24 percent from September 2005 to 3,435, and median selling...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. Paul Muolo, "You know loan volumes must be slow when lenders start doing stuff like this: Ditech.com said it is offering homeowners the opportunity to win a year's worth of mortgage payments (up to $25,000) in its 2006 ditech.com 'Home...

The Naples News reports from Florida. "Mary Mack, like many residents in Spring Creek Village, returned home after Hurricane Wilma to mangled metal and broken windows. Though most of the damage has been repaired, empty plots and rows of For Sale signs reveal the long-term impact of the storm. Many...

The Daily Times reports from Maryland. "Ask condominium developers in the city about sales, and while most speak cautiously with a smile, Jim Dodson belts out a laugh. Dodson laughs because his Captain's Quarters condo units are sold, snatched up before last year when a slump in the housing market...

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A housing report from the Arizona Republic. "Home prices are a touchy subject in the Valley. People aren't bragging about how much their home appreciated in a single month. There are no bidding wars for homes. No one is talking about how they're going to spend their equity." "No, homeowners today...

The Press Enterprise reports from California. "Plenty of consumers are still finding themselves in financial hot water. And bankruptcy lawyers across Southern California reported an uptick in filings this past summer, and most expect the numbers to eventually climb back to previously high levels."...

Several readers suggested a topic about which markets will fall the most. "Wouldn’t it just make sense that the martkets that went up the most will go down the most? It’s the law of gravity!" One reader disagrees, "No. The ones that 'go up' the most are the ones that will also hold more of the...

The Tampa Tribune reports from Florida. "The Bayshore Palms Apartments complex was supposed to make way this summer for the Merasol on South Bayshore town houses. Instead, developer Remmie Rann of American Design Homes decided to remodel the building and rent out 25 apartments." "'We are putting it...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Reduced prices? How about builder incentives? "Know anyone in the market for a new home? If so, we have some great news for both of you. Now, when you refer someone to one of our neighborhoods and they purchase a home that closes by year end, not...