The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from the Chicago Tribune. "Applying the word 'crash' to sagging real estate markets in some parts of the country, a new study predicts that in the coming year, the nation's median home price will decline for the first time since the Depression. The encouraging news for the Chicago region,...

The Journal News reports from New York. "Fresh data from a statewide group of Realtors shows that prices for houses in Putnam County slid by double digits in August. The median price of a single-family home in Putnam fell 13.7 percent to $402,500 from $466,300 compared to August 2005, the data from...

Myrtle Beach Online reports from South Carolina. "The buyer's market continues on the Grand Strand as condominium sales continue to slide, making little dent in a ballooning inventory. Condo sales dropped 31 percent in third quarter 2006 to 5,003 from 7,269 in third quarter 2005, according to the...

The Star Bulletin reports from Hawaii. "The number of previously owned homes sold on the neighbor islands continued to plummet in September, most dramatically on Kauai, according to figures released yesterday. Median home prices on Kauai fell 12.2 percent. On Oahu, home sales fell about 20 percent...

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The Rocky Mountain News reports from Colorado. "Real estate foreclosures in the Denver area rocketed by 32.3 percent in the first nine months of the year, as condo overbuilding, risky loans and inflated appraisals drove the number of loan defaults to near record territory." "Through September,...

The Rockford Register Star reports from Illinois. "Home sales plunged in September compared with the same month in 2005, the third straight month of declining sales in Boone, Ogle and Winnebago counties. September’s falloff was the largest in terms of percentages in more than five years, according...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "Goldman, Sachs & Co. said Wednesday that it has been added as a defendant in lawsuits regarding mortgage financier Fannie Mae's accounting practices. The Wall Street powerhouse said the complaints allege that it violated laws, including...

Moody's has this report. "Housing prices, slumping after a five-year boom, are projected to decline in more than 100 of the nation's metropolitan areas, with the Northeast, Florida and California among the areas hardest hit. The forecast, 'Housing at the Tipping Point,' by Moody's Economy.com,...

A housing report from the New York Post. "The top-heavy Manhattan residential real-estate market is teetering toward a long downward slide, new sales data show. Third-quarter market reports released today by the city's top four real-estate companies show that apartment prices have dropped, while...

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The Eureka Reporter from California. "Vince Malta, who is the current president of the California Association of Realtors, spoke to members of the Humboldt Association of Realtors at a luncheon. Statewide, home sales have decreased 30 percent from the same time last year, and Humboldt County isn’t...

CNN reports on the realtor boom. "There wasn't just a boom in real estate over the past decade, there was also a big boom in real estate agents. But the exuberance couldn't last forever. Agents, who work on commission, are already beginning to feel the bite." "'We've seen a big softening in...

The Census Bureau has a report out. "The burden of housing costs in nearly every part of the country grew sharply from 2000 to 2005, according to new Census Bureau data. The numbers vividly illustrate the impact, often distributed unevenly, of the crushing combination of escalating real estate...

The Daily Press reports from Virginia. "The economic boom times are over for Hampton Roads, says Old Dominion University's State of the Region report for 2006. Slower increases in defense spending this year and cooling of the housing market mean the region's rate of growth will fall slightly below...

The Palm Beach Post reports from Florida. "As sobering as last week's existing-home-sales report was, Palm Beach County's home prices declined for the first time in seven years, the reality is a lot worse, I'm hearing from some corners of my beat. Other corners still believe that any local...

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The Napa Valley Register reports from California. "According to Trendgraphix, the number of Napa County homes available for sale almost doubled, from 450 in August 2005 to 801 in August 2006. However, the number sold decreased 54 percent, from 172 to 79, said the report. Simultaneously, the home...

The News Democrat reports from Illinois. "Local home sales numbers are down throughout most of the metro-east, and for the first time in many years, prices are starting to fall. Chad Doyle, president of the Belleville Area Association of Realtors, said that adjustable rate mortgages, or ARMs, are...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "The Pending Home Sales Index,( see note 1 below) based on contracts signed in August, rose 4.3 percent from July, but is 14.1 percent lower than August 2005." "David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said, ''The Pending Home Sales Index shows...