The Housing Bubble Blog

A housing report from the New York Sun. "Soaring construction costs are putting the squeeze on the city's private developers, real estate experts say, threatening New York's housing boom. The president of Newmark Knight Frank Capital Group, James Kuhn, called construction costs 'the single biggest...

The Daily Times reports from Maryland. "Rows of new houses sit for sale in neat, upscale new subdivisions like Decatur Farms and Glenn Riddle, but a glut of new projects like them and a slowing real estate market in Worcester County has left them feeling a little lonely." "In February 2005, there...

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The News Tribune reports from Washington. "Home builders are advertising more incentives. 'Price Reduced' placards hang below 'For Sale' signs. And the house down the block that you’d thought would sell in a few days? It’s been on the market for a few months. For buyers, it’s great news. For...

In Business Las Vegas reports from Nevada. "While major homebuilders relinquish options and pull out of escrow on properties because of a soft new housing market, builders are already plotting strategies for where the market is heading next, according to Sullivan Real Estate Advisors. Because of...

Several readers suggested possible bailouts as a topic. "I think this is going to be one angle that the politicians use to try to pass some type of FB bailout: 'These are people who want to partake of the American dream, who have every right to, who really with a bit more work and a bit more...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Here's one from Louisiana. "'Homeowners are looking across the street and saying, 'Well if they got that much for their house, I'm going to sell mine too,' said real estate agent Larry Haik in Slidell. 'But what they don't realize is that there...

The Journal News reports from New York. "Early indications from executives of Lower Hudson Valley Realtors associations show that swelling inventories continue to put pressure on housing prices. Preliminary data for Rockland County shows the median sales price dropped 8.4 percent to $490,0000 in...

The Naples News reports from Florida. "First came the conversions. Now come the reversions. In the past year, investors have flooded the market with apartments turned condo. While sales are moving slowly at some projects, others flopped as demand slowed. In Southwest Florida, some developers are...

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The Tribune reports from California. "San Luis Obispo County real estate agents should not expect a return of the sizzling housing market anytime soon. 'Prices aren’t falling off a cliff, but they definitely are taking a breather, said Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California...

Several readers suggested the new lending guidelines as a topic. "Holy moly! If true, KABOOM! POP! Quote, 'kept intact a proposal that says banks must qualify borrowers for popular payment-option and interest-only loans at a 'fully-indexed' rate — the highest rate that they could incur over the...

From Newsday in New York. "As housing boomed, real estate agents, furniture sellers, mortgage bankers, construction workers and a host of others reaped the rewards. Now cracks are emerging in those key sectors of the region's economy. Data and anecdotes alike are signaling the potential for job...

Some housing reports from the Washington Post. "On Onion Patch Drive in Burke, neighbors are keeping an eye on each other. It's not just because they're neighborly. It's also because, at a time when more and more for-sale signs are appearing on lawns around the region, what one family does to sell...

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It's Friday desk clearing time. "There numbers aren’t pretty, 20.7 percent of housing speculators in the Baltimore region reportedly lost money in the second quarter of 2006. 'Speculators are taking a bath,' said David Martz, a Realtor in Baltimore. 'Rehabbed [houses] and new construction are...

A report from the LA Times. "Mortgage fraud continues to escalate in Southern California, FBI figures show, raising concerns of increased defaults and foreclosures as the housing market cools down. The FBI and industry experts say the trend reflects growing deceit by average borrowers who...

A housing report from the Washington Post. "And so the great real estate boom has ended. Signs of a deteriorating market are everywhere, even in Prince George's County, where the housing market conditions had remained close to boom levels even as other neighborhoods cooled dramatically." "'The...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Cracking down on exotic mortgages that have exploded in popularity in recent years, U.S. regulators told banks Friday that they've got to make sure that borrowers can actually pay back the full amount of the mortgage." "'The agencies are...

The Long Island Business News from New York. "As Long Island’s housing market continues to soften, real estate executives refuse to utter the 'b' word: Bubble. But one area economist isn’t afraid to use it. 'In the bubble areas, i.e. long island, things are really coming down quite quickly,' said...