The Housing Bubble Blog

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The California realtors report on August home sales. "Home sales decreased 30.1 percent in August in California compared with the same period a year ago. 'We experienced the greatest year-to-year sales decline last month since August 1982, when sales fell 30.4 percent,' said C.A.R. President Vince...

The Masssachusetts realtors have this August report. "Sales of single-family homes and condominiums declined in Massachusetts for a fifth consecutive month in August compared to the same period a year ago, while downward pressure continued to be applied to selling prices due to softening demand and...

The Florida realtors have the August numbers out. "Mirroring a national pattern, Florida's housing sector continued to show signs of adjustment in August as many markets reported higher inventory levels of homes available for sale and a slowing pace of sales as buyers weighed more options. A total...

The realtors trade group has the August numbers out. "Median sales prices of existing homes fell from year-ago levels in August for the first time in 11 years and just the sixth time in the past 38 years, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Sales have fallen five months in a row and...

The Lowell Sun reports from Massachusetts. "More and more local sellers are having to bite the bullet and accept offers below their property's valuation. 'It's not a statement of the accuracy of the assessment so much as which way the prices are heading,' said Middlesex North Register of Deeds...

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The LA Times reports from California. "Sellers, builders and real estate agents have been reaching deeper into their bag of tricks in their efforts to move the ever-increasing homes-for-sale inventory. Agent Mac Donald considers it just one piece of her overall marketing pie. She's been selling...

Some readers think homeowners may be fooling themselves about their windfall. "I’d like a poll of homeowners (not the ones on this blog - but your neighbors, co-workers, families, etc.). I’d like to know how many of those who own homes (particularly those who didn’t buy during the bubble years)...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Builder incentives? Condo auctions? Here's one incentive from North Carolina. "Typically, it’s a free toaster oven or trip to Hawaii that’s used to clinch a deal. In Haywood County, however, one company selling manufactured and modular homes has...

The Sun Sentinel reports from Florida. "Is this market, defined by a glut of for-sale signs in front yards and a leveling of record prices, reminiscent of the recessionary periods of the 1970s and '80s, the pre-housing boom years of the late 1990s, or..none of the above?" "'We have never had a...

The Boston Globe reports from Massachusetts. "The new home and condo market may be hit hardest by the softening of the Massachusetts real estate market. There's a glut of new construction on the market, and would-be buyers are struggling to unload their own current homes. And that slowdown is...

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The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports on home lending from California. "Gren Clarence and Shidler, like two out of three Sonoma County home buyers and owners, joined the fast-growing club of borrowers in high-cost housing markets who financed purchases and home equity loans with low-payment...

In Business Las Vegas reports on the homebuilders. "In a sign the housing market continues to soften, Las Vegas Valley homebuilders are backing out of land deals as home sales remain sluggish. Centex Homes, which has trimmed its staff by layoffs and voluntary resignations, announced Sept. 14 that...

Readers suggested a topic around Fed policy and the housing bubble. "Will the Fed lower interest rates to bail out FBs and lenders?" A reply, "It won’t help. Home prices are falling already and I believe that incomes must catch up." Another, "I believe that incomes cannot catch up. Too much...

The Chicago Tribune reports on condos. "So far the housing slump has been marked by slowing sales. Now there are signs that rapidly falling prices could be on the way. Earlier this month a Chicago developer sold 150 condominiums in a two-hour lottery by discounting prices about 20 percent from what...

The St Petersburg Times reports from Florida. "Home auctions are on the rise across the Tampa Bay area, bringing into bloom one of the free market's oldest price-setting methods. For Nancy Zwart, taking ads out to sell her Heritage Pines home in northwest Pasco County amounted to nine months of...

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It's Friday desk clearing time! The Philadelphia Inquirer, "Local boosters can call it a lull, or a pause, or anything else that sounds soothing. The fact remains that the Great Housing Boom of the early 21st century is over. This isn't simply a local phenomenon, and it's not confined to a few...