The Housing Bubble Blog

The Calgary Herald reports from Canada. "Buyers who turned to the city’s resale market for a single-family home last month saw more than $17,000 in savings, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. The benchmark price on single-family homes in July was $502,300. That’s a 3.5 per cent dip from the same...

NECN reports from Massachusetts. "The median home price in Massachusetts is now $372,000, a new record. With bidding wars and record prices, the headlines are strikingly similar to a decade ago, right before the housing market tanked. Is history repeating itself? Annie Blatz, president of the...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "During the recession, Fernley was one of the hardest hit markets in Nevada, if not the entire country. But Aaron West, CEO of the Nevada Builders Alliance, stressed that the community of almost 20,000 people could be ripe for exponential economic...

Bloomberg reports on California. "With its 40 stories and monthly rents of as much as $25,000, a new Los Angeles apartment tower is reaching Manhattan’s heights. And its amenities may make New Yorkers jealous: a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, in-house Botox and your latte brewed to order before you...

A report from Reuters. "Over the past four years, the number of entry-level homes for sale – defined as those priced in the lower third of a local market – has fallen by 34 percent, according to a Reuters analysis of data compiled by listings firm Trulia. The market is even tighter in many cities....

Bloomberg reports on Denmark. "Denmark’s biggest mortgage bank is urging homeowners to remember that a seemingly unstoppable series of price gains can end, and even go into reverse. At Nykredit, chief analyst Mira Lie Nielsen says Danes need to start putting the possibility of housing price...

The Naples News reports from Florida. "According to the Bonita Springs – Estero Association of Realtors (BEAR) Media Committee, the easing of the market experienced over the last several months continues. D. Michael Burke, 2016 BEAR president, stated: 'The days on the market is down because...

KOMO News reports from Washington. "Would-be home buyers, burned out on the city's hyper-competitive real estate market, may want to consider jumping back in. Analysts at Seattle-based Redfin track home buying statistics in 15 major metropolitan areas. On average, they have found a 17% drop in...

Bloomberg report on Canada. "British Columbia’s decision to impose a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers to cool Vancouver’s scorching housing market is poised to derail more than 400 home purchases worth millions of dollars and may prompt calls for legal action. At least 427 deals are likely to...

The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "Apartment rents in North Texas have never been so high. Rents are up almost 6 percent from a year ago and have risen almost 30 percent in the last five years. Even the boom in apartment building hasn't taken the bite out of the annual increases. Almost...

A report from The Australian. "As a renowned teacher of English in China, Liu Jiabing planned well for his daughter’s education. He chose a good university in Aus­tralia, and bought an apartment in Melbourne that is due to settle next month. But now the apartment near Monash University that he...

The Seattle Times reports from Washington. "Just how hot is the Seattle real-estate market? People are now reserving condos under construction and then flipping them for a six-figure profit before they even open. Matt Goyer, a local real-estate broker and blogger, combed through some recent sales...

NBC News reports on Iowa. "In agricultural communities across the country, financial worries are growing as quickly as farmers' unprofitable crops. They're suffering from the worst agricultural slump in more than a decade — and a major source of federal assistance has run dry. In Durant, Iowa, a...

The Charlotte Observer reports from North Carolina. "If you’re planning to buy a home in Charlotte these days, you might find yourself writing the seller more than just an offer. With low housing supplies igniting bidding wars here and elsewhere, real estate agents say potential buyers are turning...

The Khaleej Times reports on Abu Dhahbi. "More housing units are expected to be vacant in Abu Dhabi in Q3. This will have 'a more dramatic impact' on residential rental demand, said property advisory company JLL Mena. 'Job cuts by the oil and gas sector is leading to a decline in population...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "A new report finds the Bay Area city with the highest percentage paid over asking price for homes from April through June was Oakland. In the second quarter of 2016, San Francisco-based Paragon Real Estate found that home sales in Oakland closed...

The Los Angeles Times reports from California. "Something is happening downtown that would shock many renters living in an increasingly expensive Los Angeles: Some landlords are letting tenants live for free. At the recently opened 263-unit Hanover Olympic apartments on Olive Street, new residents...

CBC News reports from Canada. "Edmonton renters on the move are cashing in on sweet end-of-summer deals. From hundreds of dollars in rent reductions to complimentary flat-screen TVs, a growing number of landlords are offering generous incentives to attract new tenants. A sluggish economy, combined...

The New York Times reports on Nevada. "Michael Hutchings bet it all when he built his 3,300-square-foot dream home on a strip of rock-strewn desert gazing west toward the Las Vegas Strip. He had made a fortune building custom homes as Las Vegas boomed higher and higher, and for his own, he chose...

The Gazette Extra reports from Wisconsin. "Picture what happens to a loose football at the 50-yard line. That's the scene that Realtors and mortgage lenders say they're now experiencing in the Janesville housing market. The Rock County housing sector has been on the rise over the last year. But in...