The Housing Bubble Blog

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Some housing bubble reports from California. The LA Daily News, "The inventory of unsold new homes in Southern California soared to its highest level since 1990 by the end of the second quarter, and construction activity has dropped dramatically as builders adjust to the slowing market." "At the...

DNR Online has this report from Virginia. "The housing market has flattened, those who work in real estate say. 'The housing inventory is the highest in years,' said Don Earman, financial consultant with CTX Mortgage Co. of Harrisonburg. 'Many sellers are actually lowering their prices since it is...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street. "First Horizon National Corp. said it expects a $1 billion reduction in its mortgage originations in the third quarter, which will help drive earnings down. The Memphis-based lender said that in addition to reduced production, earnings are down because...

The Wall Street Journal reports on South Carolina. "Oh, how the world has changed. Along the coast, which includes Myrtle Beach, July sales of new and existing homes were off 42.7% from the same period last year, according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors. Here's another clue to the...

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the condo bust. "A major condominium developer put plans for his 30-story Marina View Towers on hold yesterday, complaining that a softening market has made it hard to hold prices high enough to cover rising construction costs. 'It has suddenly become a buyers'...

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Kelly Bennett writes at the Voiceofsandiego.org. "Julie Haas financed her home with an option adjustable-rate mortgage that allowed her to pay back only the interest on the loan for two years. She watched some of her neighbors' comparable units skyrocket. But recently she's watched them depreciate...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "The economic outlook remains so uncertain that the Federal Reserve is very likely to hold rates steady again at the next policy meeting in September, according to participants at the Fed's annual retreat. Economists said they were struck...

The New York Post has this update from the Big Apple. "Not only is the inventory of available housing in New York at a 10-year high, prices for properties are sliding in the opposite direction, as the sellers' market has all but faded into the sunset." "'Buyers have been telling us it is now fairly...

The Hawaii Tribune Herald has this update. "A glut of houses for sale combined with rising interest rates have turned a once-booming market in East Hawaii into something else for sellers. The situation is most noticeable in places like Hawaiian Paradise Park, where numerous speculative houses line...

The Journal & Courier reports from Indiana. "When Ron Aldridge and his wife, Alice, bought a new condominium on Lafayette's south side in 2001, they were glad to be rid of yard work once and for all. The retired steelworker, however, soon found that just climbing the stairs in their two-story,...

The Island Packet reports from South Carolina. "There's a slowdown this year in the number of homes sold in southern Beaufort County, but those that have sold fetched prices only slightly lower than last year's. Several factors are driving the cool-down, real estate experts said, including higher...

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From the Baltimore Sun. "The five-year housing boom that pushed prices up 80 percent in the Baltimore region ended last fall, but as recently as a couple of months ago, it appeared that the market was downshifting for a fairly soft landing. Now, as the market heads into its historically slower...

The Sacramento Bee has this update from California. "Sam Webber had it all during the real estate boom. The former accountant bought old houses, fixed them up and resold them for more than he paid. It was a good independent living until four months ago when the bottom fell out of his game." "Now as...

A common topic suggestion this week is the growing media awareness of the housing bubble. "The Washington Times has a big front page headline this morning: 'Home Prices Fall; Sales Plummet'. This is probably also in a lot of other newspapers as well, given the recent sales numbers, but how many...

The Arizona Republic has this update from the Phoenix area. "Real estate agents need to be 'brutally honest' with sellers today, as there is about a six-month supply of unsold homes, agents were told at a panel discussion. Many clients are still holding out for last year's prices and not trusting...

Some housing bubble reports from Florida. "Q: Looking at today's housing market, what in your opinion is the new housing reality on Treasure Coast? Don Santos, past president of the Treasure Coast Builders Association, 'What I've been seeing the past couple of weeks is a decrease in the price of...

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