The Housing Bubble Blog

The Press Enterprise has this update from California. "Inland home builders accustomed to years of unfettered growth are reassessing their expansion plans, slowing construction, discarding options to buy new land and trying to unload lots they already own. They are also making a major push with...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Motivated sellers? Builder incentives? One from the topics thread, "Is Colorado Bucking the Trend? I found this in the Rocky Mountain News in a story on abysmal home sales across the nation: 'A lot of the statistical information you’re going to...

Several readers want to know what potential buyers think about the market today. "I’d like to see a discussion about what buyers 'on the fence' are really thinking right now. What exactly will it take to get them to buy a home?" "For example, I’ve noticed that several people who post here are eager...

The Casa Grande Dispatch has this report from Arizona. "Residential real estate has become a lot more calm in the last year, experts say. That doesn't mean homeowners are stuck with houses they can't sell. It just means the time in which they can expect to sell their house will be longer, and they...

A housing report from the Tallahasse Democrat in Florida. "It's almost becoming cliche, of late, to say 'real estate market downturn.' However, sales numbers for July released this week by the Florida Association of Realtors continues to confirm the slowdown in sales of existing homes. The glut of...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "For the past five years, the housing bulls have been trotting out one rational-sounding argument after another to explain why the boom made perfect economic sense. Forget about a crash, they assured homeowners. Expect a 'soft landing' where your...

The Denver Post has this update from Colorado. "Metro Denver also is seeing a slowdown in activity. New home sales fell 5.3 percent in the first half of the year, with a 16.7 percent decline in the second quarter compared with a year ago. Now it appears that a weak resale market is biting back at...

Some housing bubble reports from California. "The foreshadowed bubble burst of the real estate market could soon be a reality with home sales dipping to their lowest level in 2 1/2 years nationwide. 'The days of just putting a sign on the lawn and selling a house and getting four offers in two days...

The Washington Times has this report. "Last month was the best month for buyers since 1997. All over the Washington area, buyers could negotiate from a position of strength when making an offer on a home. Sellers, many of whom didn't want to believe the seller's market was over, seem to be finally...

The New York Times reports on the collapsing housing bubble. "In California, the Northeast, South Florida and parts of the Southwest, deal sweeteners are playing an increasingly important role in supporting home prices. From large national home builders to individual homeowners, many sellers are...

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Please post weekend topic suggestions here! Also, send in your housing bubble photos to: photos@thehousingbubbleblog.com

The Las Vegas Review Journal has this housing bubble update. "Las Vegas' housing market picked the hottest month of the year to show its clearest signs of cooling. New home sales in July dropped 41 percent from the same month a year ago and existing home sales fell 35.1 percent as the market...

The California realtors have the July numbers. "Home sales decreased 29.9 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home increased 5.1 percent, CAR reported today. 'Today’s market is slowing as sellers maintain often unrealistic...

A housing bubble report from the Idaho Statesman. "Six months into a nationwide slowdown, the Treasure Valley's runaway residential-housing market finally hit the wall in July, taking a dramatic downward turn, say area builders, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and economists. The July data...

The new home sales numbers are out. "Piling on more proof that the housing boom is over, the Commerce Department reported Thursday that new home sales fell by 4.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 1.072 million units. The decline was the largest since an 11.5 percent...

The Boston Globe has this update from Massachusetts. "Home prices in Massachusetts fell 3.5 percent in July, the largest decline in 13 years, as the slowdown in the real estate market finally led sellers to cut their prices. That decline was the biggest since the state's housing market was...

The Herald Tribune reports from Florida. "So much for a soft landing. The median price of a single-family home sold in the Sarasota region in July dropped 11 percent from a year ago and the number of homes sold plummeted nearly 50 percent, according to numbers released Wednesday. The only area in...

Post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here!

Some housing reports from California. "More homes were built in Riverside County than any other county in California last year, adding 29,689 housing units between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005. With the housing market leveling off, Borre Winckel, of the Building Industry Association of Southern...