The Housing Bubble Blog

The Massachusetts realtors have the July numbers out. "The state's real estate is experiencing a dramatic slowdown. Single-family house sales in July slumped 25.3 percent, while house prices declined 3.5 percent, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said today." "The condominium market began...

The Wall Street Journal looks at the housing sector. "For years, real-estate brokers and home builders promised that the soaring property market eventually would glide to a soft landing. It isn't working out that way. The rapid deterioration of the market over the past 12 months has caught many...

The Florida realtors have the July numbers out. "Florida's housing sector continued to show signs of market adjustments in July as mortgage rates edged up and the inventory of homes available for sale remained at higher levels in many markets. A total of 14,451 existing single-family homes sold...

The realtor trade group has the July numbers out. "Sales of previously owned homes plunged in July to the lowest level in 2 1/2 years and the inventory of unsold homes climbed to a new record high. The median price of a home sold last month was up just 0.9 percent from the same month last year and...

Kelley Bennett writes at the Voice of San Diego.org. "There are neat charts of data. There are historic accounts and industry predictions. And then there's emotion. That psychology is what many real estate analysts consider the 'x-factor,' the part of the market that can't be logically graphed and...

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The Herald.net reports from Washington. "Reflecting national trends, home sales in Washington dropped in the second quarter, Washington State University reported. The statewide decline in sales of existing homes was 12.5 percent from the second quarter a year ago." "'As more homes come on the...

The Boston Globe reports on the latest Warren Group numbers. "Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts declined in July at the sharpest rate for a single month since 1995, and condominium sales dropped off at the fastest pace since 2003, according to a report released Tuesday by a firm that...

Reuters reports on the comparison of international housing bubbles. "For anxious investors wondering whether the U.S. economy risks being seriously wounded by a housing market downturn, Australia's experience of the past three years holds a potentially valuable lesson." "If anything, the Australian...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street. "Toll Brothers Inc. early Tuesday cut its 2006 profit outlook again, blaming a glut of homes on the market and a decline in buyer confidence. The company is scaling back its land position as demand for new homes continues to deteriorate." "CEO Robert Toll...

Some housing reports from around the US. "Home sellers in Portland, Maine, are having to cut their asking prices by about 10% because buyers won't pay more than they did last year, says agent Michael Flaherty. The inventory of homes on the market keeps rising. Realtors are also seeing a slight...

The Orlando realtors have the July numbers out. "The relative slowdown in housing sales predicted by economic experts has begun to show itself in Orlando, where the 2006 year-to-date tally has dropped slightly below that of the red-hot record year of 2005. The number of homes sold in July of 2006...

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Some housing reports from California. "Though prices have stabilized in recent months, the Southland remains one of the nation's most expensive housing markets. Still, there are pockets where home values have merely crept up instead of rocketed ahead at warp speed. You just have to know where to...

Forbes has this update on the UK. "UK asking prices for houses fell in August for the first time this year as the recent 'mini-boom' in house prices in the south-east of the country ran out of steam, a leading property website said. In its monthly survey, Rightmove said average asking prices fell...

Some reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Toll Brothers Inc., which earlier this month said its quarterly new-home orders slipped nearly 50% on a slumping housing market, may again reduce its 2006 profit forecast when it reports earnings Tuesday. Analysts will also be looking for details on...

A pair of reports from Arizona. "For the first time in a long time, it's a buyer's market in Tucson. Realtors say they haven't seen this many homes on the market in years, and that means prime real estate for first time buyers in the area." "Those in the market have the pick of the litter these...

The Herald Tribune has this update from Florida. "Back in December 2004, when David Holland paid $315,700 for a new home in an east Venice Centex subdivision, the granite-and-tile beauty looked like an easy flip. But as Centex's sales slowed down, his property turned into a flop." "Last week,...

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The Boston Globe looks at another effort to spur home sales. "St. Joseph statues have long been used by sellers to help move property. Tradition has it that if you bury a statue upside down and facing the property you are trying to sell, St. Joseph will direct a buyer your way. Lately, all signs...