The Housing Bubble Blog

The Review Journal has this update from Las Vegas. "Some owners at Spanish View Towers high-rise condominium in southwest Las Vegas Valley are getting antsy as construction of the $800 million project has been halted for the past three weeks." "A couple who asked not to be identified said they want...

Several readers suggested a topic that many newspapers are reporting on after yesterdays GDP numbers. "It is official. The economy is grinding to a halt while inflation is jumping. Stagflation part II coming to a neighborhood near you." Another replied, "My take on this is that the actual inflation...

The Tracy Press has this update from California. "The winds of change have hit the housing market, according to real estate agents and analysts. According to agent Grace Alvarez, who was born and raised in Tracy and has watched the city’s market the past 18 years, this is the time to buy. As of...

It's Friday desk clearing time! "Dallas' high-rise condo boom appears to be peaking. With construction costs soaring and investors pulling out of the housing market, several residential tower deals have been killed and others are in doubt. 'Sales at the kickoff were a bit disappointing,' said Art...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Standard Pacific Corp. today reported the Company's 2006 second quarter operating results. Stephen Scarborough, CEO, stated, "We are impacted by growing levels of both new and existing home inventories..these conditions have resulted in...

Some updates from Florida. The St. Petersburg Times, "Thousands of dollars in home-closing bonuses. Commissions more than three times last year's rates. Deep discounts and even gas card promotions. In a rapidly slowing housing market, Realtors on Thursday found themselves suddenly amid a flood of...

Some housing bubble reports from the northeastern US. "During the past several years, many homeowners secured disposable income to cover their bills or make purchases by refinancing or taking home-equity loans. That money translated into new cars, new decks and extra lines of credit. New housing...

The Washington Times has this report on the DC area. "The housing slump reached a new milestone this spring as home prices started to decline in many once-booming areas, recent reports show. The rapid slowdown in housing has particular repercussions for areas such as Washington, where the local...

Please post weekend topic suggestions here.

Some housing bubble reports on California. US News and World report. "Sales of new homes fell 3 percent in June, the biggest decline in four months and 11 percent below the same period a year ago, the Commerce Department reported today. The figures are more good news for buyers, who are already...

The Connection reports, the 'Condo Craze Fizzles' in Virginia. "The craze began in December 2003 like a shock wave, 492 rental properties would be going condo. By May 2005, the city of Alexandria lost more than 2,000 rental units." "By the time that Park Center registered with the General Assembly...

The Cincinnati Inquirer has this update on the tri-state housing market. "A dramatic rise in the number of homes for sale in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky has created opportunities for buyers but will make it tougher for sellers to fetch the prices they want." "In Greater Cincinnati, the...

The Commerce Department has the new homes sales numbers out. "Sales of new one-family houses in June 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,131,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 3.0 percent below the revised May rate...

The Miami Herald has this update from Florida. "In January last year, two of 23 residential projects planned for Fort Lauderdale's Flagler Village area were under construction. More than a year and a half later, construction has started on only four others. At least eight projects have been put on...

Please post off-topic ideas, links and Craigslist finds here.

Some housing bubble reports from California. "The housing market slump in California slogged onward during June with sales falling by their biggest annual margin in nine months and the median price hitting a record $575,800, a trade group said Tuesday. It's also the first time that sales fell under...

Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. "Downward momentum in the U.S. housing market is leading some of America's biggest mortgage lenders to launch new cost cuts and risk reduction strategies that suggest growing concern that the outlook is worsening for the $9.5 trillion...

Some housing bubble reports from Nevada. The Review Journal, "With more than 20,000 homes on the MLS in Las Vegas, some are taking six months or longer to sell. There were 4,271 recorded resales in Clark County in June, compared with 5,767 in the same month a year ago, local firm Home Builders...

The Chicago Tribune has this update from Illinois. "Increasingly finicky home buyers are putting the brakes on the Chicago real estate market, where sales of single-family homes plunged a steep 15 percent in June from the same month last year, believed to be the biggest local drop since the housing...

The Washington Post has this update from the DC area. "In what may be the most telling sign yet that the real estate market here has shifted downward, median prices of homes in several parts of the Washington area have declined when compared with the same time last year. The drops are significant...