The Housing Bubble Blog

Let's start the desk clearing with some breaking news. "The crucial selling season for metropolitan Phoenix's housing market got off to a less-than-resounding start last month as sales of existing homes plunged below last year's levels, posting their worst May performance since 2003. There were...

The Mail Tribune has an update from Oregon. "'For Sale' signs are getting thick in west Medford. A dip-stick check into the Southern Oregon MLS single-family residence inventory earlier this week showed 315 houses on the market. That's up 453 percent from the 57 that were available through the...

A pair of reports on the California housing bubble. "Southern California's housing boom is running out of steam, but the slowing pace of sales won't erode the huge gains in equity that many homeowners have realized in recent years, says a report by Harvard University." "Not all economists share the...

The Arizona Republic has this rare report on the housing market in the north. "The slowdown that has hit the Valley's housing market is spreading. Home sales are down and so are some prices in central and northern Arizona's second-home communities. The number of homes for sale in Payson, Sedona,...

The Idaho Statesman has this update on speculation. "Out-of-state investors have driven Treasure Valley single-family home sales to record levels. Soon they could be the market's undoing, some local housing-industry leaders say. Since 2004, California investors have poured millions into homes here....

A pair of housing bubble reports from Florida. "The real estate bubble may be showing signs of bursting around the country, but Realtors in Alachua say there's nothing to fear. 'The bubble or whatever you read about in the national news was driven by investors,' said broker Tommy Macintosh. 'Our...

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The Daily Bulletin has this from California. "In a sign of the cooling housing market, KB Home has laid off nearly a tenth of its work force at its Inland Valley office, officials said Wednesday. The company let go 25 of the 275 employees in its Pomona office, said KB Home spokesman Ray Gomez."...

The Arizona Republic reports on an economic study. "The University of Arizona's Eller College of Management said Wednesday that the state's economy will experience a major slowdown in the second half of 2006 as inflation pressures mount, interest rates rise and the housing market cools." "'Consumer...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street and Washington. "The slowdown in the housing market is being driven by growing inventories of homes from overbuilding and by speculators leaving the market, Toll Brothers CEO Robert Toll said Thursday. 'The housing market is experiencing an oversupply, to...

TheStreet.com reports on the slowdown for one Florida homebuilder. "St. Joe operates mainly in northwest Florida, which had seen a boom in development. St. Joe hoped that demand would continue, as it sold homes away from the beach and even in the woods. To put it plainly, it ain't happening,...

The Rocky Mountain News looks at the May housing numbers in the Denver area. "The record number of unsold homes in the Denver-area market topped 30,000, and the inventory glut is expected to drive down home prices in an already soft market. That eclipses the record set in April, when 29,045 homes...

The Washington Post reports the air is coming out of the local condo bubble. "Citing slow sales and a cooling real estate market, two major developers are abandoning plans for two condominium projects in the Washington region. The decisions are among the strongest signs yet of how much, and how...

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Bob Casagrand has this update from San Diego. "Single family detached and attached homes: Homes sold in May totaled 2,805, down 28% from May 2005. This is a little short of the 3,000 that I had hoped for, but it was a 26% increase from April. In the past few years May has usually been a slight drop...

A trio of reports on the survey released yesterday. "America's wealthiest have higher hopes for their stocks this year, but are worried about prospects for real estate, according to a survey. Faith in the real estate market, however, was weak: Only 48 percent said they expect real estate's value to...

Style weekly has this rare report from Richmond, Virginia. "Richmonders are supposedly lining up to buy new condos. So why are some buildings dark and parking lots half empty? Drive by the buildings just after dusk and look for cars and lights in the windows." "Case in point is Riverside on the...

Lew Sichelman at Realty Times looks at appraisal fraud. "A faulty or even fake appraisal is said to be at the basis of every fraudulent mortgage transaction. But not every appraiser is at fault, or at least willingly so. James Blaydes (owner) of a Peru, Ill., appraisal firm says that in many cases,...

The Idaho Statesman reports on the fading housing bubble. "The Treasure Valley's housing boom is starting to slow, some housing-industry leaders say. Area industry experts say the runup in prices may not be sustainable now that out-of-state investors are apparently losing interest in the Valley....

The Wall Street Journal has this report on 'repartments.' "One of the first signs that the Gateway Club was going condo was when the owner of the Boynton Beach, Fla., apartment complex closed the gym within the past year." "Their fears turned out to be well founded. Residents complain that they...