The Housing Bubble Blog

The North Tahoe Bonanza has this report from Nevada. "It is the beginning of June and more than 220 single family homes (and counting) are on the market. Open your real estate guide today and guess what you'll see, less than a half-dozen of these homes are priced under a million dollars, and the...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Has the spring rally fizzled into a summer slump? Here are some observations from the topics thread. "There’s an ad running in the free weekly paper for a new condo complex on the beach in Biloxi. Unit prices are in the $350-$500k range. The...

Several readers suggested a topic on acceptable home prices. "I’m curious as to what people feel are reasonable home prices, you know, at what price range would they jump in (and do they expect to see those prices)? I’m sure west coast folk would consider much higher prices reasonable than I would...

Another homebuilder had disappointing numbers out last night. "Irvine-based Standard Pacific reported after the stock market closed that it expected to cut its earnings and delivery guidance for the full year. Standard Pacific said net orders were off in California, Florida and Arizona,...

The New York Times has this update on the local market. "The smoke may have cleared from the last of the Memorial Day barbecues, but two months into the second quarter, many New Yorkers are still hazy about the state of the local real estate market." "Some concerns may be well-founded. Inventory in...

It's Friday desk clearing time! "Pulte Homes Inc. on Friday slashed its profit outlook for the rest of the year. 'There's a lot of inventory and the market's slowing,' said portfolio manager Thomas Leritz. 'Consumer sentiment is negative on housing,' he added. 'Every day you look at the newspaper,...

A Sacramento area television station has this report on short sales. "Lenders are reporting more home owners are defaulting on their mortgages. But before those defaults turn into foreclosure, some sellers are turning to short sales, if lenders agree." "Home owner Gloria Romero bought her...

A reader sent in this article on Hawaii. "The Big Island's real market is cooling down after experiencing some of its highest peaks in history. Between January and April, median home sales prices in West Hawaii have leveled off or declined up to $200,000, according to the Hawaii Information...

A trio of reports on the New York housing bubble. "The moment of truth is coming sooner for New York real estate sellers, and sometimes it's not pretty. Real estate agents are increasingly finding that sellers who hoped to make a killing on their properties need to inject their visions of profits...

The Denver Post reports on Colorado. "Prices of existing homes in the Denver and Boulder metro areas fell in the first quarter of 2006, the first time in at least 16 years. At least one expert attributes the decline to basic supply-and- demand imbalances." "'People who are upside down on their...

The Florida press reacts to the new tax appraisals. "Property values in Palm Beach County have registered another record year, soaring by 21 percent over the 2005 tax roll, to $158 billion. Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits cautioned Thursday that the just-released tax roll estimate reflects last...

Post weekend topic suggestions here! Don't forget to send your housing bubble photos to: photos@thehousingbubbleblog.com

Some reports on the California housing bubble. "Lancaster home-sale prices hit another record in April while Palmdale home prices retreated for a second month, narrowing the Palmdale price advantage that has persisted since the late 1980s. In Palmdale, the median price dipped to $357,000, down from...

Holden Lewis has an update on lending reforms. "Imagine that mortgages were automobiles, and you had the power to witness every sale. Every day, you would watch, dumbfounded, as pizza deliverers passed up Priuses and bought Hummers instead. You would cringe as 16-year-olds screeched off the lot in...

The Idaho Statesman reports on the continued speculation in housing. "The number of landowners with proposed planned communities in the works south and southeast of Boise has nearly doubled in the past few months as word spreads that this area is Ada County's next hot spot for growth." "Landowners...

The Shrewsbury Chronicle looks at the affordable housing confusion in Massachusetts. "In many communities, there are double and triple the number of properties for sale now than a year ago, which is driving sellers crazy, but the demand for housing in Greater Boston still far outweighs its supply....

The most forward looking indicator of home sales is out. "Pending home sales, the leading indicator for the housing sector, are continuing to ease, according to the National Association of Realtors. The index, based on contracts signed in April, fell 3.7 percent to a level of 111.8 from an index of...

The Las Vegas News press has the latest on that housing bubble. "As the foreclosure rate creeps up in the Las Vegas Valley, the options for homeowners in financial trouble may be dwindling. A rise in interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages have left even the distressed-property buyers saying...

Some housing bubble updates from Florida. "Former Orlando Magic star Tracy McGrady recently unloaded some of his local holdings. McGrady sold his 18,000-square-foot home for $5.1 million. Curious thing: At a time when real estate prices have gone sky high, McGrady unloaded the property for about...

Hovnanian has some numbers out. "Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. on Wednesday said fiscal second-quarter profit fell versus a year ago as three months of slower sales, higher cancellation rates, and greater concessions took their toll on earnings." "Second-quarter 2006 results included land-sale profit...