The Housing Bubble Blog

The LA Times takes us back to California. "The experts call it a market in transition. It's not the same red-hot sellers' market of the last three years, but it's also not a buffet of bargains for buyers either. Regardless, neither side seems imbued with a sense of urgency." "Laurie McCray is one...

Some reports on what's happening with realtors. "A record 10,000 Realtors have convened in Washington, D.C., this week to meet with their congressional delegation to discuss top concerns for the real estate industry. Realtors are also asking members of Congress to support the act which would...

A pair of reports on the Orange County, CA housing bubble. "The Orange County housing market continued to slow last month, with slumping sales and annual price gains in the single digits, figures released Tuesday show. And while the median price of an Orange County home set yet another record in...

The Street.com looks at the future of the public homebuilders. "Homebuilder stocks remain dismal performers of late. The question remains: How do you extract that value? The answer for builders, according to some industry watchers, is through large land sales, mega-mergers or share buybacks, which...

The Idaho Statesman reports on the fading housing bubble in that state. "Relief may be in sight for Treasure Valley consumers struggling to find affordable single-family housing in a market where a dwindling inventory has driven home costs to record levels." "Developers and officials with local...

A pair of reports from Inman News on the housing bubble. "Globalization appears to be in full swing for the real estate industry, with foreign buyers playing a significant role in some U.S. markets. While prices continue to escalate in Florida, sales have been sliding. In March, sales were down 22...

Some reports on the housing bubble in Nevada. "The number of sales made through the Northern Nevada MLS fell to 917 in the first quarter, down 27 percent from the same period in 2005. 'This is the sort of soft landing that everybody has been talking about,' said (analyst) Brian Kaiser. 'It's...

Annette Haddad writes at the LA Times, "Southern California homeowners, say goodbye to your good friend: Double-digit price appreciation. For the first time in 4½ years, the region's median home price rose less than 10% year over year, data released today showed. It was the most dramatic sign yet...

Some reports on the housing bubble in New Jersey. "In New Jersey, existing home sales, which include single-family homes and condos, showed a dramatic 8.1 percent drop from January through March of this year compared with this same time period in 2005." "Home prices in the Newark metropolitan...

Some reports on the housing sector. "Rising interest rates, increasing costs for construction materials, and the decline in housing sales are having an impact on spending for home renovations. A broader monthly report on construction outlays indicates that renovations have declined 10 percent in...

The Florida Press reacts to the new housing numbers. "The cooling real estate market offers a bit of good news for cash-strapped home buyers: The affordability squeeze has eased slightly. But the income needed to buy a typical home is still twice what it was four years ago. The typical Palm Beach...

The housing starts data is out. "Builders in the U.S. broke ground on the fewest homes since November 2004 as higher borrowing costs eroded demand, a government report showed. Housing starts fell 7.4 percent in April, the third straight drop, to an annual rate of 1.849 million from 1.996 million....

The Florida realtors have their quarterly numbers out today. "'Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida behaved like much of the U.S. across the 2006 first quarter,' says Dr. David Scott, professor at the University of Central Florida. 'The stress points on unit sales come from two key...

The Massachusetts realtors have their quarterly numbers out. "Prices for single-family homes in Massachusetts declined slightly in the first quarter, the first such drop in more than a decade. The Massachusetts Association of Realtors reports the median selling price for a single-family home from...

The Voice of San Diego has this update on that city. "In 2006, spring has seen record numbers of people lining up to sell their homes, but there's been no subsequent rise in the rate of sales. Indeed, sales activity in April 2006 was down 30.7 percent from April 2005, despite the existence of...

The homebuilders are turning negative. "Rising mortgage rates, deepening affordability issues and the retreat of investors/speculators from the marketplace are prompting single-family home builders to further adjust their perspectives on the new-home market, according to the National Association of...

The Fredrick News Post reports on the housing bubble in Maryland. "Thousands of Frederick County's so-called 'McMansions' could be back on the market in coming years as deadlines on interest-only loans come due, mortgage payments skyrocket, and homeowners' pocketbooks are stretched to the breaking...

The realtors association has some numbers out. "Real estate gains came to an abrupt halt in the first quarter of 2006, with the median price of a U.S. home falling 3.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors." "Prices were basically...

The Daily News has this update from coastal North Carolina. "'For Sale' signs are sprouting like dandelions at homes along N.C. 210. 'The size of the MLS book is twice the size it usually is, said (realtor) Richard Baker in Sneads Ferry. 'The sales equation has doubled since a year ago in January....

A Freudian look at investing psychology. "Last Sunday was Sigmund Freud's 150th birthday, a good time to take note of his contributions to investing. It was Freud who got people thinking about the unconscious. In most cases, it seems, the subconscious is working against some of us." "This is...