The Housing Bubble Blog

Some housing bubble news from homebuilders. "M/I Homes, Inc. announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006. Robert H. Schottenstein, CEO, commented, 'Our first quarter results were in-line with our expectations with gross and operating margins of 27.3% and 11.4%, respectively." "Our...

The Voice of San Diego has this update on that housing bubble. "Home buyers in San Diego had 19,238 homes to choose from yesterday. And for a brief time over the weekend, San Diego had more homes listed for sale than ever before. San Diego has seen its inventory level increase 27 percent since the...

The existing home sales numbers are out. "Sales of previously owned homes edged up slightly in March but not enough to keep the inventory of unsold homes from hitting a record high as the once-booming housing market continued to flash signals of a slowdown." "The National Association of Realtors...

The Sun Herald has this update on some Florida housing markets. "As the 2006 high season ends, local builders, investors and real estate salespeople with unsold homes, are still counting on retiring Northern baby boomers to reenergize the local housing market. Some local Realtors say the market is...

Long time readers of this blog will remember Bill Fleckenstein. It sounds like he's been reading your comments! "A recent story in the Wall Street Journal offered lots of its useful vignettes that serve as a microcosm of manic markets. That's the mentality often seen in manic markets, the belief...

MarketWatch has this update on the homebuilders. "UBS cut its earnings projections for home builders Monday, with several companies reducing their home-delivery targets as the steam continues to come out of the U.S. housing market. 'The long-anticipated housing slowdown appears to be finally upon...

The Arizona Republic looks at the states housing economy. "With millions of dollars on the line, several East Valley cities are appealing last year's mid-decade U.S. census after early estimates showed thousands fewer residents than expected in Maricopa County." "Meanwhile, the Census Bureau has...

Some housing bubble news from Washington and Wall Street. And Chicago, " Ken Neumann, president of Warrenville-based Neumann Homes, lashed out at other builders in connection with speculation the company is for sale or on the verge of bankruptcy. The firm is among the 50 biggest builders in the...

A report on realtors provides some insight into California's housing bubble. "As California's once-broiling housing market cools and inventories of unsold properties grow, veteran agents expect real estate rookies to start looking for easier ways to make a living. It's a cycle that has repeated...

A housing bubble report from the Treasure Coast. "It could well be the inevitable result of the recent housing boom. Many Treasure Coast homebuyers caught up in the go-go, building-buying frenzy have binged on a smorgasbord of interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages. With interest rates rising,...

A couple of rare reports on the Washington housing market. "As mortgage loan interest rates hit their highest level in nearly four years this month, not one but two housing markets are emerging in Clark County. One market is dominated by sellers, the other by buyers." "According to Realtor Mike...

Readers are interested in discussing the real estate industry and accountability. "Topic: Factual accountability and disclosure by listing services, agents and brokers. It is my opinion that the truth has been something sorely lacking in much of this bubble run up. I suspect that many of the...

Do you have a housing observation this weekend? See builder incentives or lots of for sale signs? Here is one a reader posted. "The bidding wars are, for all intents and purposes, over in Seattle. What used to be common is now few and far between." "Asking prices are still very high, but most homes...

The LA Times has this tale of a group of flippers. "A group of friends who set out to buy, fix up and 'flip' a Palm Springs tract house haven't found the riches they were seeking. But the four Newport Beach residents, all experienced remodelers, learned some lessons about themselves, about working...

Some readers suggested a topic on phases of the bubble. "I’d be curious to discuss the phases of a housing bubble. By this I mean the media coverage and the general public’s perception of our situation. In my mind, when the public’s perception changes, this will be the beginning of the end. So far...

The Orange County Register reports on that housing bubble. "Orange County home sales have fallen for a fifth month, and the number of homes on the market is rising. Multiple offers and bidding wars still occur, real estate agents say." "But there have been sporadic reports of sellers dropping their...

The Palm Beach Post has this report on that Florida real estate market. "The gavel slammed down almost as soon as the bidding had started. In minutes. As fast as the words could tumble out of the mouth of the auctioneer, whose voice buzzed like a bumblebee: Sold for $165,000." "'We're in the...

Please post off topic bits of information or other random items such as Craigslist finds here. This thread is an experiment to make this blog more useful, but it is not intended to discourage off topic posts, generally.

The Bakersfield Californian has a report on that housing bubble. "The clouds may be breaking over Bakersfield's gloomy winter real estate market, though the number of home sales has tumbled in recent months. About 1,380 existing houses were sold in the first three months of 2006, a 13.2 percent...

Several readers think the non-bubble regions may have a price problem. "Any thoughts on what might happen in those areas of the country where there hasn’t been a lot of investor/flipper activity? For example, I live in Cincinnati. Not a whole lot of appreciation here the last couple years, but it...