The Housing Bubble Blog

The Dallas Morning News reports from Texas. "North Texas home sales rose 10 percent in May, even in the face of a continued shortage of homes on the market. The one area of the Dallas-Fort Worth housing market that’s not growing as fast this year is sales of super high-end homes. 'There’s lots of...

The Gazette Extra reports from Wisconsin. "'Seller's market' describes what's happening better than about anything else right now,' said Julie Raese, a Realtor for Century 21 Affiliated in Janesville. And median home prices here rose from $115,000 to nearly $140,000 from April 2015 to April 2016,...

A report from the San Francisco Business Journal in California. "Venture capitalists tightening their purse strings, startups shedding jobs and the continuing dearth of IPOs could be taking their toll on the Bay Area's housing market. By almost any measure, the Bay Area's roaring economy is...

A report from Bloomberg on China. "It’s quiet these days on a Sunday afternoon in the streets of Dongguan, where almost every block outside the center is a factory or housing for workers. A red banner advertising for staff above one plant says it has enough orders to keep production lines busy for...

A weekend topic on what could be done about the housing bubble, starting with the Business News Network. "Canada’s federal government is prepared to take further action against skyrocketing Vancouver and Toronto home prices, but Bay Street is split on whether Ottawa should. More than three dozen of...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "After cooling off in 2014, home flipping is on the rise again, according to a new report from RealtyTrac. It is reaching new peaks in 7 percent of the nation's metro markets, including Baltimore, Buffalo, New Orleans, San Diego and even pricey...

A report from Bloomberg. "Apartment owners with properties in San Francisco and New York tumbled after landlord Equity Residential said new leases in those cities -- two of the most expensive U.S. rental markets -- are falling short of revenue expectations. Equity Residential, the largest apartment...

A report from CCTV News. "Chinese investors have overtaken Canadians to become the biggest foreign buyers of U.S. property. According to a study from the Asia Society, a surge in Chinese buying in both U.S. residential and commercial real estate took their 5-year investment total to over $110...

A report from Fairfax New Zealand. "The Government may be denying the hot-property interest of Chinese investors but real estate agents are opting for the reverse tactic in a wave of new marketing material being sent out to homeowners. Ray White's Mt Albert branch in Auckland recently posted a...

A report from the Australian Financial Review. "Apartments in Melbourne's Docklands, CBD and Southbank are being resold up to 24 per cent below their previous off-the-plan purchase price, catching out vendors, many of whom bought them from investment companies or spruikers. AFR Weekend has found...

A report from the New York Times. "One of the latest symbols of the overinflated luxury housing market is a pink mansion perched above the Mediterranean on the French Riviera. The home’s name befits its price. 'Le Palais Bulles,' or 'the Bubble Palace,' is being offered for sale at approximately...

A weekend topic on manias starting with Maclean's written by Bob Thompson. "Every 20 years or so, investor dementia sets in. Memories are wiped clean, allowing individuals to make the same mistakes over and over again. It doesn’t matter if it is real estate markets, stock markets, commodity...

Its Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "With a dire housing crunch squeezing out full-time residents, the Point Reyes Station Village Association and the Community Land Trust of West Marin held a forum to assess the damage and discuss solutions. Startling facts and anecdotes were on hand...

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports from Georgia. "To afford an average apartment, low-wage earners in Atlanta must work many hours of overtime or else live with other wage-earners, according to a national advocacy group. Georgia is not even one of the more expensive states, in fact it ranks...

The Richland Source reports from Ohio. "An unusual, but optimistic trend is unfolding in the Richland County housing market, much different than years past. 'It looks like what's happened is there are so many buyers in the market that as soon as a home is put on the market, it's taken,' said Rich...

The Sydney Morning Herald reports from Australia. "In the hyperactive world of online Chinese property forums, prospective buyers swap tips on real estate trends. But the talk on Australia-focused chat threads have been tinged with one worry after another. Chief among those worries are the...

A report from the Oregonian. "For the first time in recent memory, the number of closed and pending home sales in the Portland area saw an annual decline, according to the April Regional Multiple Listing Service's monthly report. With the housing market on a tear, the report had become predictable...

A weekend look at housing supply and demand starting with the Lincoln County Journal. "We keep hearing how low inventory is in today’s housing market, but why is that the case? New Construction– Though housing starts were up 12.4 percent in 2015’s first quarter, homebuilders are constructing new...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The median price of a single-family home in Santa Clara County hit seven figures for the first time last month: $1 million on the button. Prices grew even dizzier in San Mateo County, where the $1.2 million average matched the previous record, set...

NBC 26 reports from Wisconsin. "Home sales for the first quarter of 2016 are the best we've seen in nearly ten years. Inventory of homes for sale is down and that means the prices are rising. But many are prepared to shell out some extra cash in this market for the right home. 'Our neighbors across...