The Housing Bubble Blog

The press in Florida reports on the confusion surrounding the housing bubble. "A key House committee on Tuesday advanced a package of new programs, new spending and new mandates for local governments to address a housing crunch driving workers from the costliest corners of Florida. Palm Beach...

Reuters reports on the loan volume numbers. "U.S. mortgage applications fell last week to their lowest level this year despite a marked drop in interest rates, an industry trade group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application...

Jon Lansner at the Orange County Register took a look at what a soft landing might mean for that housing bubble. "The bubble doesn't have to burst in spectacular fashion for housing to inflict economic pain. The much-discussed 'soft landing' may create heartburn in the business climate." "Land...

The Arizona State University has some numbers out for the Phoenix area. "With 5,455 recorded sales in February 2006, the greater Phoenix resale market has rebounded slightly from the 5,260 sales recorded in January 2006. However, it is well below the 7,935 sales recorded a year ago and the 10,700...

The Sacramento Bee reports on the new 40 year loan. "Today, first-time buyers trying to stretch financially to purchase that house with a 40-year mortgage, instead of the standard 30-year loan, must turn to the private sector. Not to be outdone by the private mortgage market, the California Housing...

An update on the global housing bubble. "Britain's housing market showed the first signs of renewed weakness last month with an easing in demand for home loans, according to figures out yesterday. City analysts said the unexpected dip in mortgage lending suggested that property was becoming too...

The press reacts to last nights speech by the new Fed chairman. "U.S. two-year Treasury note yields rose for a third straight day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke suggested that the central bank will continue to raise interest rates. Thirty-year bond yields fell as he also said low...

The Christian Science Monitor has this report on the housing bubble in Massachusetts. "More than one-quarter of Boston's mortgage-holders appear to be stretched thin financially, spending at least half their income on housing, according to an analysis of census figures. That's more than twice the...

The Herald Democrat found some speculators are now buying in north Texas. "There’s nothing like owning a house, that is until the air conditioner goes south or the water heater explodes or the government decides to raise property taxes to beautify the waste disposal plant. For all the benefits of...

Here are some reports from financial markets on the housing sector. "The three-year hot streak experienced by real estate investment trust stocks may be nearing an end, two Wall Street analysts said on Monday. Merrill Lynch analyst Steve Sakwa said REITs trade at 23 times forward adjusted funds...

The Hartford Courant provides an update on the housing bubble in Connecticut. "With just days to go before the official start of the spring housing market, typically the busiest three months of the year for home sales, buyers, sellers and agents in the Hartford region are adjusting to a noticeably...

A Federal Reserve official is speaking this morning. "One of the greatest risks to the U.S. economy is a possible sharp slowdown in the housing market, said Boston Federal Reserve President Cathy Minehan. Speaking to the New England Realtors Conference on Monday, Minehan said, 'The resulting rising...

Paul Muolo has the latest on the mortgage business. "The phrase "mortgage REIT" has been synonymous with Friedman Billings Ramsey, the investment banking firm that has taken many of these non-prime mortgage lenders public (or has tried to). But now, thanks to a flat yield curve and declining...

More reports on Floridas housing bubble. "Don't tell (Palm Beach developer) Steve Kelton about trouble in the bubble, the housing bubble, that is. 'When the media harps on the bubble bursting and how bad the market is, that causes a Mexican standoff,' said Kelton. 'Developers aren't selling for...

The North County Times reports that fewer people are denying the housing bubble. "Analysts are in wide agreement that the market in San Diego and Riverside counties is caught in a so-called 'housing bubble,' but they disagree on the implications. The region's swelling inventory of unsold houses, a...

One reader wonders which housing bubble is in the worst shape. "Can we discuss the worst market today? There are some strong candidates such as Phoenix, Miami, Las Vegas. My immediate candidate is Phoenix with soaring inventory, punishing drought, ready buildable land available in all directions,...

The LA Times has this look at the mortgage industry. "Real estate has been a swell deal for just about everyone who owned a home in California during the last few years. For hundreds of Orange County homeowners, it's been even better. Thanks to their mortgage broker, they essentially get paid to...

What do you see in your housing market this weekend? Notice any builder incentives on the web? Visit an open house this weekend? Here's an observation sent in by a reader. "The Central Valley of California (Visalia to Redding) is literally piling up with unsold new construction. Just a massive...

One reader wants to hear the current sales pitch. "I would like to know what sale pitches the realtors are using right now to even get buyers to buy in a down turning market. Buyers have more inventory to look at, but so what, homes are still over priced. I suspect the agents are selling based on...

The New York Times has a pair of reports on the housing bubble. "As clusters of open-house balloons bob across the suburbs of the metropolitan area, from the New Englandy enclaves of Fairfield County, Conn., to the salt-sprayed boroughs of the Jersey Shore, the question remains: whither the housing...