The Housing Bubble Blog

Four reports on Florida's housing bubble. "North Port - The real estate bubble hasn't exactly burst, said several people involved in the business, but it's being squeezed a bit. Bunny Jones observed prices went up right after Hurricane Charley as people sought rentals. For the next year, she said,...

Long-time readers may remember this article in Fortune about flippers. "Zareh Tahmassebian is lost. Most people don't get lost driving to their own residence, but then, Tahmassebian has never actually been to these particular homes. There are a few reasons for that: (1) He has no intention of ever...

The Pioneer Press reports on the housing bubble in the Twin Cities. "If you think you see a for-sale sign on every block, look again. On some blocks, there are two. There now are more homes on the market in the Twin Cities than ever before, as far as local real estate experts can tell." "As of...

One reader called for a topic on prices. "Many people are puzzled by the phenomenon of falling sales numbers paired with increasing median prices. Two common explanations are that 1) buyers are purchasing fancier homes that have been discounted ('I bought this mansion at a $150K discount!') and 2)...

The Herald Tribune has this report on the Florida housing bubble. "John Lafabregue Jr. dropped off monthly spreadsheets dating back to July 2003 the other day, and the statistics contained in them painted a vivid picture of just where the Sarasota realty market has been. But in March 2004,...

Annette Haddad at the LA Times has this report on speculators. "Too much speculative activity from investors hoping to turn a quick profit is perhaps the biggest sign that a market, whether real estate or stocks or any other asset, is in an overpriced 'bubble' condition, economists say. Too many...

Time to wrap the week up. "The cost of second-hand housing in Shanghai is dropping rapidly. 'Investors can hardly be found for those transactions,' said Huang Weiwei. A wave of speculators flooded the real-estate market from the second half of 2004 to the first half of last year, driving housing...

Some housing bubble news from Washington and Wall Street. "'Congress and the American people were misled by the former leadership' of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Rep. Michael Oxley, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said at a hearing. Oxley said the report underscored the need for...

The California press is focused on the buyer/seller stand-off. "After five straight months of falling sales prices for Sacramento County homes, values edged up slightly in February. The county's median price climbed nearly 1 percent from January levels, reaching $355,000. Sacramento County's median...

Some updates on the Florida housing market. "No signs point to a housing bubble in the Tallahassee market. At least that's the thought from local appraiser Clay Ketcham. 'If I knew if there was a bubble, I wouldn't be here,' Ketcham quipped. 'I don't think anyone knows that.'" "The market here is...

Some reports that Wall Street got it wrong yesterday. "Better-than-expected housing start numbers and a tickdown in interest rates appeared to drive homebuilding stocks Thursday. However, some market experts believe investors may be misreading the housing start numbers and caution them on the...

Please post your weekend topic suggestions here!

From the San Francisco Chronicle. "Bay Area home sales tumbled in February for the 11th month in a row and prices appreciated at their slowest rate in two years. The median price for a single-family home in the nine-county area was $637,000 in February, up 12 percent year over year, but well below...

The Wall Street Journal reports on a Fed borrowing study. "A new study by Federal Reserve Board economists found that about 35% of people with adjustable-rate mortgages didn't know how much the rate could increase at one time, and 41% weren't sure of the maximum rate they could face. About 28%...

A trio of condo craze articles. "'We certainly believe this idea of urban living will catch on in Brickell. People are tired of using their cars for everything,' Carl Rosso, vice president of the Related Group said. 'Brickell will be the motor for Miami.'" "He said it is difficult to know how many...

A Census Bureau report found that high home prices are driving some people out. "The five counties that comprise New York City grew by about 1.65% between 2000 and 2005, according to the bureau's estimates. The data further show that New York's population declined slightly between 2004 and 2005."...

These Fed comments have been posted in the comments, but just for the record. "The Federal Reserve has no intention of preserving all of the recent gains in home price values, said Federal Reserve board governor Donald Kohn on Thursday. If real estate prices begin to erode, homeowners should not...

Two reports on housing markets in the eastern US. "Home buyers and sellers have been staring at one another since the fall, waiting to see who will blink first. That stalemate has led residential inventory to climb 67 percent on Long Island and a stunning 82 percent in Queens from February 2005 to...

The Commerce department has the housing starts data. "The pace of U.S. housing starts fell less than expected last month. Builders broke ground on new homes at an annual rate of 2.12 million in February, down 7.9 percent from January's revised 2.303 million, the Commerce Department said. Building...

The buzz in California is about the housing bubble. "'Buyers and sellers are at a standoff,' said G.U. Krueger, an economist with an Irvine-based real estate investment firm. 'Buyers want to pay less and sellers don't want to sell for less.' The result, he said, is that fewer deals are getting...