The Housing Bubble Blog

A report on Chicago's housing bubble. "With $1-million home listings in many suburbs around Chicago mounting, high-end homebuilders are likely to pursue fewer new-construction starts as they sort through economic data and try to get a fix on homebuyer sentiment. Question No. 1: Is the market...

The Naples Sun Times has this report on real estate. "Sellers, are you ready for the news?"" "In February 2006 there were 5,417 single family homes listed for sale in the Sunshine Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Naples Area Board of Realtors, of which 204 sold. There were 5,289 condos/coops...

The homebuilder data should be out by now. "U.S. home builder sentiment declined in March, the National Association of Home Builders reported on Wednesday, in response to rising mortgage rates. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index slid to 55 in March, seasonally adjusted, from February's...

The Oregonian reports on the housing bubble in Portland. "The median home sale price in the Portland area was $242,000 in February, 17 percent higher than a year earlier, according to numbers released Tuesday by the Regional MLS. That year-over-year appreciation number was lower than in any of the...

The Hartford Courant provides a rare report on Connecticuts housing bubble. "The number of houses for sale in Greater Hartford rose in February for the sixth month in a row, further evidence that a slowdown in the area's housing market is taking root. The median sales price gained 4.1 percent, to...

The press reacts to the Dataquick numbers. "Home prices in Southern California edged up to a new record in February, although they edged up to that record at the slowest pace in almost four years. The number of homes sold was the lowest in five years." "'It's numbers like these that both...

Wall Street had some housing bubble news today. "FMF Capital Group Ltd. is a residential mortgage lending company that originates and funds primarily nonconforming or 'nonprime,' mortgage loans in the United States and sells those mortgage loans to institutional loan purchasers." "Based on...

Bankrate talked with some real estate analysts about which markets are, or are not overpriced. Highlights, "The D.C. market ranks 10th on John Burns list of markets facing a potential housing bubble, and home sellers in the metro market report that it's taking longer to sell than it did a year ago....

Some housing bubble news from California. "Humboldt County home prices have remained essentially flat since August, while average interest rates have climbed to 6.35 percent, increasing the average monthly mortgage payment from $1,851 six months ago to $1,936 in January for an equivalently priced...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a familiar housing bubble scenario. "Metro Milwaukee's existing-home market posted a robust 1,155 sales last month, amid a landscape littered with 'for sale' signs. The highest February volume in three years didn't totally offset a sluggish January,...

The Boston Globe reports on the latest housing sales tactic. "A growing number of homeowners and builders, unable to sell homes or condominiums the traditional way, through an agent, are turning to Sotheby's-style auctions like this 26-property sale last month in Newton." "With the housing market...

The following is Jon Lansners' response to your question submitted last week. The bold type are the questions. I summarized each group of questions, and then your remarks are seperated by commas. Any link mistakes are mine, as I made them to articles Mr. Lansner provided. To Ben's fine crew ......

The letter campaign to the Sun Sentinel is heating up. "I concur with the author of a recent letter that stated that housing prices will fall. All of your articles couch real-estate 'bad' news with the counter-opinion of experts who use soft-ball terms (e.g., a slowdown, 'we won't see double-digit...

Some reports on the state of the US homebuyer. "A growing number of homeowners in New Hampshire are being forced out of their homes by foreclosure. Foreclosure filings in the state jumped from 188 in February to 263 in March. In Strafford County, there were 19 foreclosures in January and February,...

The NAR has this out on todays housing market. "A lower level of home sales expected this year will create a more level playing field for buyers and sellers on the heels of a five-year sellers’ market. David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said the number of homes on the market has been improving...

The biggest mortgage firm in the world has some news out this morning. "Fannie Mae, the nation's top home mortgage lender, said Monday that it notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it will miss the March 16 deadline to file its 2005 annual report. The lender said it expects that its...

The Sun Sentinel reports on preconstruction profits turning into lawsuits in Florida. " Most everything was in boxes as Dottie and Gary Sahadeo prepared to move out of their Coconut Creek home to a more spacious, custom-built house. But with construction almost complete, the Sahadeos received an...

The Arizona Republic reports on a bill to back-up condo escrows. "Ken Cheuvront thought he saw his $20,000 deposit going out a high-rise window when ownership of a condominium project changed hands. Fortunately, the new owner honored the deposit. But his jitters over the fate of the got Cheuvront,...

With a writer from the Orange County Register due to reply to this blogs' readers tomorrow, one topic suggestion may prove useful in that discussion. "I think I’d like a topic about Sources." "It occured to me yesterday that the media thinks the only Real Estate sources they can use for news...

Here's a weekend challenge for you bloggers. We need your digital housing bubble pictures for the new slideshow! You know, the shots of a forest of for-sale signs, or how about that dark and empty condo tower in Florida, or even the cranes? Some shots of the empty streets in Queens Creek around...