The Housing Bubble Blog

The Detroit Free Press has a report on home prices in a glutted market. "As the temperature warms, the grass greens and the trees bud, colorful for sale signs announcing the availability of housing in metro Detroit neighborhoods will pop up with new life as well. But in some communities, those new...

Please post your housing market observations here! One reader started off in the topics thread. "Local radio station has a real estate guru on the air waves on Thursday, plus he appears on a nightly tv program. He was beside himself promoting a new mortgage product to keep the high priced real...

Some readers suggested a topic surround some recently published books. "I used to like David Bach when he was teaching stuff that actually made sense (eg., save regularly, don’t spend more than you earn, automate your savings so you don’t miss the money, stay out of debt). I guess he has tossed...

The Grand Rapids Press reports on appraisal fraud. "Not a week goes by that appraiser John Meyer does not get a request to 'hit the number' on a home's value to ensure a loan goes through. 'I had a guy from New Jersey last night call, and he wanted me to do the appraisal if I can assure him I would...

The New York Times reports on flippers buying sight unseen. "For the last few years, real estate transactions over the Internet, where buyers need never set eyes on the property they purchase, have become increasingly common. But now, with plenty of buyers eager to get in on the real estate boom,...

The Wall Street Journal has this report on mortgage loan resets. "Millions of Americans who stretched themselves financially to buy homes face a painful adjustment, some could even lose their houses, as monthly payments on adjustable-rate mortgages are reset higher. More than $2 trillion of U.S....

The Capital reports on the housing bubble in Maryland. "February home sales presented fresh evidence that the five-year housing boom is losing steam in Anne Arundel County. While the median price of homes sold in the county last month reached $324,500, a 13 percent jump from the same period a year...

Some readers want to know what you think about interest rates. "I think a good topic would be on intrest rates. Long term rates are finally starting to rise. Many are proably going to blame this for the RE slow down. Predictions of where long term rates are headed (including time frame). Fed...

The Florida Today site has this housing bubble update. "Construction permits for new homes in Brevard County surged in January above the previous year and month. Area homebuilders agree there is a general slowing down in local real estate, with existing homes typically staying on the market for as...

A final Friday post to clear up the loose ends. "The once red-hot housing market in the Lompoc Valley has started off the year on a sluggish note, with sales down and the median price flat, echoing a trend felt throughout Santa Barbara County. 'In the intermediate range, most sales are going...

An Arizona blogger has discovered the rumors are true. "Recently, it was reported in the Phoenix market that the number of homes available had jumped from apx3400 homes January 05 to over 30,000 this January. As we watch some of the markets around the country, looking for signs of 'the bubble,'...

Two reports show home prices falling. "Demand for new homes has shrunk in central Ohio in the past two years, causing builders to slow down construction and leaving them with an inventory of unsold houses and condominiums. The overstock and sales slump have prompted something once unheard of: a...

Some housing bubble news from Wall Street. "MFA Mortgage Investments today reported a net loss available to common stockholders of $32.6 million. Stewart Zimmerman, MFA's Chairman said, 'As previously indicated, increases in the target federal funds rate continue to increase the cost of MFA's...

The Dallas News reports on builder incentives in that city. "Sale. Price reduction. Limited-time savings. If it works for Wal-Mart, why not Centex Homes or Grand Homes? That's what builders are hoping. Coming out of the winter slow season for home sales and with inventories edging up, some builders...

Forbes reports on flippers in Florida. "Condo flippers in south Florida will tell you that they are sure, real sure, that they will sell out at a profit." "Robert Jenkins began speculating on real estate in hot-hot south Florida. He borrowed heavily and flipped 19 houses in Fort Lauderdale, reaping...

Please post your weekend topic suggestions here. Any ideas are welcome, so be creative!

Rich Toscano writes about housing for the Voice of San Diego. "Not so long ago, downtown was..prime real estate. Condos for sale were hard to find and prices absolutely soared. Units were often bought and sold multiple times before even being built, each iteration allowing sellers to net six-figure...

A check on Wall Street for housing bubble news. "Two senators on Thursday filed a measure to require congressional investigators to study whether lobbying activities by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac further the companies' federally mandated mission of supporting homeownership." "The U.S. Treasury...

This blog was contacted by OC Registers' Jon Lansner regarding that writers' objectivity on Orange County, CA real estate. Here's what Mr. Lansner wrote. "I'm trying to figure how to tell people on your blog that I operate under ZERO pressure from my bosses or the real-estate crowd to produce an...

Some housing bubble reports from Florida. "Florida's biggest private landowner, the St. Joe Co., has at least 'a couple of generations of supply' in raw land to sell and develop, much of it near the coast, company executives said Wednesday in Orlando during an investors conference. Much of the...