The Housing Bubble Blog

One reader wants to know what you've done to warn others about the housing bubble. "I’d like to see what others are doing/saying to convince family/friends that the real estate freak show is over! I’ve pissed off any number of people by trying to help, and I’d like to read about other’s efforts and...

The Chicago Tribune reports on a not-so-hot housing market. " An early retiree from Ford, Tom Cavanaugh and his wife, Lynne, would like to move to New Mexico to be closer to family. However, since putting their home up for sale last May, they have cut the asking price twice--from $590,000 to...

Desk clearing time for this blogger. "With some 30,000 to 40,000 hotel rooms planned for the Strip by 2010, Las Vegas is about to undergo its biggest growth spurt in history. That doesn't include the more than 50,000 condominium units planned across the Las Vegas Valley, though many doubt whether...

The Arizona Daily Star has this opinion piece on the recent housing market. "'In all things, there is a law of cycles.' The wise words of the Roman historian Tacitus from 1,900 years ago apply to this week's news that more Tucson-area homes were on the market last month than at any point in the...

CNN has this report on new home cancellations. "Home builders are growing concerned about an increasing number of cancelled new home orders, which experts say could be a sign of an underlying weakness in the recent run in home prices." "The cancelled orders could be the latest warning sign that...

Reader sent in some statistics on Virginia's housing bubble. "Although the number of single family homes and condos sold in January was down by almost 30% when compared to 2005, the average sales price did top the 2005 January average sales price by 10.3%. Active listings increased dramatically...

An account of the 'internal' investigation of Fannie Mae showed up in the Australian press. " The $US11 billion accounting fraud at Fannie Mae stemmed from an 'earnings at any cost culture' and the US mortgage giant still posed a systemic threat to financial markets, Randy Quarles, undersecretary...

The Orlando Sentinel reports on ahousing bubble trend. "Last year, 29 percent of the homes sold in Orlando were by owners, according to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association. That's more than 10,000 properties, and, while there isn't any historical data, it's surely a record. My prediction? That...

The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report on Toll Brothers. "The chief executive officer of Toll Bros. Inc. acknowledged yesterday what many in the housing industry have long feared. Speculators helped fuel the housing boom, and now they're trying to unload homes in a weakening market." "'In 2005,...

Please post weekend topic suggestions here. Also, note the new photo submission email address in the profile area. This is for your housing bubble related pic you would like put up in the photo gallery, which is about to launch. This gallery will be updated weekly and will not accept shots which...

The Modesto Bee reports on falling home prices. " After six years of defying gravity, home prices dipped in January throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Homes sold for a median $386,750 in Stanislaus County, which was about $5,250 less than the record set in December." "The decline is part...

The NAHB reports on a new record. "Higher interest rates and rising home prices caused nationwide housing affordability to slip for a fourth consecutive quarter to its lowest level on record. 'The latest HOI shows that only 41 percent of new and existing homes that were sold during the final...

The Arizona Republic reports on another inventory record; maybe. "The number of single-family homes for sale in the Southeast Valley reached 11,521 last month, which, if not a record, is at least the highest number in recent years. The last time the Southeast Valley had listings in the 10,000 range...

Wall Street is focused on a non-event. "'The Rudman report does a very good job at laying bare the earnings-at-any-cost culture that had developed over many years at Fannie Mae,' Treasury Undersecretary for Domestic Finance Randal Quarles said. The portfolio should be cut back to reduce risks to...

A Boynton Beach condo conversion has this discount on craigslist. "Final days of the developer's closeout special at our St. Andrews at Boynton Beach condo conversion. The developer needs to close out this project and will now pay your 1st year's mortgage for you!. Buyer will also have the option...

The Weston Town Crier has this report on the housing bubble in Massachusetts. "Inventory in Ashland has tripled from a year go with the median asking price coming down from $529,900 to $424,900, a 25 percent drop, the aftermath of a double-digit increase in the number of homes listed under...

The homebuilder Toll Brothers has some numbers out. "Toll Brothers, Inc., today reported that, for its first quarter ended January 31, 2006, net income rose 49% to $163.9 million; revenues rose 35% to $1.34 billion; first quarter-end backlog rose 22% to $5.95 billion; and signed contracts of $1.14...

Realty Times has this report from Sacramento. "The buyers market of 2006 has begun. Following years of a sellers market in Sacramento, many consumers are facing a more normalized market across the region. Sellers must learn a lesson early in a normalizing market; HOLD ON TO YOUR PROPERTY! Once the...

The Bradenton Herald reports on a housing slowdown where they aren't making any more land. "In the not-so-long-ago island real estate market, sellers had to do little negotiation and buyers had little power. But a larger inventory and leveling listing prices are more signs the real estate frenzy...

News from Wall Street on the housing bubble. "Joseph Tomkinson, CCEO of Impac Mortgage Holdings, Inc. commented, '2005 was a challenging year for mortgage REITs across the board. Impac's earnings came under pressure as the Federal Reserve continued raising short-term interest rates during the...