The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from the Guardian. "From New York to London, the air seems to be getting a little thinner at the dizzy heights of the property market. The collapse of a 78-story 'shadow-maker' condo development in an exclusive enclave of the Upper East Side of Manhattan is sending shockwaves through the...

A weekend topic on psychology starting with CBC News in Canada. "What a fabulous buying opportunity. Or is it? After years of sharp price increases, the costs of Calgary houses are finally down nearly four per cent from where they were a year ago. While real estate company statistics show prices...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The first three months of 2016 were not a good time to list your $15 million East Hampton home. A cool wind is blowing through the elite enclave, as Wall Street fears send a chill through a real-estate market that, until recently, has been white...

A report from CNBC. "Home construction weakened in March, and homebuilder sentiment hasn't budged in three months — all this in the heart of the historically strong spring housing market. The common complaint from builders is that they are hamstrung by a lack of skilled labor, which is keeping...

The Wall Street Journal reports on the UK. "A major U.K. landlord warned Tuesday that the boom in global real estate is coming to an end. London-based Grosvenor Group said in its annual report that years of rising property values could be set to reverse. Grosvenor is continuing to 'expect and plan...

A report from Bloomberg. "As the luxury market expanded after the financial crisis, developers bent over backwards to up the ante, hawking screening rooms, wine cellars, bocce courts, and concierges until so many buildings had them that they seemed like one big blur of luxury add-ons. In the hope...

A look at rents and the multi-family housing bubble starting with the Oregonian. "When Caitlin and Charles Vestal began looking to buy a home in January, the search quickly felt like a full-time job. The couple ended up with a small, one-bedroom apartment along Southeast Division street but...

A weekend topic on the economy starting with the Canadian Free Press piece by By Dr. Bruce Smith. "It was my great good fortune to be a son of depression parents. My mother and father were born in the early 1920s. They were observant, sensitive, thoughtful parents who took the time to tell stories....

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "As they battle it for a limited number of homes and condos for sale, some buyers are not only putting in sky-high bids, they are also losing perspective and their heads, notes Sam Schneiderman, president of the Massachusetts Association of Buyer...

The Edmonton Journal reports from Canada. "The number of new, unsold homes in the Edmonton area soared more than 70 per cent over the last year, preliminary figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show. There were about 1,800 vacant housing units in the area in March, a huge increase from...

Reuters reports on China. "Home sales in the red-hot property markets of Shanghai and Shenzhen tumbled sharply in the week after authorities made it tougher to buy homes in the cities to prevent a property bubble, surveys by a major Chinese realtor show. After Shenzhen and Shanghai property prices...

CNBC reports on the UK. "The spotlight on the London property market as a destination for colossal sums of money has intensified after the so-called Panama Papers leak. The documents have led to various reports detailing the foreign ownership of multiple prime London properties, sparking fears that...

A report from Banking Exchange. "Did you know that a tad over one out of five home sales typically don’t appear on federal anti-money-laundering radar? That’s because they are 'all-cash' deals—that is, purchases involving no lender financing—and thus not covered by any of the mainstream BSA/AML...

A report from MarketWatch. "The commercial real estate market is a potential asset bubble that 'bears watching,' said Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Thursday, pressing her case for the U.S. central bank to 'stay the course' and gradually raise interest rates. 'In the long run, a failure...

The Business News Network reports from Canada. "The real estate markets in Vancouver and Toronto are at it again, positing record sales and double-digit price gains. That’s pushed the benchmark home price up 23 per cent to $815,000 in Metro Vancouver, and the average home price up 12 per cent to...

A weekend topic on the Panama Papers, starting with Digital Trends. "If you have been thinking about moving to the Miami area, check your bank account. Miami’s rentals are the most expensive in the country and the skyrocketing cost of real estate (especially luxury condos) knocks most people out of...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday touted the strength of the United States economy, rebuffing political rhetoric suggesting a bubble is ready to burst. 'I certainly wouldn't describe this as a bubble economy,' Yellen said." "Home prices...

WMTW reports from Maine. "The real estate market is on fire in Maine’s largest city. In many cases, homes are being snapped up even before they hit the market. Some say the market conditions are mimicking that of 2006. In the desirable east-end section of Portland, everything is going faster than...

The Daily Telegraph reports from Australia. "Sydney apartment buyers could be in for a shock, experts fear, as the huge number of high-rise flats coming on to the market puts downward pressure on prices. Industry insiders say there are too many inner-city apartments being built, with people buying...

The Financial Post reports from Canada. "Even realtors in Calgary are suggesting picking the bottom of the housing market is getting tougher and tougher in the oilpatch. The Calgary Real Estate Board said that its benchmark house prices were 3.51 per cent lower from a year ago. High-rise apartment...