The Housing Bubble Blog

One reader wants to hear your creative side. "Nursery Rhymes and no fair, pop goes the weasel is too easy." "Robert was nimble, Robert was slick. He got out of his own TOL but quick." "Housing assets falling down, falling down…" "Blogger, Blogger quite contrary how does the bubble blow? 'With...

The LA Times looks at a housing scam. "At the height of the real estate boom last year, a group of investment promoters crisscrossed California, touting a plan to build rental duplexes in distant states. Mile High Capital Group's scheme generated so much interest that its executives said they were...

One reader is looking at the macroeconomics surrounding the housing bubble. "The nation’s factories are close to capacity. Productivity, with the exception of last quarter has been excellent. Consumer confidence is high. All these things point to a bright economic future. And yet.." "The current...

The Boston Globe reports on the changes in that housing market. "According to data from New England's largest real estate listing service, the number of single-family homes up for sale in the Plymouth-South Shore region recently was roughly double what was available at this time last year. Yet this...

Post your housing market observations here! Some readers sent in this on Las Vegas. "A decline in new home orders by some of the nation's large builders reflects a softening in the housing market that is being felt in Las Vegas, a local housing research expert said." "'It's softer than it was, the...

The Naples news has this report on Floridas housing bubble. "With season in full swing in south Lee and Collier, the first signs of what a cooling-off of the real estate market here looks like are starting to emerge. The market is flush with sellers, many seeking to cash out on appreciation gains...

The New York Times has this report on Fannie Mae. "A large poster outside the Washington office of Fannie Mae's new chief executive lists the promises all senior managers were recently instructed to make to reshape the company's culture. The principles stand in stark contrast to how Fannie Mae long...

The Sacramento Bee has the latest on that housing bubble. "In another sign of a cooling market, existing homes sales in the capital region declined last month to the lowest level in six years. Sales in January fell a combined 29 percent in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties compared...

One reader wants to discuss the blow-back from the housing bubble. "I would like to see a general discussion on how these posters here think the housing bust will affect THEIR jobs. In my opinion, there is too much excitement about this housing downturn on this blog with the intent picking up...

The Patriot Ledger has this report on Massachusetts. "House 'For Sale' signs sprouted like goldenrod last summer along the highways and byways of the South Shore. But there seemed to be a drought of buyers for all those properties that only a few months earlier were selling overnight at record...

The Arizona Republic reports on the bursting housing bubble. "The frenzy is gone, and home builders are trying to entice buyers with freebies and price cuts in 'let's make a deal' sales pitches. It is another clear sign that the Valley's home-building market is slowing from the pace that made it...

TGIF and it's time to put this week in the can. ""Paul McCulley, bond-market-giant PIMCO's Fed-watcher, wrote last week that 'Weakness in residential property activity self-feeds' and that we are in for a cyclical 'wicked turn' in the economy, and 'unconventional property-market weakness.'" "The...

The North Lake Tahoe Bonanza has a rare look at that Nevada housing bubble. "More of Carson City's high-end homes are hitting the market this year. Now that the housing frenzy has slowed considerably, buyers have time to check out all their options. Last year, four homes priced more than $1 million...

Barrons has one columnist starting to see the housing bubble. "I have long argued that we're not in a nationwide housing bubble, although we've had some local ones. Therefore, I didn't think we would see a general housing crash. But I must admit I'm worried that we might see more than just...

The Californian press is buzzing about the housing bubble. "Cheri Colon has been selling (Silicon Valley) real estate for more than a decade. Last month she watched home sales drop to their lowest level in five years and watched prices dip as well. Colon said, 'It's a tough time to be a seller and...

A pair of reports provide an update on the soft landing in Australia. "High-risk lending in the recent housing boom has left some Australians struggling to meet mortgage repayments, forcing them to hand over properties to lenders. The housing bubble has burst and investors who jumped into the...

The News Press reports on a Florida homebuilder in trouble. "The city of Cape Coral is cracking down on a major homebuilder for delays in starting dozens of homes, but the builder says its problems are largely the fault of a bank that stopped financing 380 of them. Last week, city officials stopped...

The New York Times has this report on condo mania. "When developers in Arlington, Va., threw a party 18 months ago to showcase plans for Clarendon 1021, a condominium development that had not yet been built, 3,600 prospective buyers stood in line just for the chance to book reservations to bid on...

Post ideas for weekend topics here. If you've suggested a relevant topic previously and it wasn't used, please feel free to recycle it.

Inman News reports that the growing home investory has a few worried. "U.S. home builders took advantage of record-high temperatures in January and boosted the rate of housing construction significantly higher than expectations at the start of what is seen as a cooling-off year for the housing...