The Housing Bubble Blog

Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.

A Glut At The Higher End

The Press Democrat reports from California. "Sonoma County’s median home sales price hit $555,000 in January, the highest level for any month in nine years. The median price climbed nearly 16 percent from a year earlier, according to The Press Democrat’s monthly housing report, compiled by Rick...
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A Doom-Loop Of Debt Gorging And Economic Vulnerability

The Toronto Star reports from Canada. "High-end executive rentals are sitting empty, or being rented for far less than they fetched when St. John’s was booming with oil-related business. 'In the executive rental market, the inventory is triple what it was even two years ago,' said real estate agent...
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A Formula For Overdevelopment

The Daily Democrat reports from California. "Whether they are first-time buyers or hoping to get back into the red-hot housing market, David Setti with TurnKey Mortgage Solutions in Campbell, takes the opportunity to educate them. While lenders will allow 43 percent of gross income to be dedicated...
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From One Excess To Another

A weekend topic starting with Palo Alto Online. "Just after sunset in mid-January, my colleague and I were seated at a square, maple-colored table located near the entrance of the Starbucks on California Avenue, waiting to meet with a potential client. As we sipped bottled water and coffee, we...
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People Were In Shock, Then Denial, Now They’re Angry

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The amount of recent job layoffs around southern West Virginia has the market for selling houses down thousands of dollars. The Beckley Board of Realtors reports there are currently 425 houses up for sale in Raleigh County, alone. At this time last...
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When Properties Are Basically Commodities

A report from the Australian Financial Review. "The high number of houses for sale in Sydney's outer suburbs could depress prices, and buyers and sellers need to exercise caution, experts said. In the southwest, where there has been an explosion of house and land packages, there were 1842 listings...
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An Oversupply Of Luxury Inventory

The Visalia Times Delta reports from California. "The Visalia Planning Commission will consider whether to grant a three-year extension to build a 219-home subdivision on the city’s west side. Members of the commission approved a tentative map for the planned Lowery Ranch subdivision back in March...
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One Of The Big Bads Is Starting To Emerge Again

The Globe and Mail reports on Canada. "A Vancouver MLA is demanding that the B.C. government appoint an independent investigator to hold an inquiry into how the real estate industry is regulated after a Globe and Mail report outlined a technique in which Vancouver-area properties flip one or more...
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A Slowdown In Sales And A Potential Supply Glut

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Quicken Loans’s Super Bowl ad has sparked rumblings over whether we should worry about a new housing bubble. 'What if we did for mortgages what the Internet did for buying music and plane tickets and shoes?' a narrator says. The 60-second spot then opines...
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