The Housing Bubble Blog

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "For many, a federal government job was a marker of stability or a way to serve the country, in some cases a 'dream' job. Days after they'd been let go, employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's hadn't received the paperwork they needed...

A report from Guru Focus. "Toll Brothers Inc reported first-quarter deliveries of 1,991 homes at an average price of $925,000, generating home sales revenues of $1.84 billion. There was a significant rise in inventory, particularly in construction in progress, raising concerns about potential...

A report from NBC Washington DC. "A viral social media post that appears to show hundreds of homes hitting the market in the D.C. area after federal worker layoffs is bogus, real estate experts confirmed to News4. The post shows dozens of new houses on the market in the areas of Arlington County...

A report from Virginia Business. "'See the rats run,' a Facebook post put up Saturday reads. It’s illustrated with a map purportedly of Arlington County — a map covered with dozens of ovals indicating where houses are on the market. Many of the ovals are labeled 'coming soon' or 'new.' In the wake...

A report from Atlanta News First in Georgia. "Robert Anthony has worked at the Atlanta VA Medical Center since last spring. He took a vacation just last week for his birthday and came back to some startling news. 'I’m terminated,' Anthony said. The Department of Veterans Affairs announced sweeping...

A report from Fox 5 DC. "Housing markets in Washington, D.C. and other areas with high concentrations of government workers have already been impacted by the Trump administration's new policies, according to Redfin agents. Return-to-office mandates for federal workers have led to an increase in...

A report from the Associated Press. "Workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration 's aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Earlier this week, dozens of probationary employees at the Department of Education, Office of Personnel Management, and the Small Business Administration were fired. Keri Shull, founder of the real estate firm KS Team, says her firm is launching a...

A report from WBAL in Maryland. "Howard County officials are holding an open house Wednesday night for federal government employees in jeopardy of losing their jobs. 'People are afraid, and they don't really know what their next move is. They're concerned. How are they going to pay their mortgage?'...

A report from the Boston Herald in Massachusetts. "President Donald Trump’s plan to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will leave the $18 trillion consumer lending market without guardrails and could result in the same sort of financial catastrophe that saw the agency created, U.S....

A report from Bloomberg on California. "On a cul-de-sac in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades, what was once a four-bedroom wood-and-stucco house is now a pile of rubble. The property went on the market 10 days after flames ripped through the community last month, with an asking price of $999,000. More...

A report from Fox Business. "Sunny skies aren’t shining across America’s real estate market just yet, according to one of the nation’s top experts. 'No one wants to move and [there are] fewer houses to choose from at higher rates. So it's difficult for homebuyers,' Corcoran Group founder Barbara...

A report from the Mercury News in California. "Just a month after she bought her red-doored dream home, Ana Wold’s little gray Boulder Creek house burned to the ground in the 2020 Santa Cruz Mountains firestorm. Now she’s walking away from a half-built replacement, putting it up for sale after more...

A report from Mises.org. "The apartment investment industry—like many other asset classes—recently experienced a massive bubble. Peaking in the period from 2020 to mid-2022, this particular bubble was driven by multiple factors. As a proximate cause, risky bridge loans came to dominate apartment...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "The Treasure Coast housing market was controlled by sellers at the start of 2024, but that control waned as last year came to an end. 'When inventory increases, it means buyers gain more leverage in the market,' said Jonathan Lickstein, president of...

A report from WPTV in Florida. "'If you go into pretty much any neighborhood across the Treasure Coast, you're going to find multiple properties for sale,' said Kelley Decowski, a real estate agent. Decowski believes the buyer's market is due to a large number of listings available. 'If there are...

A report from Business Insider. "Some accidental landlords may not even bother trying to sell their original home. In April 2022, Ryan, who works in healthcare, bought a house in southeast Austin for $615,000. His timing couldn't have been worse. (Ryan asked that I use only his first name to...

A report from Bisnow. "Pressure continues to build on the owners of South Florida’s aging condos as financial pressures tighten in the wake of the reserve deadline. The market is now flooded with aging units. There were 19,000 active condo listings in South Florida at the end of last year, 86% of...

A report from the San Francisco Chronicle in California. "At this time last year, Brooke and Zach Davis fully expected that their family would celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas in their new, factory-built home on a quiet hillside in Soquel, an unincorporated area in Santa Cruz County. They had...

A weekend topic starting with the Associated Press. "The Petersen family’s two-bedroom apartment in northern California is starting to feel small. Four-year-old Jerrik's toy monster trucks are everywhere in the 1,100-square-foot unit in Campbell, just outside of San Jose. And it's only a matter of...