The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from PB Monthly in California. "The median home price in San Diego County blew past the previous record to hit an all-time high of $634,000 in July. Rich Toscano, a partner at San Diego financial firm Pacific Capital Associates, said it’s hard to imagine a better scenario for rising home...

A report from The Real Deal on Florida. "The supply of unsold condos is growing in downtown Miami, as the pandemic continues to pummel South Florida’s economy. Greater Downtown Miami has more than 30 months — or two-and-a-half years — of supply of condos, and 100 months — or more than eight years —...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Mortgage delinquencies showed their sharpest rise in the history of the Mortgage Bankers Association’s delinquency survey. 'There is no way to sugarcoat a 32.9 percent drop in GDP during the second quarter,' said Marina Walsh, vice president of...

A report from the South China Morning Post. "Some heavily indebted mainland Chinese owners have been forced to sell their luxury apartments in Hong Kong at huge losses or discounts, as the economic slump at home takes a toll. At least 10 transactions – nine residential properties and one parking...

A report from Arlington Now in Virginia. "The numbers don’t lie, folks. In our Just Reduced world, where just months ago, there were a dozen (at the most) homes with reduced prices each week in Arlington County, we’re now seeing approximately three times that amount on a regular basis. Of course,...

A report from Business Insider. "Overall mortgage delinquencies rose a seasonally adjusted 8.22% in the second quarter, according to the MBA. That marked a nine-year high, and a nearly 4% increase from the previous quarter, the largest quarterly jump in the survey's history. 'The COVID-19...

A report from Reuters. "U.S. home builder confidence rose for a third straight month in August to match its highest level ever as record-low interest rates spur buyer traffic, data showed. But even as home builder confidence surges, more homeowners affected by the crisis have stopped paying their...

A report from the Pioneer Press in Minnesota. "Taylor Swartwood bought a small apartment building off Rice Street a few years ago for $157,000. He’ll pay $4,500 in total property taxes (city, county, school district and special taxing districts) and special assessments in 2020, up from about $3,000...

A weekend topic starting with Housing Wire. "This week, FHFA Director Mark Calabria and the GSEs have rolled out an across-the-board 50 bp delivery fee on all refinances. Since the onset of COVID-19, and despite heroic efforts by the Fed and Congress with the most extraordinary intervention, the...

A report from Zillow. "Metro-level discrepancies exist as well, especially in San Francisco and New York, showing that not all urban cores are keeping pace with hot suburban markets. In Manhattan, home values have dropped 4.2% since last year and homes are staying on the market two months longer...

A report from the Denverite in Colorado. "The median rent for an apartment dropped 1.4 percent to $1,454 between the first quarter of this year and the second, according to the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business. The decrease was sharpest for newer apartments, which tend to be more...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "When Carolyn Guss and her husband listed their California home, which sold for under asking, their real-estate agent said people were eager to buy homes with yards outside of San Francisco proper. Would-be buyers expressed interest, but there was a...

A report from Realtor.com. "It seems like it was only yesterday when America's downtown business districts thrummed with life. Since onset of the coronavirus pandemic, though, the pulse of those once-thriving districts has subsided to a faint quiver. That doesn't bode well for the long-term future...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said they would impose a new fee to insulate themselves from losses on refinanced mortgages they guarantee, a sign of potential turbulence in the housing market. 'For the GSEs to add a 50 basis-point surcharge on refinances when the...

A report from Mortgage News Daily. "CoreLogic said the number of loans in each stage of delinquency, with the exception of those in foreclosure, grew in May, the second straight month that early-stage (loans 30 to 59 days past due) and adverse (loans 60 to 89 days past due) delinquencies were up on...

A report from the Los Angeles Times in California. "In downtown Los Angeles, rent for a 566-square-foot one-bedroom at the Eighth and Grand luxury apartments would have set you back at least $2,286 at the end of January, according to Zillow. As of Thursday, the same size unit at the building with a...

A report from Curbed New York. "During what would have normally been the busiest season for rentals, new listings are flooding the market to far less demand. July saw 30 percent more rental listings across the city but 35 percent fewer leases signed compared to the same time last year, according...

A report from TRNTO in Canada. "According to Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, the number of condo rental units on the market in the second quarter was up 42 per cent compared to the same period last year. Prices in rental condos have gone down by around five per cent in the second quarter...

A report from My Northwest in Washington. "Matthew Gardner, chief economist for Windermere Real Estate, says just shy of 8% of all homes with mortgages in the United States are in forbearance today. 'That number has been dropping back over the last several weeks as those people go back to work and...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Forbearance allows homeowners to suspend their monthly payments when they experience a virus-related hardship without the usual consequences of delinquency or even foreclosure. The flood of requests have mortgage servicers working overtime and homeowners...