The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from WBTV. "A search of North Carolina court records reveals a long list of lawsuits filed in the last two years against many of the state’s biggest developers, contractors and subcontractors. The complaints allege construction defects that leave homeowners, HOAs and apartment owners on...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "In the last five years, Minnesota’s median home sale prices have risen by $93,000 — or $18,000 annually — a huge boon for existing property owners poised to take advantage of equity in their houses. Monthly mortgage payments for a median-priced home...

A report from KFSY in South Dakota. "As the Sioux Falls area continues to grow, finding a home can be a challenge. There is an opportunity, though, to get into the housing market due to an oversupply of a specific niche of housing. Realtor Daniel Brunz sees a trend that could help those who want to...

A report from Fortune. "Sales of existing homes last year hit the lowest level since 1995, according to the National Association of REALTORS. Yep, the annual pace of U.S. existing home sales hasn’t been this soft since Microsoft launched Windows 95. Would you want to swap a sub-5% mortgage for a...

A report from the Canadian Press. "Real estate broker Alexandra DuPont, who sells properties largely to Quebecers in southeast Florida, says she’s juggling twice her typical workload with 30-plus listings. 'I’ve never had this much in a decade. I picked up three new listings on Monday. That’s never...

A report from Villages-News in Florida. "A seller hopes a $30,000 price cut will get things moving at a home in The Villages. The home at 4168 Burgess Drive in the Village of Richmond is now listed at $1.12 million. It’s been on the market for more than 100 days. The home was originally purchased...

A report from CBC News on Florida. "Jasmin Gosselin has been escaping Quebec's freezing temperatures for over 20 years, seeking refuge in his Boynton Beach condo, nestled in the Sunshine State. But his comfort doesn't come at the expense of his convictions. Gosselin has recently decided to sell his...

A report from NPR. "The final figures for home sales last year are in, and the story is quite grim: 2024 was the slowest year for existing home sales in nearly three decades. At least there's some good news in terms of supply. Last year was a good one for the completion of more housing: An...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Since last summer, ABC Action News has covered what many say is a collapse in Florida's condo market. Tuesday, we heard from retiree George Prybys, 84, who told us the price of affording paradise is becoming nearly impossible for condo owners. 'It's...

A report from KTOO. "On the night of Jan. 7, Juneau resident Drew Dembowski had just returned to his home of nearly 30 years. The idyllic brick ranch house sat at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Altadena. Dembowski had just returned to California from Juneau the day. He was there to finish...

A report from Agence France-Presse. "As he looks at the ruins of his home razed when deadly fires tore through the Los Angeles area, Sebastian Harrison knows it will never be the same again, because he was not insured. 'I knew it was risky, but I had no choice,' he told AFP. Harrison is one of tens...

A report from the New York Post. "This California grandmother’s newly renovated house was completely demolished by the deadly LA wildfires — but she’s still on the hook for the $800,000 mortgage she took out to pay for the upgrade. Miriam Cotero, a 46-year-old Costco worker, had just finished the...

A report from Reuters on California. "Deisy Suarez-Giles lost the four-bedroom Altadena home she bought in 2021. She and her husband, Keith Giles, have secured a hotel room in downtown Los Angeles near their spa business at about $170 a night, a sort of employee discount because the hotel uses...

A report from CNN. "It’s a situation many California homeowners are finding themselves in as insurers have dumped millions of policies in the state since 2020. 'They stopped renewing what they thought was sh*tty risk,' Los Angeles insurance agent Carla Ramirez said of the big carriers. Jamie Lite,...

A report from Bloomberg. "The Los Angeles wildfires are exposing a gap between what people thought their homes were worth and what they’ll actually get from insurance companies when those houses have been reduced to ash. Potentially thousands of homeowners are learning it won’t be nearly enough....

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Thousands of people in Los Angeles County have lost their homes. Beverly Allen’s condominium, Dove Creek Condos, located across the street from Eaton Canyon, was one of the many properties destroyed in the blaze. As Allen and many others in the...

A report from the Wall Street Journal on California. "The Los Angeles wildfires destroyed thousands of structures across residential havens of the city. Kristen Addy and her husband, both 55 years old, intend to keep making the roughly $4,000-a-month payment for their mortgage, insurance and...

A report from WPBF in Florida. "Rebecca Giacobba, a realtor with LPT Realty, said the need for relief is in high demand as insurance and condo association fees skyrocket. 'Some of the condo fees that were in the two and three hundreds are now exceeding thousands of thousand dollars,' Giacobba said....

A report from KTLA in California. "If you’re among the thousands of Los Angeles County residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed in the Palisades or Eaton wildfires, there is a grim reality beyond the loss of property alone: your mortgage is still due. KTLA’s David Lazarus spoke with Los...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Real-estate investor Robert Rivani spent close to three years renovating an oceanfront mansion on Malibu’s star-studded Carbon Beach. Including the price of the original home, the project cost close to $27 million. He had been planning to list it for $40...