The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from Denverite in Colorado. "For the first time in a decade, rents went down in metro Denver. 'For rents to go down is unusual,' said Mark Williams, executive vice president of the Apartment Association of Metro Denver. He said other reasons for the drop include that building of new units...

A report from National Real Estate Investor. "Snowballing distress in commercial real estate loans are threatening to become an avalanche that could overwhelm banks. Getting a glimpse behind the curtain on how bank loans are performing isn’t easy. 'It’s amazing that we have gone from the great...

A report from the Georgia Straight in Canada. "A buyer is paying over $1,757 per square foot for a condo unit in Vancouver’s Olympic Village. That translates to $7.7 million for the 4,381-square-foot property. Based on the listing history recorded by fisherly.com, the three-bedroom, four-bath condo...

A report from the Review Journal in Nevada. "Las Vegas mortgage delinquencies rose sharply after the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy. Payments were at least 30 days late on 8.5 percent of Southern Nevada home loans in April, up more than double from 3.4 percent in March, CoreLogic...

A report from Variety on California. "The Los Angeles historic cultural monument known as the Samuel-Navarro house has a notable new owner to chalk into its colorful history. Nearly four years after screenwriter Dale Launer first put the idiosyncratic Art Deco-meets-Mayan Revival masterpiece up for...

Two reports from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "This two-bedroom, two-bathroom 811-square-foot unit is in a 21-year-old building in South Vancouver, overlooking the Fraser River. The seller was moving out of town and the property was originally listed for $550,000. The buyer made an offer just as...

Two reports from the Los Angeles Times in California. "Adam Lambert couldn’t quite turn a profit in the Hollywood Hills. The 'American Idol' alum sold his modern digs last week for $2.92 million, or $75,000 shy of what he paid for the place in 2014." "It was supposed to fetch a kingly sum but ended...

A report from the Los Angeles Times in California. "It’s not just renters who are benefiting from expanded unemployment payments. Nearly half of the tenants in the 16-unit apartment complex Kim Pierce owns in Echo Park are behind on their rent, Pierce said. She was able to defer her $10,000-a month...

A weekend topic starting with the Wall Street Journal. "Even the coronavirus hasn’t stopped the world’s biggest asset bubble from getting bigger. After a brief pause during coronavirus lockdowns in February, a Chinese property boom in some megacities that many thought was unsustainable has resumed...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "'If you’re thinking about selling your home, now is a great time to do it, work with a professional to make sure you get through it,' explains Rachel Sartain a Pinellas County Realtor. 'We’ve got stories of 200 viewings in two days, 10 offers coming...

A report from National Mortgage News. "While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create financial uncertainty for all Americans, it's not too early to ask how mortgage lenders can help put the nation's economy back on track. One way is to address one of the traditionally largest hurdles to...

A report from The M Report. "The share of mortgage loans that became delinquent in April outpaces anything seen during the Great Recession and is the highest rate on record in 21 years, according to CoreLogic’s data. During the month of April, 3.4% of mortgages went from current to 30 days past...

A report from Inman News. "Delinquency rates across the United States soared in April — a change caused by the coronavirus outbreak that, experts warn, could spell trouble for months to come. According to CoreLogic, 6.1 percent of mortgages were in some stage of delinquency in April. The rise, a...

A report from Better Dwelling in Canada. "Earlier this year, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) warned first-time buyers that leaving just a 5% downpayment could be problematic. Now it appears that’s exactly what’s happening, with a typical condo buyer at 5% losing as much as a...

A report from Yahoo Finance. "A potential housing crisis is on the way for millions of Americans whose mortgage and rent deferrals are about to sunset. 'There are millions of Americans now unemployed due to the pandemic with greatly reduced means to keep up on their mortgages,' Todd Teta, ATTOM’s...

A report from the Georgia Straight in Canada. "Buyers of expensive homes appear to be getting good bargains. A Vancouver property sold recently at almost $5 million below its first listing price, according to market tracking by fisherly.com. The single-family home at 5988 Newton Wynd in the...

A weekend topic starting with the Wall Street Journal. "Pension giant California Public Employees’ Retirement System is projecting malls will lose some of their value in the second quarter, according to an internal estimate. The investment chief of the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund is expecting...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Credit tightening is becoming more evident according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Joel Kan, MBA's Associate Vice President of Economic and Industry Forecasting explained. 'Mortgage credit supply dropped again in June, as investors further...

A report from the Australian Financial Review. "Apartment rents nationally recorded their biggest price drop in more than 15 years, with the rental markets in most capital cities suffering from the impact of COVID-19 over the June quarter. 'For the past two years Sydney unit rents have tumbled...

A report from WBAL TV in Maryland. "Brian Coleman, a senior home loan consultant with Main Street Home Loans, said average mortgage and refinance rates are under 3%. 'It's helping people with their purchasing power -- you can afford a little bit more house with a little bit less payment,' Coleman...