The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from Bloomberg on Canada. "Toronto home prices dropped in April as the coronavirus pandemic froze real-estate activity across the country. Sales in and around Canada’s largest city fell 66 per cent to 2,347 from March on seasonally adjusted basis after open houses were canceled, according...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Some sellers say they are hanging tough because they believe their homes aren’t moving because buyers haven’t viewed them in person or are reluctant to make offers right now, not because the asking price is too high. They are waiting for stay-at-home orders...

From ABC News in Australia. "When Michael Neal found a house he wanted to buy in the Blue Mountains mid last year, he jumped on it. He purchased the home before selling the one he already owned. At that point the property market was on a run and his plan was to fix up his original place and sell it...

A report from the Washington Post. "For 13 years, Danny Catalanotto paid the more than $2,000 mortgage on his Bowie, Md., home on time every month. When work as a church organist dried up in mid-March, Catalanotto says, he expected his mortgage company to offer help. Instead, a large Texas-based...

A report from the Columbia Missourian. "Local short-term rentals such as those offered on Airbnb have seen few or even no renters throughout Missouri and Boone County's stay-at-home order. The loss of income affects owners' ability to pay bills. Alyce Turner offers a two-bedroom, one-bathroom...

A report from Business Den in Colorado. "When it comes to future development — things that have yet to break ground — it’s feeling like the end of a cycle.'Projects that are getting built will obviously get finished, but when I can go out and buy a distressed asset at half the price I can build it...

A report from King 5 in Washington. "If you lost your job, you might be asking yourself what good a deferral does if you owe a large lump sum at the end of it. When Kathy Martin lost her job, she wanted to have a plan in place in case she couldn't make her house payments. When Martin got the...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Data from Redfin shows that jumbo loans have taken a big hit during the pandemic as mortgage servicers tighten their lending criteria – some lenders have even stopped issuing them altogether. Jumbo loans fell 37 percent in March. 'COVID-19 has...

A report from the Washington Post. "Prospective home buyers and homeowners who want to refinance should anticipate more stringent documentation requirements, tighter credit standards and more limited choices for loans due to the quick financial downturn from the economic shutdown. Lenders now also...

A report from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "Sales in the Greater Toronto Area plunged 69 per cent in the first 17 days of April compared with the same period last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. Andre Kutyan, a real estate agent with Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd., says...

A report from the Chicago Tribune in Illinois. "'We definitely had a slowdown,' said Megan McCleary, a real estate broker with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices in Hinsdale. 'Normally, I would have five buyers at this time,' said Debi Myslicki, a real estate broker who owns Myslicki Real Estate in La...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "Mark Calabria, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, is resisting pleas for help from lenders seeking relief as millions of Americans stop payments on their home loans, sending tremors through the $11 trillion mortgage market. He has said he is...

A report from Canadian Mortgage Trends. "Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area were down 69% year-over-year in the first 17 days of April, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported in a mid-month update. 'For now, we have pencilled in a 5% drop in nationwide house prices in the next few...

A report from the Associated Press on Utah. "Evidence from Utah home listings suggests some homeowners are pulling back. A few are panic selling — while would-be buyers begin to feel tightening credit, with more hurdles to jump to get a loan as lenders worry about job losses. Some sellers have...

A weekend topic starting with the Globe and Mail. "So who is paying for this massive wave of purchases by the Fed, the Bank of Canada and others? For now, nobody. Central banks are simply crediting themselves with the funds they need. In a fiat money system, they can do so with a few key strokes....

A report from Postmedia in Canada. "Calbridge Homes knows that people are still looking to buy right now. With the current climate of uncertainty, the builder has introduced two programs to help support people during this time. The Price Drop Guarantee means that if, after your deal goes firm,...

A report from 5280 in Colorado. "Well, Denver: It’s been quite a journey. Over the past decade, we’ve experienced what just might be the metro area’s most volatile period of growth ever and a record-setting real estate market. The ride hasn’t been smooth, but this past winter it felt like we were...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "'I've definitely seen deals in escrow when this hit, where the buyer came to the seller and said 'I'm still willing to move forward, but with this news and health crisis and all of this uncertainty I'm only willing to do it at this [particular]...

A report from Global News in Canada. "Data on Canada’s housing market have yet to reveal the full impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But market watchers say one group of homeowners looks especially vulnerable: over-leveraged residential landlords. 'You have investors who were sitting on a...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "A government effort to give Americans a break on their mortgage payments during the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t provided the relief many homeowners were hoping for. The stimulus package that Congress passed in March allows homeowners with federally-backed...