The Housing Bubble Blog

A weekend topic starting with KSL in Utah. "Orn Bodvarsson, an economics professor at Westminster College, said the country is on a decade-long expansion trajectory that shows almost no sign of faltering anytime soon. He said there are a variety of macroeconomic indicators that show the strength of...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Ceruzzi Properties snagged a $350 million condo inventory loan for its luxury condominium tower in Midtown East. The tower is more than 800 feet tall and has 124 condo units. Ceruzzi launched sales in the building in April 2019. New York’s luxury...

A report from CTV News in Canada. "Still out of reach for most Canadians, high-end houses and apartments in both Western Canadian cities saw drops in their median prices over a recent 12-month period, according to Royal LePage. 'The last couple years have been trending in a pretty dramatic...

A report from the Real Estate Journal. "When the housing bubble burst in 2007/2008, it created an environment in which residents were more inclined to rent rather than own, leading to the multifamily sector’s boon during this cycle. But many worry that we are nearing the end of this expansion....

A report from the Columbia Business Report in South Carolina. "Residential real estate in South Carolina enjoyed a positive 2019, and realtors expect the growth to continue through the early part of 2020. 'Overall, people are making more money (and) houses are selling faster, in a shorter amount of...

A report from Chicago Magazine in Illinois. "Chicago’s luxury condo market has cooled off significantly since 2018, but don’t expect a Manhattan-style meltdown. In a plunge described by commentators as a 'bubble' and 'bloodbath,' the median price of high-end condos and co-ops built in New York’s...

A weekend topic starting with an editorial by Paul Krugman. "I’m in Spain right now, talking about zombie ideas — ideas that should have been killed by evidence, but just keep lurching along. And as it happens, the experience of Europe, and Spain in particular, provides some of the bullets we...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "U.S. home sales sputtered in January, the latest sign that some of the lowest interest rates in half a century are failing to offset the high prices and limited inventory keeping many buyers on the sidelines. Felicia Elkins was struggling to find a home in...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to retain 'limited and tailored government support' after they are freed from U.S. control, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a letter to lawmakers. Mnuchin’s response could help quell concerns that...

A report from Reuters. "Zillow Group reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue on Wednesday. The company has also benefited from its move to buy and sell homes under Zillow Offers. Net loss, however, widened to $101.2 million from $97.7 million a year earlier." From Patch California. "Los...

A report from the Dallas Morning News in Texas. "Just over 15% of people who were surveyed by LawnStarter.com said they were sorry they bought their home. Looking around the country, the greatest percentage of buyer regrets were in Wyoming, where almost half the people who purchased a property said...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "China’s home-price growth slowed to an 18-month low in January, but it looks set to fall a lot further as Beijing’s long-running attempts to rein in the property market meet with effects from the coronavirus outbreak. It didn’t begin to affect consumer...

A report from the Wall Street Journal on New York. "More New York City hotel owners are defaulting on their mortgages, succumbing to a crush of new supply and rising expenses. Colony Credit Real Estate Inc. recently hired a brokerage firm to sell the mortgage on the 1,331-room Row Hotel near Times...

A report from Yahoo Finance on New York. "After years of inventory stockpiles and dropping prices, Manhattan’s luxury real estate market is selling at record-low prices. The threshold for a sale to be considered 'luxury' dropped 6.1% to $3,816,835 in the fourth quarter 2019 — the lowest threshold...

A report from the Times of London in the UK. "Almost 1,000 days after the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people, the fallout from 20 years of failed building regulations that allowed the disaster to happen is affecting every flat in the UK. It is hitting buildings of all heights, with any type of...

A report from Crain's Chicago Business in Illinois. "If you are in the hunt for distressed apartments on Chicago's South Side, you have a lot of choices. You'll have even more in the coming months. Dozens of buildings in neighborhoods like South Shore and Washington Park are hitting the market, the...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Has a herd mentality taken hold of buyers in the Toronto-area real estate market of early 2020? Jeffrey Wagman of Forest Hill Real Estate Inc. fears it has. Mr. Wagman points to one sale in Roncesvalles Village that produced an eye-popping...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "BlackRock Inc. made a well-timed bet on distressed loans during the financial crisis. Now the firm has moved its windfall to its charitable arm. The giant asset manager said it has donated all of its nearly $600 million worth of shares in the mortgage company...

A report from KPBS in California. "Norm Miller, a real estate finance expert at University of San Diego, said if you look at price per square foot, prices have only risen about 1% over the past year. In fact, Miller said home prices among the bigger, more expensive homes have actually dropped. He...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "UBS Group AG is stepping up efforts to stem the bleeding at its $20 billion flagship real-estate fund amid concerns over its retail holdings. As late as June 2015, Trumbull had a $1.2 billion backlog of funds looking to invest, and no backlog of investors...