The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from the Bay Area Newsgroup in California. "Runaway Bay Area housing prices have started stalling in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, hinting that even well-salaried professionals have had enough. Resale home prices dropped year-over-year in February in Santa Clara County by 16 percent...

A report from the Minnesota Post. "In 2018, Minnesota farmers earned, on average, their lowest net farm incomes in decades, according to a report by Minnesota State and the University of Minnesota Extension. Net farm earnings have declined in three of the last four years. Median net farm incomes...

A report from Florida Weekly. "Home buyers had many more options to choose from in February as housing market inventory increased 7 percent to 7,442 homes in February 2019 compared to 6,912 in February 2018. The Naples Area Board of REALTORS report, which tracks home listings and sales within...

A report from the Union Tribune in California. " February sales were down 8.1 percent compared to the previous year, but that was not as severe as the last few months when sales dropped 10 percent to 22 percent. All types of housing in San Diego County had declining sales in February. After months...

A report from the Orange County Register in California. "Last month saw Southern California home sales fall 11.7 percent from February 2018 levels, with just 13,466 houses, condos and townhomes changing hands, CoreLogic reported. That’s the smallest sales tally for a February in 11 years. Over the...

A report from the Los Angeles Daily News in California. "Home sales in the San Fernando Valley hit a record low last month, even as sellers continued to flood the housing market, according to the Southland Regional Association of Realtors. The association reported that escrow closed on just 266...

A report from Bloomberg on Canada. "Household debt in Canada has reached levels that could be qualified as excessive. Canadians owe C$2.16 trillion—which, as a share of gross domestic product, is the highest debt load in the Group of Seven economies. With the housing market cooling, a reckoning may...

A report from the Watertown Daily Times in New York. "With a second defendant recently pleading guilty to conspiracy, it was learned that the Autumn Ridge apartment complex on Route 202 is among dozens of rental properties in New York and several other states that allegedly received $500 million in...

A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. "Since the local market peaked last spring, single-family home prices have fallen twice as fast in the Seattle metro area as in any other region in the country, according to the monthly Case-Shiller home-price index.The total drop for the full metro...

A report from the Canadian Press. "An online auction for a luxury home is drawing attention for its novel approach, which some observers say has potential to inspire new sales. Scott Pate, a project sales manager with Concierge, said luxury real estate has been a buyers’ market for quite some time...

A report from the Dallas Morning News in Texas. "A familiar sign popping up in front of Dallas-Fort Worth homes reads 'Price Reduced.' Almost 17 percent of homes listed for sale with real estate agents in North Texas have had their asking prices slashed at least once, Zillow found. With the number...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "The federal agency that insures mortgages for first-time home buyers is tightening its standards, concerned it is allowing too many risky loans to be extended. The Federal Housing Administration told lenders this month it would begin flagging more loans as...

A report from the Real Deal. "Big real estate lenders often find themselves allaying investor concerns about a faltering market. But perhaps no one’s ever done it quite like Johnny Allison. 'The reality was [as] if Peter Pan can no longer fly, Minnie Mouse left Mickey for Goofy, … with Frankenstein...

A report from the Globe and Mail in Canada. "Not so long ago, real estate industry and government officials were doing their best to shut down concerns that skyrocketing housing prices in Vancouver and Toronto were related to non-resident buying. As it turns out, they were very wrong." "'Basically,...

A report from Fox San Antonio in Texas. "Clayton Pickens has been buying and selling homes in San Antonio for years. He said dream homes in San Antonio used to be a lot cheaper. Not so much anymore. 'Now those dream houses that people think are on the higher end, they're up towards the five...

A weekend topic starting with the Bipartisan Press. "A few months ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled 'The U.S. Housing Market Boom is Coming to an End, Starting in Dallas.' And yes, we have all heard about the rising interest rates and housing prices are to blame. There is...

A report from the Press Herald in Maine. "Portland’s condominium market reached a fever pitch in 2018, with new and existing units selling faster than ever before – and at higher prices. Portland developers are practically falling over themselves to pump out as many new units as they can, as...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Luxury homes for sale and hundreds of them. All in the great Naples area, available today. Lori Fowler, a realtor at Coldwell Banker Global Luxury, said people had learned their lesson. Buyers are not overpaying for homes and they are taking out...

A report from ABC News on Australia. "We are witnessing more naked developers as half-finished projects dot the landscape of our major cities. As the year progresses, many more operators who've pushed the boundaries will join them. 'Areas of oversupply will see a bit more chaos in the next six to...

A report from The Stranger. "On March 8, Seattle Times's astute real estate reporter Mike Rosenberg wrote that the waterfront area has become the next 'gold rush.' Big-money investors are moving in and expecting a terrific boom in property values. This development would be a dub (echoes) of what's...