The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from Kenneth R. Harney. "For years since the end of the financial crisis, prices in most markets have increased steadily — by single digits annually in most places, double digits in cities like Seattle, San Francisco, Denver and others that have vibrant employment growth plus persistent...

A report from the Idaho Statesman. "Home buyers saw some relief in September. Existing-home prices fell 3.3 percent to $290,000 from $299,950. 'We’ve been talking about the drop in existing inventory literally for years now, but what’s interesting about today’s market is that we’re seeing more and...

Some housing bubble reports from Washington and the Wall Street Journal. "Split power in Congress means lawmakers are unlikely to overhaul how the government backstops more than half the U.S. mortgage market. That provides an opportunity for the Trump administration to take steps on its own—and the...

A report from the Park Record in Utah. "Home sales and prices in Summit County have paralleled each other in their steady growth in recent years, but now both statistics are starting to slow and level out. Todd Anderson, president of the Board of Realtors, said nationwide it seems home price tags...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "Interest rates are up, and home prices are down a bit in metro Phoenix. The median home price in the Phoenix area is down about 2.8 percent from the record high in July. 'The housing market is going back to a more normal balance now,' said Tina Tamboer, senior...

A report from the Vancouver Sun in Canada. "Expect to see developers offering incentives — like a Langley company's promise to pay your first year's mortgage — as the Lower Mainland's housing market softens. Realtor and analyst Steve Saretsky said cities farther from Vancouver seem to be 'cooling a...

A weekend topic starting with Multi-Housing News. "Thanks to the lengthy economic expansion, record-low interest rates and solid fundamentals, multifamily has gained wider acceptance on the debt side, and a host of newcomers have flooded the space. Despite a lack of track records in some cases,...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Over the last five months, we’ve seen more inventory than we have in years previously. Mona Spencer, branch manager for John L. Scott’s Redmond office, said buyers may be able to do some negotiating on price and also secure more protections under...

A report from the Dallas Morning News in Texas. "After more than doubling local home starts in the last decade, don't expect Dallas-Fort Worth builders to increase construction by much in 2019. D-FW home starts are forecast to rise to 36,000 houses next year. 'We believe that the housing market is...

A report from Canadian Live News. "Vancouver condo prices continue to be the highest in Canada despite decreases over the last year, according to a nationwide study by realtor Century 21. That’s not surprising, but the price-per-square-foot calculations Century 21 cited in its press release sit...

A report from the Denver Post in Colorado. "After hitting severe turbulence and taking a dive in September, metro Denver’s housing market stabilized at a lower altitude in October, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors. Agents report more sellers are dropping their asking price,...

A report from GeekWire. "Mountain View, Calif. passed a tax similar in structure to Seattle’s head tax Tuesday. It will charge businesses up to $149 per employee, raising millions of dollars to help the city tackle issues like housing costs and traffic. Larger companies will have to pay more per...

A report from Cuffelinks on Australia. "The extent of the price correction was described by Greg Paramor, former Managing Director of the listed property group, Folkestone (recently acquired by Charter Hall). He is a past President of the Property Council of Australia. In a private talk to clients...

A report from the Sacramento Bee in California. "The Sacramento real estate market has officially softened. Buyers are choosy, seemingly picking well-kept and well-priced homes in desirable neighborhoods, and taking a pass on homes that come in over-priced or in need of fixing. Home sales have...

A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. "The number of homes sitting unsold in King County has doubled in the past year as buyers continue to retreat from the once-hot market — pushing prices in the city of Seattle down even further. Inventory countywide jumped 86 percent among single-family...

A report from the South Florida Business Journal in Florida. "The majority of new condos in Miami and the beaches that sold so far this year traded at a loss to their original developer sales, according to a study by CondoBlackbook, part of HB Roswell Realty. After identifying 102 units that sold...

A report from Geek Wire. "When Seattle-based online real estate giants Zillow Group and Redfin jumped into directly buying and selling homes to the consumer, the real estate market was blazing hot. Now things are starting to slow down — a trend foreshadowed by Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman — at a time...

Two reports from Curbed Hamptons in New York. "Just last month, we featured the the extremely private oceanfront home on nearly 36 acres of reserve at 42 Old Montauk Highway in Montauk. At the time, the home was listed for $48 million, but after a recent price cut, the property is now asking $39.5...

A report from the Santa Cruz Sentinel in California. "In September, the median price for a single-family home in Santa Cruz County was $920,000, the same as in August and just a tad off the record $935,100 in March, according to Gary Gangnes of Real Options Realty, who tracks the numbers. But in...

Two reports from Global News on Canada. "When Scott Hartley put his Calgary home up for sale back in June, he thought it may take a few weeks to sell. He was wrong. Months later, it’s still on the market, despite three price drops. 'We started at $700,000,' Hartley said. 'Within six weeks we were...