The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from News.com.au on Australia. "Now we have proof the house price crash has well and truly arrived. When 13 Woodi Close in Glenmore Park sold in April 2017, the three-bedroom house fetched $670,000. But when the owners were forced to sell the three-bedroom western Sydney home this June due...

A weekend topic starting with The Stranger in Washington. "If one is stuck with the tools of standard economics, he/she will not be able to make sense of the fact that during the course of Seattle's construction boom, developers have mostly produced luxury apartments and almost entirely neglected...

A report from the Star Tribune in Minnesota. "The Twin Cities housing market, after one of the most frenetic summers on record, is beginning to cool. Home sales are down from a year ago, more sellers are cutting their asking price and mortgage rates are climbing." "Aaron Terrazas, a senior...

A report from My Folsom on California. "Being a Realtor means I have to keep my finger on the pulse of the housing market. For the 16 years I’ve been in the business, I’ve been looking for signs. Yes, there are changes afoot, but this is not the time to panic. In fact, panic is what could actually...

A report from NBC DFW 5 in Texas. "This December marks ten years since the housing market crash. And now, mortgage fraud is ticking up nationally making some in the housing industry worry we could be heading in the wrong direction. 'Somebody took me all the way to the night before closing and...

A report from the Idaho Statesman. "After months of consistently climbing real estate prices, Ada County home buyers are finally getting some slight relief. The median price for all homes sold in Ada County in September fell 4.7 percent, according to the Intermountain Multiple Listing Service. The...

A report from the Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado. "The trend of slower sales in many of Colorado's previously red-hot housing markets reached Pueblo in September. Pueblo area home sales were down 21 percent last month from a year earlier, according to Colorado Association of Realtors data. Until last...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Home sales in the Charlotte metro area plunged in September, compared to a year ago. Buyers could soon see relief as the Charlotte area housing market moves to a more equal footing for buyers as well as sellers, Jason Gentry, president of the...

A report from The Real Deal on New York. "Penthouse listings — despite their catchet — aren’t immune to the new development glut. The new batch is adding to those that have been lingering — and are now asking lower prices. At 56 Leonard Street, for example, one property is listed for $49.5 million,...

A report from the Seattle Times in Washington. "If you read my colleague Mike Rosenberg, you already know that segments of the Seattle real-estate market are slowing. We have an apartment glut thanks to heavy investment in multifamily housing coming out of the Great Recession. Sales and inventory...

A report from the Orange County Register in California. "Unaffordable home prices coupled with rising mortgage rates are expected to create 'a weaker housing market in 2019,' according to a statewide real estate industry group. A forecast by the California Association of Realtors estimates house...

A report from the Nashville Ledger in Tennessee. "'I don’t want to appear desperate' is how sellers often respond when their listing agent tells them their house is not selling because the price is too high. Here’s what buyers really think: 'The price is too high, and I’m not looking at overpriced...

A report from Cory Doctorow on New York. "New York real estate is valuable because of the people who want to live there because of the vibrancy of the city -- but as the city is choked off from real activity, the value of the real-estate begins to fall. And once the fall starts, it accelerates: as...

A report from the Epoch Times. "China, for several years, has experienced higher real-estate sales in early October, earning the period the nickname 'Golden Week.' This year, however, the market has fared poorly, with developers doling out properties for steep discounts—to the dismay of many recent...

A report from Bloomberg on Washington. "The housing market in Seattle can't seem to make up its mind. For years, the story behind the real-estate market here was this: Californians looking for cheaper property would migrate north and push up prices indefinitely. But about a year ago, Seattle...

A report from The Plains Dealer in Ohio. "JPMorgan Chase has continued to cut jobs nationwide in mortgage lending, eliminating 400 jobs last week, including at least 20 in downtown Cleveland. The nationwide cuts, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, were confirmed today by Chase spokeswoman...

A report from Bloomberg on Hong Kong. "Banks in Hong Kong are aggressively cutting property valuations as the city’s housing market weakens, threatening to fuel a downward spiral in prices, according to brokerage CLSA Ltd. 'The banks’ assessment is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, as lower...

A report from CNBC. "Millennials are in their prime homebuying years, and they're used to cheap credit. So they might be in for a rude awakening as mortgage rates jump.The average rate on the 30-year fixed loan sat just below 4 percent a year ago, after dropping below 3.5 percent in 2016. It just...

A report KTVZ in Oregon. "Home sales are seasonal, so it's not too surprising that Bend's record-high June median home sales price of $449,000 dropped in September for the third straight month, to $425,000. But a Redmond appraisal firm noted that's still $7,000 higher than the median price seen a...

A report from the Philadelphia Inquirer in Pennsylvania. "Prices paid for vacant land in Philadelphia have plummeted to their lowest levels in three years after peaking in 2017, an indication that the city's development boom led by townhouse, condo and apartment projects is losing steam." "Buyers...