The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from The Times. "Northwest Indiana's housing market peaked with 12,000 home sales in the seven-county area in 2021 but remains hot. Demand is strong but is waning, said Northwest Indiana Realtor Association CEO Pete Novak. It's been waning nationally since the beginning of 2022 and in...

A weekend topic starting with the Capital Gazette in Maryland. "The Annapolis City Council is once again plunging into the morass of short-term rental legislation … and is once again stubbornly refusing to recognize the difference between owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied short-term rentals....

A report from KRON in California. "Four real estate professionals in the Bay Area were charged in a years-long mortgage fraud scheme. Tjoman Buditaslim (also identified as Joe Lim), Travis Holasek, Jose Alfonso Tellez, and Jose De Jesus Martinez were all indicted for conspiracy to commit wire...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "When Lindsay Mader put her house up for sale earlier this year, she braced herself. For the past two years, an influx of remote workers to Austin meant for-sale homes were in high demand. The result was a frenzy. Then, everything changed. 'The weeks...

A report from the Phoenix Business Journal in Arizona. "Homebuyers who missed out on the buyer's market last year might soon be getting another opportunity for value. 'Buyers are going to get another chance at a buyer's market,' said Tina Tamboer, senior housing analyst for The Cromford Report....

A report from 425 Business in Washington. "Stubbornly high mortgage interest rates, low home inventory, and fewer homes listed for sale contributed to a decline in closed and pending sales of single-family homes and condominiums last month in King and Snohomish counties than a year ago, according...

A report from Market Watch. "It’s an unwelcome blast from the past — home buyers are facing the most unaffordable housing market since the 1980s, according to a new report. 'Affordability pressure is not coming from interest rates alone, though,' said Andy Walden, vice president of enterprise...

A report from Realtor.com. "Following a trade to the Lone Star State before the 2023 NFL season, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Trey Lance is ready to move on from his Morgan Hill, CA, mansion. The signal caller bought the place in the suburbs south of San Jose for $2.95 million in March 22, and he...

A report from the Miami Herald. "Florida lawmakers made a choice after the 2021 Surfside building collapse: to protect human life instead of continuing to allow condominiums to defer important maintenance that could put more people at risk. The unintended result is that some condo dwellers might be...

A weekend topic starting with Ag Web. "As mortgage rates climb to 20-year highs, near 8%, current high-interest rates are eating away at the housing market. This year is currently on pace to see the fewest home sales since 2008. However, farmland sales aren't witnessing the same sticker shock. In...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "This June, Golden Gate Estates-based contractor Metro Home Builders filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Out of the 64 paused home construction projects from Washington State to Marco Island, 29 are Naples-based. 'It’s going to take all the cash that my...

A report from KPBS. "Southern California home sales, including those in San Diego County, hit one of the lowest levels ever last month, according to CoreLogic. San Diego real estate agent Voltaire Lepe said he and other agents have been feeling the pinch, especially over the last few months. 'I've...

A report from the Marina Times in California. "In San Francisco 251 homes were sold in September, down 23 percent from the previous year. Homeowners are reluctant to sell their homes now because of the cost of securing a replacement home. And those who do choose to sell their homes often have...

A report from the Sun Sentinel. "The one-two punch of the post-Surfside law designed to require condominium associations to set aside sufficient reserves for structural repairs combined with Florida’s unending increases in insurance costs is threatening to produce a wave of foreclosures. 'People...

A report from the Arizona Republic. "Metro Phoenix's housing market has likely peaked for the year. Investors and flippers who dominated the market a few years ago have pulled back in the Valley. Veteran housing analyst Tom Ruff described Valley home sales as 'dismal.' Metro Phoenix's median home...

A report from the Times Standard in California. "Garberville and Whitethorn in Southern Humboldt County saw some of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation during this year’s third financial quarter, according to ATTOM. For ZIP codes with over 1,000 housing units, Garberville ranked as the...

A weekend topic starting with US News and World Report. "What takes place in investors' minds when they buy assets, hold on to stocks, trim their positions and make other decisions with their capital? Behavioral finance explores some of the common patterns and biases that shape investors' actions...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Economists now project 2023 will mark the slowest year for home sales since 2008, when the housing bubble burst. This is the seventh week in a row that rates have risen, marking the longest stretch of consecutive increases since spring 2022, Freddie...

A report from US News and World Report."It was a case of good news, bad news as new home sales increased by 12.3% in September while prices dropped sharply from a year ago, the Census Bureau said on Wednesday. Builders have been offering incentives such as mortgage buy-downs and additional upgrades...

A report from KTVB in Idaho. "Some homebuyers in our area are losing their homes, thanks to an unpredictable market and some bad advice. That advice, 'Date the rate and marry the house.' William and Ashley Kaiser are local realtors who are raising a red flag for homebuyers. 'It's a common saying...