The Housing Bubble Blog

A report from Fox 13 Tampa Bay in Florida. "Hurricane victims are still waiting for insurance checks more than six months after the storms, and some like Wayne Thompson say state reforms are not helping as lawmakers hoped. He is disabled with nerve damage to his spine in his legs. Thompson has been...

A report from the Palm Beach Post in Florida. "Anticipating a refinancing offer that could save him $647 a month, Dave Mayers of Jupiter instead got a jolt of reality: The deal was nixed after lenders saw the level of insurance his condominium association was carrying. Inadequate insurance is the...

A report from the Wall Street Journal. "The crucial spring selling season is shaping up as a dud, crushing hopes that a housing market that has been anemic for more than two years can gain significant momentum this year. Even in markets where there is a glut of inventory and sellers are offering...

A report from WUSA. "The number of homes for sale in D.C. has reached record highs. The exodus of fired federal workers is leading to major shifts in the District's real estate landscape. Many federal workers have lost their careers, and now have to leave behind their homes. 'It's sad, I feel bad...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "While the two houses of the Florida Legislature passed a bill that buys some condo associations a little more time to meet new inspection and funding mandates, industry insiders say little has been done to avert what many predict will be a crisis in...

A report from CBS News in Florida. "Condo owners in the Heron community in West Kendall are facing a steep $3.4 million special assessment following a mandatory 40-year recertification, leaving many fearing financial ruin as they brace for a vote that could determine how or whether they will be...

A report from North Fort Myers Neighbors. "The real estate market for manufactured homes has been declining the last few years in Southwest Florida. In Lee County – from the end of January to end of February – there are 600 available manufactured homes on deeded land. There were 51 pending sales....

A report from the Washington Post on Arizona. "Outside Phoenix, Nate and Margie Sanchez aren’t going anywhere. The couple had been trying to sell their house and move onto a lot with more land. But when they listed their house for $720,000 in January, they felt the market shift, with buyers shying...

A report from Yahoo Finance. "Lynn Knittel-Bruk wasn't expecting a financial fever dream when she inherited a condo in Lake Worth, Fla., from her late aunt. Agents suggested the unit would fetch between $175,000 and $220,000. But when she listed it last summer, buyer interest was tepid, and she...

A weekend topic starting with My Suncoast in Florida. "A Naples developer had big plans in 2022 to bring more than 850 homes to a rural area of DeSoto County, betting the region’s unprecedented housing demand would continue stretching further east into Arcadia. With no connections to municipal...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "From Capitol Hill to the household of one federal worker who was laid off as part of job cuts, critics sounded off on the second Trump administration's 100th day in office. Keri, who asked not to share her last name, worked at the Department of...

A report from Gulf Coast News. "In just three years, Florida’s Gulf Coast has turned from a Category 5 situation, homes bought seemingly before hitting the market and builders can’t keep up. Today, the wind has stopped, homes are staying put with concerns of future powerful hurricanes, rising...

A report from Click Orlando in Florida. "Residents of Dockside At Ventura Condominiums in Central Florida are still waiting to return to their homes nearly three years after Hurricane Ian caused severe flooding and damage. Nicole Kolling-Carter, a resident, expressed her frustration over the...

A report from Click Orlando in Florida. "An 'HOA-hating' man has been sentenced to prison time after he set a Longwood condominium complex on fire back in 2023, according to the State Attorney’s Office. In a release, SAO officials said that the man — Marc Hermann, 56 — had doused his condo unit...

A report from My 13 News in Florida. "Recently, the Orlando Regional Realtors Association reported that the average property on the market sits for about 76 days. Single-family homes sit 30-45 days on the market, but condos are sitting two to three times longer than that. Marisa Raines is a...

A report from Yahoo Finance. "The Washington, D.C., metro area has long been one of the most cutthroat, expensive places to buy a home. Some signs of weakness are starting to emerge. Home showings are down, and sellers have become more amenable to price cuts. 'I think [sellers] should list as soon...

A weekend topic starting with an email I received this week. "I was often on your blog daily from about 2007 until about 2010. I remember people discussing the dangers of mortgage back securities, subprime loans and the coming reset of ARM's, etc. I remember at least one of them stating that they...

It's Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. "Mayra Villalona is sitting on what she thought was real estate gold. She bought a two-bed, two-bath condo near Fort Lauderdale in 2021 for $145,000, hoping to pounce on pandemic-era real estate prices. 'This is really a great community to live in,'...

A report from WUSF. "Some of Florida's condominium owners are struggling with unintended consequences of legislation intended to protect people from unsafe buildings. Lynda Bablin is the treasurer of her condominium's board in St. Petersburg. She said she's heard of building assessments that need...

A report from Bloomberg. "Many American cities have suffered after the disruption of a crucial hometown industry. The nation’s capital never has, until now. Workers caught up in the federal purge meanwhile are calculating how far their savings can stretch. Jenny Carlson Donnelly, an entomologist...