Here is a roundup of some of the latest Housing Bubble news from the blogosphere:
Econbrowser provides an overview on how the economy is performing backed up with several graphs. But Econbrowser says housing remains a mystery:
Housing. (???) This may prove to be the sector that tips things one
way or another. This week we received news that (a) sales of existing
homes fell 2.7% with inventories increasing 3.5% (which I take to be
very bearish developments), and (b) sales of new homes were 10% higher
in October compared to the previous year, setting a new record (which
I take to be a very bullish development). So, what exactly do the two
pieces of information put together signify? Beats me.
Peter Coy at Businessweek's Hot Property also blogs about a new report that shows housing sales still climbing.
Metroblogging DC covers the bubble and hopes it will "normalize" soon.
I certainly don't want the market to take a total dive, but I do want it
to normalize. Speculation makes me nervous; I can't help thinking of the
1920's crash or, closer to heart, the 1990's internet bust. And I have
many friends who want to buy right now and just can't justify or afford
it. So let's hope we can find a more secure and reasonable footing in
the DC housing market.
Mathematician vs. Philosopher has a great post which offers an in-depth analysis of the housing bubble. The post provides analysis of the local Los Angeles housing market and the nation as a whole.
The OC Register's Morning Eye blog examines the Orange County housing bubble that won't pop. The post also includes links to some other housing bubble blogs.
Will rising heating costs help burst the bubble or will they just make people buy more wood stoves and space heaters?
Mister Finance asks if housing is becoming out of reach for most California residents: "In California it just may be. California’s medium income is $54,140. But since the medium price of a decent home is $545,910, this is way too low. The real income needed to qualify for a home loan is $127,950."
Posts here, here and here on the active Housing Bubble 2 blog point to signs of bubble burstiness.
Kevin's Ramblings offers examples of why the bubble popping reports are dumb.
BlogginWallStreet finds hype from the MSM on both sides of the housing bubble issue.
Conservabes says everything is wonderful: "Anyone want to say that Bush's tax cuts did NOT have an effect on the economy now? Did not lead us out of his inherited recession and into the prosperity we enjoy now?"
Royal Realtor News discusses the meaning of the word bubble.
Housing Panic looks back at a bubble article from 2004.
Housing Panic also blogs about a possible bubble bursting in Denver.
Southern California Real Estate Bubble Crash extrapolates some NAR data and finds that "This means, if the NAR were right, we would be spending 88% of our GROSS INCOME BEFORE TAXES on housing by the year 2034 in San Diego. Glad to see we're keeping it real.
This is what stops the trees from growing to the sky. If people can
barely cover the 50% of monthly GROSS, what makes people think they
can do it at 88%?"
Bubble? What Bubble? blogs that there have been bigger bubbles.
MSM Coverage: For $1.2 million this tiny 700-square-foot home in Las Vegas could be yours. Yahoo lists the 13 riskiest housing markets.
The bubble bursts it could cost 1 million jobs.
Comic Relief: This
post entitled The Bubble Burst tricked us. It is not about the housing bubble but about a nice bubble sweater.
