Bush Subprime

Yahoo took their title this morning from yesterday’s Wall Street Journal- Banks to ask government to take bad loan risk: [Hat tip L!]
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The banking industry is proposing to members of the U.S. Congress and the White House that some of the risk of troubled mortgages should be shifted to the federal […]

Maricopa County is sending out property notices this week.  Most homeowners will note that the value of their homes has dropped, but their taxes haven’t: [Hat tip M!]

Homeowners hoping for an immediate property-tax reduction will be disappointed.

Property-tax statements lag valuations by 18 months in Arizona, so homeowners won’t see a drop in their […]

ASU’s Realty Studies has released Jay Butler’s report on the Phoenix housing market in January, and the report holds no surprises- the housing market continues to deteriorate.
Prices

The median home price opened the year at $230,000, which is below the $232,000 of December 2007 and last year’s $260,000. It represents a continuation in declining […]

Thank you to Kevin Tomlinson, who sent me this post from his South Beach Condo Blog:

Say you want to sell your unit at Related Group’s new 50 Biscayne Condo in downtown Miami, you find a buyer willing to purchase your unit, you agree on terms, and you probably think, “whew, I’m really lucky I […]

Hank Paulson on housing– "The worst is just beginning" [Thanks L!]
 

Homebuilders are upset that government is not doing to save them from the crisis they created themselves– and they are going to punish Congress by withholding political contributions: [Hat tip L!]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The lobbying group representing homebuilders is cutting off contributions to federal congressional campaigns, saying lawmakers and the Bush administration have […]

At the intersection of the San Tan and Price freeways in Chandler, AZ stands the "bones" of a seven story high rise, the remains of the "Elevation Chandler" project.  It rises like a monument to the housing bust behind the Chandler Fashion Mall.

The project, begun two years ago by developer Jeff Cline, has sat empty […]

Thanks to "Former Title Guy" for this great picture and link:

I thought this speaks volumes about the Las Vegas market– far more than the following comments from Saturday’s Review Journal: [Hat tip Rebel]
          "This is a temporary fluctuation in the market that may continue to keep prices artificially low for the next couple of […]

As foreclosures rise in Phoenix and properties are returned to the lender, the question arises as to what percentage of the market is actually "lender owned."
L thoughtfully checked the numbers for us a couple of days ago, but reminded me that these numbers have their limitations.  The MLS has a couple of boxes now in […]

Losses, losses, who’s got the subprime losses?  According to Ambrose Evans-Prichard of The Telegraph, it just might be Japan:

Just as battered investors had begun to glimpse signs of recovery in America, the next shoe has dropped with an almighty thud in Japan. Echoes are rumbling across the Far East.
The Tokyo bourse has crumbled, […]