Housing.com News, Analysis & Opinion: Thursday Housing News

"The housing boom is over," Chen said. "We're seeing the down side of the housing cycle. The housing market has been overheated, and price appreciation has been very, very strong -- stronger than can be supported by economic growth. Affordability is eroding really quickly, and exacerbating that is the fact that mortgage rates are rising. These forces are making it more difficult for households to get into a mortgage."

Let's hope their wishing for "anticipated job growth" bears some real fruit.

Speaking of green leafy things (Minds out of the gutter!), Housing Finance has a killer list of environmentally friendly items you can buy from your home, as well as where to get them. That's my consolation prize for not being able to find the "Wired" article on Green living I promised a while back. :)

And in terms of needing consolation, we head back to D.C. for this great story about what happens when overzealous developers meet angry NIMBY residents in one fell swoop. That's the whole issue with the housing market in a nutshell--develop, develop, develop, without a thought to the consequences. It's hardly like D.C. has tons of free green space to spare as it is, so why cheapen it further with McMansions appearing in your backyard overnight?

Then again, they're still doing better than the working poor in California, who are being ground up under the treads because the housing market is distorting how poverty costs are calculated. It gives the phrase "House-poor in California" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?

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It would seem that the legendary journey many D.C.-area homebuyers have been making to Baltimore in search of more affordable housing and investments is coming to an end. The market's sagging in Charm City just like everywhere else now: "The housing boom is over," Chen said. "We're seeing the down side of the housing cycle. The housing market has been overheated, and price appreciation has been very, very strong -- stronger than can be supported by economic growth. Affordability is eroding really quickly, and exacerbating that is the fact that mortgage rates are rising. These forces are making it more difficult for households to get into a mortgage." Let's hope their wishing for "anticipated job growth" bears some real fruit. Speaking of green leafy things (Minds out of the gutter!), Housing Finance has a killer list of environmentally friendly items you can buy from your home, as well as where to get them. That's my consolation prize for not being able to find the "Wired" article on Green living I promised a while back. :) And in terms of needing consolation, we head back to D.C. for this great story about what happens when overzealous developers meet angry NIMBY residents in one fell swoop. That's the whole issue with the housing market in a nutshell--develop, develop, develop, without a thought to the consequences. It's hardly like D.C. has tons of free green space to spare as it is, so why cheapen it further with McMansions appearing in your backyard overnight? Then again, they're still doing better than the working poor in California, who are being ground up under the treads because the housing market is distorting how poverty costs are calculated. It gives the phrase "House-poor in California" a whole new meaning, doesn't it?