Is Housing and Real Estate Bubble Hype Irrational Exuberance?

Not so, says the author of this article and four real estate books including the recent "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home". The upside of the hype is for real estate consumers and investors. The housing bubble topic has produced real estate market information for new or nervous investors about specific markets. Little reporting on the bubble topic exploits the "sell now" syndrome. The downside of the hype is the occasional real estate industry naysayer (never say never?) who has a financial interest to protect.

Media stories have included balanced perspectives from real estate analysts, brokers, consumers, educators, and trade associations. Their experiences remind us that real estate remains a market based upon supply and demand. The value for consumers is the wealth of updated information about their market and current real estate practices. These new resources help them make informed investment decisions concerning the management of their real estate holdings.

Housing once relegated behind the headlines has become the cover and lead story. It's certainly struck a relevant cord with its appeal to consumers, as sixty-eight percent of us are homeowners. Online monitoring service Hitwise confirmed consumer searches for real estate and housing bubble information reached a twelve-month high at the end of May 2005.

Mark Nash is a residential real estate author and broker in Chicago. He has contributed his real estate insight to CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Dow Jones Marketwatch, and Universal Press Syndicate. Mr. Nash specializes in helping consumers succeed in real estate.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion deal with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure practices. New York, Nevada and Delaware joined California in holding out for better terms.

More than 40 states signed onto a proposed $25-billion settlement with major mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure procedures, but California, New York and other key states were still not among them.

California has until Monday to share in a multi-state deal with banks to obtain mortgage relief and reforms. Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, who walked away from talks last year, says the door remains open.

With a Monday deadline at hand, California officials have resumed direct talks with the Obama administration about joining a multibillion-dollar, multi-state mortgage settlement with the nation's largest banks, a source said Sunday.

The talk show host pays $12 million for the 4,088-square-foot house with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The ocean-view home sits on 1.26 bluff-top acres with beach access.

In one of the more talked-about transactions in town, actors Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have sold their Malibu beach house to daytime host and comedian Ellen De Generes for $12 million.

The four-bedroom, five-bathroom house built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore lists for $2,875,000.

A decorative cast stone entrance opens to this restored Spanish Colonial Revival-style house in Pasadena's South Orange Grove area. Built in 1920 for industrialist James Wigmore, the house retains such original details as coffered wood ceilings and arched doorways.

They don't believe they can sell their property for what it's worth, so they're spending money on making their homes more comfortable.

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

A biennial research report by the National Assn. of Realtors indicates that a handful of real estate agents and brokers and their clients either don't know the law or don't care to follow it.

When it comes to lawsuits, real estate agents and brokers tangle mostly among themselves.

The president aims to help about 3.5 million people with good credit who are unable to refinance at historically low rates because their homes are worth less than their mortgages.

 

The White House hopes to help millions of homeowners lower their monthly mortgage bill with a $5 billion to $10 billion plan to set up a streamlined refinancing program for people who are current on their payments.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 large U.S. cities fell 1.3% in November from October as foreclosures continue to drag down the housing market.

Three straight months of home-price declines in the biggest U.S. cities showed that foreclosures remain a significant drag on a housing market that is entering its fifth year of deterioration.

L.A. Clipper Chris Paul may be quick down the court, but he moves pretty fast when it comes to buying multimillion-dollar real estate too.