California City is the 3rd largest city in California (geographically), home to California's largest open-pit boron mine, a privately-run Federal Prison, and only 8,835 residents. Originally planned as a "large master-planned leisure community" of up to 1 million people, such growth never materialized, and the remains of the undeveloped streets and cul-de-sacs presage images of the current housing crisis, and are a modern, uniquely American version of the Nazca Lines.
posted by joshwa on Nov 25, 2009 - 46 comments

Notary fee: $3; County Clerk Recording Fee: $16; Protecting your land from abortionists forever? That'll cost ya $77. [more inside]
posted by fontophilic on Oct 14, 2009 - 68 comments

Eichler homes! Most Eichlers are located in northern California, but you can find a few developments in the southland. People restore and renovate their Eichlers, write magazine articles about them, and take lots of photos of them. Even Mr. Incredible owned an Eichler. But owning an Eichler is not for everyone. Want to buy an Eichler? Join the Eichler Network or tour an open house.
posted by mattdidthat on Sep 6, 2009 - 36 comments

For a time the Internet's own poster-child for irrational exuberance and underwater mortgages, Casey Serin (previously discussed on Metafilter), the blogger behind iaminforeclosure.com and millionairebychristmas.com, is interviewed by WalletPop about his future plans... which include living in a van and panning for gold. The real-estate market in the US continues to present post-apocalyptic stories.
posted by Bora Horza Gobuchul on Aug 4, 2009 - 29 comments

Champions of Reversible Destiny, architects Arakawa + Gins believe that people die because they're too comfortable. Having lost their life savings through Bernie Madoff, their bewildering East Hampton Bioscleave house - and, presumably, immortality - can now be yours for only $4million. [via the always awesome It's lovely! I'll take it!]
posted by Beautiful Screaming Lady on Jul 10, 2009 - 57 comments

ladies: is your house making you fat? and unhappy? [more inside]
posted by msconduct on Jun 24, 2009 - 61 comments

The Accidental Slumlord. In 2005, Daniel McGinn, a writer for Newsweek, wrote a story about out-of-staters buying rental properties in Pocatello, Idaho. A year later, Daniel McGinn, who lives 2,450 miles away from Pocatello, bought a rental property there. Why? [more inside]
posted by Halloween Jack on Jun 15, 2009 - 62 comments

Coincidental to the publishing of her memoir, Candy Spelling - the widow of legendary television producer Aaron Spelling - is selling her Beverly Hills mansion for $150 million. (Daughter Tori Spelling is not expected to share in the proceeds.)
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 27, 2009 - 23 comments

The Compleat ÜberNerd: a fascinating series of blog entries detailing the nitty-gritty behind the mortgage industry by Calculated Risk's "Tanta." If you're curious about automated underwriting systems or the ins and outs of mortgage servicing or if you just enjoy some Mortgage Pig Excel art, Tanta was the blogger for you. Tanta, otherwise known as Doris Dungey, passed away on Sunday morning (NYT obit, CR obit).
posted by mullacc on Dec 1, 2008 - 15 comments

Are you a young middle-class creative type (probably white) who has chosen to live in an urban neighborhood that your parents would have shunned? Have the families that formerly lived in your neighborhood (probably not white) been pushed out by soaring rents and real-estate prices to the city fringes or suburbs? The New Republic on demographic inversion.
posted by digaman on Aug 2, 2008 - 64 comments

In the market for a new house? This one comes complete with upgraded tile, Berber carpet and a European wife.
posted by socalsamba on Jun 27, 2008 - 41 comments

HotPads has one of the cooler interfaces to the real estate world. Especially worth looking at are the heat maps that show you scary, scary foreclosure rates across the country and the rent ratios that tell you whether it is worth buying in a particular area, among lots of other data.
posted by blahblahblah on Jun 16, 2008 - 24 comments

The $100 House Essay Contest. Write a 500 word essay on why you deserve to win the house. Submit it to James Mathias, along with $100. If he receives 2,500 entries... a winner will be chosen and awarded the home. If enough entries aren't received, he'll return the money. Finally, a chance to get that dream home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Or... an extra $179,900.
posted by avoision on May 14, 2008 - 33 comments

You're familiar with the grand-daddy of (overhyped) real estate AVMs, or even some lesser known, but more accurate competitors. In this market, it can be tough to get out from under your current home before buying new. But did you know that you can also swap your home?
posted by greensweater on May 5, 2008 - 5 comments

Need an apartment? MapsKrieg is a mashup of Google Maps and Craigslist real estate listings that can show you just how close to the Tenderloin you'll be.
posted by plexi on Apr 30, 2008 - 9 comments

The Most Important Article You Did Not Read This Week Now, it is true that the most important article you probably didn’t read contains all the usual hair-raising things you’d expect to see about the real estate market, including “developers under siege,” “signs of weakness in key markets,” developers “slashing prices,” and the head of a major builder advising “that people wait three to four years before purchasing a new home.” But the most important article you probably didn’t read is not about real estate markets in Naples, Florida, or Sacramento, California. It is about China. [ full WSJ article here]
posted by Stynxno on Mar 28, 2008 - 43 comments

Rent Vs. Buy Myths That Ruined the Housing Market
posted by Afroblanco on Mar 21, 2008 - 107 comments

The Next Bubble: Priming the markets for tomorrow's big crash. A layman's primer on the genesis and future of today's economic troubles, at Harper's Magazine.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken on Mar 13, 2008 - 79 comments

The sub-prime mortgage crisis is giving way in some places to crime ridden McMansion ghettos, perhaps the beginning of a larger long term trend in demographics: "many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions, including some that are lovely and affluent today, may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and ’70s—slums characterized by poverty, crime, and decay."
posted by stbalbach on Feb 29, 2008 - 81 comments

Ursa Major, the former home of deceased basketball great (and cocksman extraordinaire) Wilt Chamberlain is for sale. History. Slide shows.
posted by dersins on Jan 25, 2008 - 22 comments

You have to make sure that St. Joseph is facing your house, if you face it out, the neighbor's house across the street will sell instead. "We buried our little gem under the for sale sign just like we were supposed to do. On October 4th, yes the 4th, just 24 hours after we buried him, we had a showing and after several counter-offers back and fourth, we finally signed a contract on October 19th!!!!! 7 months after the house was sitting and not getting any bites at all and after 1 day, its sold!!! I have complete and utter faith." America's desperate homesellers and realtors are turning to St. Joseph, Your Underground Real Estate Agent.
posted by quonsar on Nov 18, 2007 - 80 comments

Looking to rent or buy? You can check out the schools and inspect the foundation all you want, but only Rotten Neighbor cares to warn you about your potential community. [more inside]
posted by Terminal Verbosity on Oct 31, 2007 - 52 comments

If piss were oil, 10 Midwood would be Saudi Arabia. It is a poorly managed, under-maintained, out of date, dirty, smelly bunker which makes the worst college dorm seem like the Governor's Mansion. [language and images may be nsfw]
posted by brain_drain on Sep 6, 2007 - 43 comments

Would you like to buy an island? Some are small and affordable. Others, not so much.
posted by dersins on Aug 17, 2007 - 49 comments

Seattle is red hot and almost no other market is. So says this great data visualization that Zillow just put out. (bonus: while previewing the link I also noticed a useful page of quarterly reports for major real estate markets)
posted by jragon on Aug 15, 2007 - 42 comments

What's the link between:
1) the quickly-growing number of American homeowners becoming unable to pay their mortgages after their ARM's reset (a trend nicknamed "ARMageddon" -- applicable in the UK too), which is translating into soaring foreclosure rates, and in turn forcing at least 60 US semi-shady mortgage brokers to go belly-up in the past year (i.e. the "subprime meltdown"), and...
2) the recent implosion and impending financial bailout -- which may become the biggest since the Long Term Capital Management fiasco of 1998 -- of two Bear Stearns hedge funds which dealt in mortgage securities? [more inside]
posted by Asparagirl on Jul 11, 2007 - 123 comments

Casey Serin (discussed on MeFi here), the world's most hated blogger according to CNET, has taken down his "I Am Facing Foreclosure" blog. Why? Speculation abounds among his fans and foes alike. Did the law catch up to him? Was it a result of a crayon-penned contract with his wife? The "real estate bubble's" poster boy has inspired others to create a Caseypedia, to write copious blog entries of their own, and even to host "talkcasts" that function a little like memorial services in the emptiness that follows the sure (?) demise of Serin's own Foreclosure Fridays call-in, chat-in sessions. There's even one tonight!
posted by houseofdanie on Jun 1, 2007 - 49 comments

Trulia Hindsight merges real estate data showing the year properties were built with animated maps (US Only). Search for your town by name; here's mine.
posted by oneirodynia on May 29, 2007 - 10 comments

BubbleFilter: Real Estate Roller Coaster. [via] US Home prices adjusted for inflation plotted as a first-person ride on a roller coaster. Keep your eye on the bottom right-hand corner for the corresponding year. Don't worry about the dramatic ending. I mean really, how bad could bad get?
posted by afx114 on Apr 3, 2007 - 97 comments

One man's pocket change is another man's $3 million dollar home. Today, 3 previously homeless families were handed the keys to homes located on one of Hawai'i's priciest streets: Kahala Avenue. Japanese billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto has so far chosen 4 native Hawaiian families to live rent free for up to 10 years, making good on a promise made back in November 2006. Obviously, Kawamoto's motives are suspect, as his record as a landlord has been rather tainted. And his approach to alleviating 4 family's homeless situation doesn't solve any systemic problems or go very far in providing long term solutions to homelessness. But for now, it's a feel-good story, and the start of an interesting sociological experiment...
posted by krippledkonscious on Mar 23, 2007 - 22 comments

Your husband left you? It could be worse. Divorcing couple builds a wall through the family home neither will leave. Apparently breaking up, but not moving out, is not uncommon, it is even recommended. Even among us.
posted by Methylviolet on Feb 10, 2007 - 21 comments

If you continue to wait, you may never be able to afford to get into the housing market. The National Association of Home Builders wants you to buy a home now. Should you wait? No, no, no, no! Via Housing Panic.
posted by brain_drain on Dec 1, 2006 - 91 comments

Looking for a spacious home in a unique, quiet and safe location? It may be a fixer-upper, but buy now before the value skyrockets.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 30, 2006 - 21 comments

The Penthouse Wondering what to do with the $70 mil. that Granny left you in her will? You could buy that private tropical island you have had your eye on but that's a 30 hour trip in your private jet. Wouldn't you really be happier here?
posted by vronsky on Sep 30, 2006 - 43 comments

Would you love to own that house down the block, but are inconvenienced by the fact that it's not for sale? Don't fret. "Every Home in America is Up for Sale!" Of course, one should always be wary of unsolicited offers.
posted by Blue Buddha on Aug 23, 2006 - 14 comments

I've become obsessed with the idea of the Real Estate Bubble. I don't even live in NYC or SF, but I must read Brownstoner, Curbed, and Curbed SF every day. For more local, but less spectacular, chills I read Urban Trekker. And for a more global view of the gloom: The Matrix, The Housing Bubble, and Bubble Meter. Finally, for one last depressing shot, America's Overvalued Real Estate tracks down the most depressingly overpriced "pieces of shit" across the country. Related discussions here, here, here, and (premature or prescient?) here.
posted by ereshkigal45 on Apr 3, 2006 - 87 comments

The Secret Agent - whilst talk has gone on for many a year about things like 'bubbles' and 'bursting' on the topic of real estate, never before has it been seriously considered that regular offer-withholding, mortgage-falsifying, and price-gouging to the tune of £50,000 by real estate agents might be affecting the housing market altogether. I challenge metafilter to make the links, and see who's first on that merry conspiracy theory bandwagon. And why is it that people who work with selling or developing buildings are just, well, evil?
posted by jrengreen on Mar 22, 2006 - 65 comments

Home Prices Do Fall A look at the collapse of the 1980's real estate bubble through the eyes of The New York Times
Better with Times select. Also better with Firefox's fetch text extension
posted by Kwantsar on Feb 12, 2006 - 33 comments

The only difference between a cult and a religion is the amount of real estate they own
posted by Lanark on Jan 5, 2006 - 60 comments

Le Grand Jardin. For only $65m dollars you can own a thousand year old villa along with the bastille that housed The Man in the Iron Mask.
posted by OpinioNate on Dec 27, 2005 - 10 comments

Mansion impossible is a simple little real estate flipping game that will kill what productivity you have left today.
posted by Badgermann on Nov 11, 2005 - 53 comments

Get Steve Jobs' Mansion......Free! Delivery Extra
It's true, the catch is that you have to figure out a way to remove this 17,000 sq. ft. mansion, its not in good shape, the roads are narrow and windy and, oh yeah, it's FREAKIN' HUGE!
An interesting twist and follow up to this.
posted by fenriq on Oct 16, 2004 - 6 comments

Ever wanted to get away from the neighbours? Any neighbours? Phelps Dodge, a mining company, is selling off Kitsault, BC, a remote company town built in the early 80s to support a mine that later went bust.
posted by jacquilynne on Sep 14, 2004 - 19 comments

"The real estate bubble's gonna pop!" You seem to hear that all the time... But dig deeper and you find that other people don't even think there's a bubble. Others think there's a bubble, but it's gonna keep growing. Then, just to make it interesting, you've got others who said the bubble was going to pop back in 2002. Why is first-time home-buying this friggin' difficult?!
posted by lazywhinerkid on Apr 14, 2004 - 35 comments

Who wants to own the United Kingdom? Slightly used, with annex. Rains a bit. Trains often late. Nice gardens. Food dubious, but lots of places to drink. Only 8.8 trillion dollars. I'm sure other countries could be bought for cheaper, and the citizens would probably be more willing to sell. If you really want your own private island, these would be the best people to speak to.
posted by Jimbob on Dec 29, 2003 - 17 comments

Fascism with a White Picket Fence
posted by Blue Stone on Aug 22, 2003 - 37 comments

Become a GLM (Galactic Lord and Master) Your chance to invest in an expanding market (or is it steady state now, I forget), the Universe is up for grabs! Do you have a favourite astral body that you'd like to lay claim to? From Newscientist - Feedback.
posted by asok on Jul 6, 2003 - 5 comments

Well at least the real estate industry is doing ok, I guess this is the pitch, you kill your wife and you need money for the trial, so how do you sell the house exactly?
posted by vincentmeanie on Mar 26, 2003 - 3 comments

DC Suburbs slowly getting denser I've been a participant for the past 5 years in what is easily the 2nd-3rd most insane housing market in the US: Washington DC. Apartment occupancy is 99% in the desirable areas, and "affordable starter homes" (in finger quotes) are priced at $250-$350k. People with good jobs can barely afford this. So what happens to folks who are just getting their feet on the ground in the country? More the merrier. How do you strike a balance between providing affordable housing that is accessible to living-wage jobs without running out the existing neighbors?
posted by cpfeifer on Dec 27, 2002 - 50 comments

"e-filing" your land transactions - could it streamline a process that is quite cumbersome? 11 of the 21 counties in New Jersey are working to convert their current paper-based system of filings to an electronic format. Some say it would lower mortgage costs and time constraints because of the movement of paper. Some say it's a disaster waiting to happen. I think it would be an excellent move and would give NJ some first mover status (I think?) to be proud of.
posted by djspicerack on Dec 23, 2002 - 5 comments