Top Resources for Keeping Track of the Florida Housing Bubble

In this extremely over-valued market, you can never have too many sources of information to keep an eye on things. As such, I have assembled my top 10 links for Florida Housing Bubble Resources

1. Housing Bubble - This is a national site, the original, the best by far. Updated several times a day, with very thoughtful commentary by a great number of "bubbleheads" from around the country. Areas such as AZ, CA, NYC, MA, DC, and of course the Sunshine State are often in focus.

2. Bubble Meter - Another great site. If you notice, I keep this and the previous site posted over on my links (to the right ------>).

3. Realtor.com - A very good site for assessing what's for sale. Unfortunately, the filters and sorts are sometimes a little too coarse, and they won't reveal the exact address of the listings. Actually, if you go to the listing agent's site, you can often find it there. Also, for those of us/you who plan on renting until the market recovers, it has a great rental search.

4. Matrix - Excellent site run by a Jonathan Miller, a long-time real estate appraiser based in NYC. He's experienced with up-markets, down-markets, and a lot of market influences. Great commentary, as well as categorized topics including our good friend, the housing bubble. Brutally honest and forthright.

5. CNN-Money Magazine Real Estate - Good source for nationally based housing issues. Updated a couple times a week.

6. Florida Association of Realtors - No decent observer of the Florida Real Estate Bubble can get by without checking the laughable lies and half-truths posted on this site. As discussed earlier, many agents are in big trouble in our state, some due to lack of client activity, and others due to holding investments that they can't sell. Take everything you read from the FAR (and the NAR - National Association of Realtors, for that matter) with a LARGE grain of salt. Even though this is probably the worst time to buy since the 1920's, they sure as hell don't want you to know that.

7. RealtyTrac - A good way to find out what's being listed for foreclosure in your town/zip code. This is a for-profit site, so they only give you so many free details on the foreclosing properties, but often you can do further research on your own to get the remaining details. Or, if you're serious about purchasing a foreclosure/lis pendens, become a subscriber. I may become one if/when I feel the time is right. One thing is certain: they will be doing plenty of business over the next several years.

8. New York Times Real Estate - It tends to be a little NYC-oriented, but they also track national issues in housing. As per anything that comes from the NYT, the articles are well written.

9. Zillow.com - See your house from space, and see what your and everyone else's house in your neighborhood is worth. There is some debate as to the quality of the estimates, due to the "comp" (lagging) nature of valuation, and major differences between homes that can't be judged without human viewing (such as landscaping, appliances, carpets/flooring, etc...). Still, its a terrific idea, and a very popular site.

10. Your local property appraisor site. If your county/locale doesn't put all of this info on line yet, you must be living in a third world country. To find it, go to Google or Yahoo, and search on " property assessor". FYI, for those who live in Hillsborough County, its Hillsborough County Property Assessor

11. Okay, I said there would be 10, but hey, don't forget to bookmark yours truly. We're keepin' it real for the homeslices, yo'.