Home Prices Do Fall
A Look At The Collapse Of The 1980's Real Estate Bubble
Through The Eyes Of The New York Times
by
James Bednar
New Jersey Real Estate Report
http://njrereport.com

Introduction

"Home prices never go down" is a quote often heard spoken by real estate agents.  It isn't true.  Real estate bubbles do exist and they do burst.  The after effects of a real estate bubble burst are felt for years afterwards.

Thanks to the online search capability of the New York Times, I was able to compile a list of articles that appeared in the New York Times during the real estate bubble from 1981 to 1988 and then from the resultant crash, from 1989 onwards.

All the readers that have seen the preliminary compilation gave the same remark, "It's like deja-vu."

Indeed, it is.  We've quickly forgotten the 80's bubble that swept over the Northeast, in particular the New York Metropolitan area.  We've convinced ourselves that "this time is different."  Unfortunately, all we've proven is that we lack the ability to learn from history and our mistakes.

 

New Jersey Median Home Price

I've included a graph of the median home price in Northern New Jersey over that covers the period immediately preceding the 80's bubble, the crash, and the 2000's real estate bubble. Refer back to this graph as you read through the articles below.  I've cut select pieces from each article that illustrate the period and well as public sentiment during that time.  I've included the author as well as link so you can read the entire article.

 

1981 - Slow After 70's Slump

Your Money; Buying Houses As Investments
May 23, 1981, Saturday
By ALAN S. OSER (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 2, Page 30, Column 1, 947 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30717F73F5C0C708EDDAC0894D9484D81

''DO you think we did the right thing?'' the nervous woman asked the supposed authority. She and her husband, already owners of a summer home in Southampton, L.I., had just contracted to buy a condominium there, purely as an investment. They had seen home prices in the Hamptons rise...

New Jersey Housing; HOW 'CREATIVE FINANCING' WORKS
August 2, 1981, Sunday
By ELLEN RAND (NYT); New Jersey Weekly Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 11, Page 16, Column 3, 1717 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B14F83C5F0C718CDDA10894D9484D81

PERHAPS ''creative financing'' has always been a euphemism for techniques that, under ideal circumstances, might not have been necessary to put together a real-estate deal. Surely, most of the soc alled ''creative financing'' methods used in the residential market today have long been used in the more-sophisticated commercial realestate field....

CONDOMANIA: GOOD OR BAD?
By REBECCA SCHLAM LUTTO
Published: August 9, 1981
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E1DA143BF93AA3575BC0A967948260

''CONDOMANIA!'' is the anguished cry of apartment renters in New Jersey and across the nation. They are referring to the increasingly accelerated pace of converting existing rental apartments to condominium or cooperative ownership.

New Jersey Housing; SELLING YOUR HOME? TRY A RAFFLE
By ELLEN RAND
Published: October 11, 1981
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950CEFDD1339F932A25753C1A967948260

WE ALL know that these are tough times for many Americans, but the good old ''can do'' spirit has not vanished from the housing scene, as some recent news stories attest.  

As everyone must have heard by now, an enterprising Virginia couple, eager to sell their home, recently took matters into their own hands and raffled it off.

RAFFLES A CHANCY THING FOR HOMEOWNERS
By CHRISTOPHER WELLISZ
Published: November 15, 1981
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01EFDD1F39F936A25752C1A967948260

As the popularity of house raffles has increased, so has the vigilance of law enforcement agencies in states where they are prohibited.  

A woman in Alabama pleaded guilty last month to a charge of unlawful promotion of gambling after she had tried to raffle her $60,000 home.  

In Tenafly, N.J., a real estate broker threatened with prosecution under the state's gambling laws is seeking a court order that would allow her to give away her home in a contest.

 

1982 - Real Estate Buzz Begins 

EXPANDED REAL ESTATE SECTION IS PLANNED FOR SUNDAY TIMES
March 17, 1982, Wednesday(NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 22, Column 1, 328 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0813F8385F0C748DDDAA0894DA484D81

The New York Times will introduce an expanded and redesigned Real Estate section on Sunday, March 28. It will include added news and features for consumers along with continued coverage of commercial real estate. A.M. Rosenthal, executive editor of The Times, announced the change. He said new weekly columns...

Talking Partnerships; SHARING A MORTGAGE ON A HOME
By DIANE HENRY
Published: May 16, 1982
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E3D81538F935A25756C0A964948260

YOU'VE found the house you want, but you cannot afford it. The down payment may be prohibitive, or perhaps the monthly payments are too high.

Bankers, brokers, Congress and home builders are all working on new financing techiques to help you, and one idea gaining some interest around the country is shared ownership of a property: You find the house you want to live in and an investor helps you with the down payment, the monthly payments or both. In return, the investor gets tax benefits and a share of the appreciated value of the home at resale.

HOBOKEN
By ALFONSO A. NARVAEZ
Published: August 1, 1982
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9504E2DD1339F932A3575BC0A964948260

HOBOKEN has for some time enjoyed a reputation - especially among those wishing to escape New York - as being a close-in, comparatively inexpensive alternative. But time and the unremitting pressures of the Manhattan real estate market have caused this city of 42,000 to take on some of the characteristics of its neighbor a cross the Hudson.

Three- and four-room apartments, when available, rent for $500 and $600 a month with recently renovated units bringing up to $700 a month. A one-family brownstone that 10 years ago would have sold for $20,000 to $25,000 is now on the market for $120,000, down from last year's asking price of $135,000 - the drop a concession to the persistence of high interest rates. Condominiums, some of which have been carved out of old tenement buildings, have sold for from $35,000 to $100,000.

Economic Scene; Slump's Effect On the Banks
October 22, 1982, Friday
By ROBERT A. BENNETT (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 2, Column 1, 900 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D1EF93E5F0C718EDDA90994DA484D81

WHETHER one blames so-called Reaganomics, supply-side economics or monetarism, the country is feeling the effects of a classic recession, following an inflationary boom. As in past recessions, banks have not been spared the agonies, as was evident at this week's annual convention of the American Bankers Association in Atlanta....

Real Estate; Planned Units Arise In Jersey
By ALAN S. OSER
Published: December 10, 1982
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DF1F39F933A25751C1A964948260

Prices have been level for six to eight months, he said. But as soon as buyer demand picks up again, he predicted, they will rise rapidly. The reason is that suppliers have a limited inventory of housing products because of low demand over an extended period. Supply shortages will create sharp price increases, he said.

TAXES ON PROPERTY ARE HEADING UP
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
Published: December 19, 1982
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E1DD1738F93AA25751C1A964948260

''A lot of new houses have gone up and they're selling rapidly,'' he said. ''You can't touch anything new for less than $250,000.'' Although properties are supposed to be assessed at full value, as a practical matter they are not. If there is a flagrant difference between assessed and market values, a county tax board can order a municipality to revalue all property. Currently, several communities are going through such revaluations, which will be reflected in 1983 tax rates. In theory, if a property's value has doubled, and the town's budget remains constant, then the tax rate should be halved.

North Caldwell is one community that is going through such a revaluation. The last time it did so was in 1971, and as Charles Schmitz, the tax assessor, said, ''I would hope that all properties have doubled since then. If a house was worth $100,000 then, I would assume that it would be at a minimum of $250,000 today. The average lot here, which is a half-acre, sells in excess of $80,000.''

 

1983 - Real Estate Gains Limelight 

WHO GAINS WHEN HOUSING PROSPERS
April 17, 1983, Sunday
By N.R. KLEINFIELD (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 3, Page 1, Column 2, 3803 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0813F83D5C0C748DDDAD0894DB484D81

TALKING HOME VALUES; HOW TO GET A PROPER APPRAISAL
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: May 8, 1983
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01EED71238F93BA35756C0A965948260

''They always think their home is special because they live there,'' said Normam Kailo, past president of the New Jersey Association of Realtors and owner of the Soldoveri Agency in Wayne, N.J. ''It's such a danger that even after 22 years in real estate I would not try to set a price on my own house. I would make sure someone else made the decision for me.''

HIGH COURT SETS FORCED-SALE RULES
By GEORGE W. GOODMAN
Published: July 3, 1983
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E3D81639F930A35754C0A965948260

THE EMPIRE AND EGO OF DONALD TRUMP
By MARYLIN BENDER; MARILYN BENDER, A JOUNALIST AND AUTHOR, WRITES ON BUSINESS FROM NEW YORK.
Published: August 7, 1983
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E7D91E39F934A3575BC0A965948260

He made his presence known on the island of Manhattan in the mid 70's, a brash Adonis from the outer boroughs bent on placing his imprint on the golden rock. Donald John Trump exhibited a flair for self-promotion, grandiose schemes - and, perhaps not surprisingly, for provoking fury along the way.

Senior realty titans scoffed, believing that braggadocio was the sum and substance of the blond, blue-eyed, six-footer who wore maroon suits and matching loafers, frequented Elaine's and Regine's in the company of fashion models, and was not abashed to take his armed bodyguard-chauffeur into a meeting with an investment banker.

STATE'S HOUSING GROWTH CITED
By DONOVAN WILSON
Published: October 23, 1983
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E4DC123BF930A15753C1A965948260

SPURRED largely by money from financial institutions in the state, New Jersey's residential real-estate activity has experienced a healthy growth in the last several years with the construction of condominiums and single-family homes.

According to 1980 census figures, there were more than 50,000 condominium units in the state and more than 1.4 million single-family homes. Industry officials say those figures are rising.

ABOUT REAL ESTATE; NEW COMPETING SKYLINE IS RISING AT MEADOWLANDS
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: December 28, 1983
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0CE1D71538F93BA15751C1A965948260

From the crest of the Route 3 bridge over the Hackensack River in New Jersey, it is possible to see across the low-lying salt marshes of the Meadowlands to the steel skeletons of three office buildings, totaling 820,000 square feet of space, taking shape to form a new skyline.

The three buildings, along with a fourth of similar size under construction a few miles east, provide striking evidence of the Meadowlands' rapid transformation into a major metropolitan office center that competes with Manhattan for major users of commercial space.

 

1984 - Prices Begin To Skyrocket 

NEW YORK AREA ECONOMY ON THE MEND AS '83 ENDS
January 1, 1984, Sunday
By DAMON STETSON (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 1, Page 19, Column 1, 668 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0810F9395C0C728CDDA80894DC484D81

The economy of the New York metropolitan area, after a ''shaky start'' in 1983, moved toward recovery from the recession at the end of the year, according to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment rose over the year, price increases were moderate, the purchasing power of worker earnings...

THE ART OF NEGOTIATING WITHOUT TRAUMA
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: January 15, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01E2DB1138F936A25752C0A962948260

JUST about everybody feels out of control when they try to negotiate the price of a home. Brokers say that even financial wizards at Fortune 500 companies tug their hair, grit their teeth and show other signs of emotional stress when they get down to hard bargaining over the purchase or sale of their homes.

RESALE-HOME PRICES: UP AND RISING
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: January 22, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E7DF1F38F931A15752C0A962948260

A survey of the conventional homeowner housing market in New York City, Westchester County, Long Island, Connecticut and New Jersey indicates that 1983 was a strong sales year, with prices generally increasing. It also shows that expected stability in mortage-interest rates, coupled with a strong demand and a diminishing supply of listings, should cause prices to continue to increase this year.

APARTMENTS: WHY PRICES ARE SO HIGH
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: January 29, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B00EEDA163BF93AA15752C0A962948260

Why are the prices of new apartments so high in Manhattan? What could justify such figures for sales and rentals?  

''It's land, land, land,'' said Lewis Winnick, an analyst at the Ford Foundation. He explained that Manhattan property on which apartments can be developed is made scarce first by high demand and second by restrictive zoning, land use, rent regulation and other policies of the city.

THE HOUSE THAT'S NOT YOUR HOME
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: February 5, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E0DE143BF936A35751C0A962948260

Area suburbs report that many homeowners are buying second and third houses as investments and tax shelters. Among the factors encouraging this practice, they say, are lower interest rates, a rise in house prices, lenders' greater willingness to provide mortgages on houses not occupied by owners and a growing awareness of the tax benefits of such investments.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT ADJUSTABLE MORTGAGE
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: March 18, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F05E0D81339F93BA25750C0A962948260

BUYING A HOME WITH A FRIEND
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: May 6, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDD1038F935A35756C0A962948260

OVER the last two or three years a growing number of young, single people have chosen to buy a home in partnership with a friend. There is not necessarily a romantic involvement. The two simply decide to pool their resources to amass the necessary down payment or to qualify for financing at a time when property prices are so high.

BROKERS PROCESSING MORTGAGES
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: June 17, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EFD81639F934A25755C0A962948260

''We are worried that the buyer is being steered into a mortgage program that is not necessarily the best for him,'' said E. Robert Levy, executive director and general counsel to the association. Borrowers are also in danger, he said, of being persuaded to finance more of the purchase amount than they might wish when the broker's mortgage-writing commission is based upon the size of the loan delivered. 

THE $100,000 HOUSE: GETTING SMALLER EVERY YEAR
August 1, 1984, Wednesday
By DAVID E. ROSENBAUM (NYT); National Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section A, Page 8, Column 2, 1290 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4081FFC3D5C0C728CDDA10894DC484D81

..family house has been bobbing around the $100,000 mark or above for the first time. Which raises the question: What can you get in a house, new or old, for $100,000? Very little in New York or San Francisco until you get an hour or more from the city,...

ABOUT REAL ESTATE; JERSEY PROJECT SELLS OUT IN A WEEKEND
August 31, 1984, Friday
By KIRK JOHNSON (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section B, Page 7, Column 1, 821 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40915FA3B5C0C728FDDA10894DC484D81

Selling homes from a trailer, with no models to show would-be buyers and only empty ground for a view, is not the easiest of propositions. But in this area of central New Jersey, which has experienced a rapid influx of companies, the demand for new housing is strong enough

ABOUT REAL ESTATE; INNOVATIVE MORTGAGES AT JERSEY PROJECT
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: October 19, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F03EFDF1439F93AA25753C1A962948260

Creative financing has become so pervasive since the era of high interest rates began in the 1970's that innovative packages are now being used to originate even conventional fixed- rated mortgages.

NEARBY URBAN AREAS DRAW HOME BUYERS
By KIRK JOHNSON
Published: December 16, 1984
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E6DA1338F935A25751C1A962948260

''IN the 1960's, everything was suburbs - picket fences and two-car garages,'' said Carlos Alvarado, a slow smile crossing his face. ''Then everybody wanted Manhattan. Now it seems to be spreading into the areas adjacent to Manhattan. People want an urban life style again. It's almost like a fad.''

 

1985 - Prices Rise, Affordability Questioned

ADAPTING TO THE HIGH COST OF HOUSING
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: February 3, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E2DB1739F930A35751C0A963948260

Affordable apartments in Manhattan are as rare as crocuses in winter and market rates, by definition, are beyond the means of nearly everybody. A recent Chemical Bank study estimates that only 12 percent of all households can afford a new average-priced ($200,000) one-bedroom condominium or co-op apartment - and only if they are willing to spend 45 percent of their $58,000 annual income on housing expenses.

THE NATION; Boom in House Foreclosures
February 24, 1985, Sunday
By KATHERINE ROBERTS, CAROLINE RAND HERRON AND MICHAEL WRIGHT (NYT); Week in Review Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 4, Page 4, Column 2, 288 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0E16FE385D0C778EDDAB0894DD484D81

The only sure thing in the housing market is that sure things can lead to disaster. A few years back, many families stretched their budgets to buy houses at high interest rates, figuring that if times got tough, they could always sell and make a profit. But today, tens...

MAKING IT BIG IN THE HIGH-STAKES WORLD OF MANHATTAN REAL-ESTATE BROKERS
By MICHAEL BLUMSTEIN
Published: May 2, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EFD6163BF931A35756C0A963948260

If neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can stop mail carriers, then it would probably take nuclear war to keep Manhattan's real-estate brokers from completing their appointed rounds.

There are certainly plenty of them. Manhattan now has 16,852 licensed real-estate brokers, salesmen and saleswomen, up from 13,138 in 1981, according to the New York Department of State, and they account for 42 percent of all the licensed real-estate brokers and sales personnel in New York City.

In recent years, as prices and therefore commissions have soared, the payoffs have become impressive.

Jersey Thrift Units 'Sound'
May 17, 1985, Friday
(NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 5, Column 4, 210 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10D11FB395F0C748DDDAC0894DD484D81

In New Jersey, where 24 small savings and loan associations have no insurance, state banking officials said yesterday that the institutions were ''extremely sound'' and in no danger of failing. The average ''ratio of net worth to deposits is 24 percent,'' said William Sievewright, chief examiner in the savings...

NEW YORK HOME PRICES SURGE
By PETER T. KILBORN, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: May 24, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E0DD1639F937A15756C0A963948260

Home prices in New York City and its suburbs are rising faster than anywhere else in the nation, to the point where they now exceed those in many parts of the nation's customary pacesetter, California.

And Allen J. Proctor, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said, ''I don't believe it's a bubble, a speculative bubble, like California was.''

MAKING THE MOST OF FAST-FALLING MORTGAGE RATES
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: June 30, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E5D71E39F933A05755C0A963948260

THE bad news about the slowdown in the nation's economy has been good news for people shopping for home mortgages. Interest rates, responding to a reduced demand for credit and stable inflation, have fallen to levels not seen since the summer of 1980. Rates, however, have already started to edge upward because of some preliminary reports on the economy's improving outlook.

In any event, lower monthly interest costs are making houses more affordable and allowing some people to buy larger ones than they had anticipated. Other borrowers are seeing payments for their adjustable-rate mortgages decline or they are taking advantage of the opportunity to refinance high-cost loans at today's lower rates.

STUDY PREDICTS SUSTAINED GROWTH FOR NEW YORK REGION'S ECONOMY
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: August 12, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A07E5D61339F931A2575BC0A963948260

The economy of New York City and its suburbs, buoyed by a swift, five-year recovery, has entered a period of sustained growth that will be halted only if the region fails to provide enough new housing, according to an economic analysis released yesterday.

The study concludes that the nation's largest urban area has fully recovered from its severe economic problems of the 1970's, when New York City came close to bankruptcy, hundreds of businesses closed and thousands of jobs were lost.

WILL A SHORTAGE OF HOUSING CRIMP ECONOMIC GAINS?
August 18, 1985, Sunday
By ANTHONY DEPALMA (NYT); Week in Review Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 4, Page 20, Column 1, 940 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0C10F6345C0C7B8DDDA10894DD484D81

DURING rush hour, most highways in the metropolitan area are jammed with cars and buses headed in both directions, vivid if frustrating proof of the local economy's recovery from the malaise of the 1970's and the continued dispersion of jobs from New York City. An analysis released last week...

BUYER'S MARKET FORESEEN FOR CITY CONDOS AND CO-OPS
By RICHARD D. LYONS
Published: August 25, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9507E1DC173BF936A1575BC0A963948260

REAL-ESTATE experts are predicting a buyer's market for cooperative and condominium apartments in New York City over the next year, shaped by burgeoning new construction, worry over proposed changes in Federal tax law and jitters among owners that prices may already have risen so high that it is time to sell.

''Simply put, there are going to be a lot of new apartments coming on the market in the next year, and sellers are going to have to offer the sort of incentives that haven't been generally available in recent years,'' said Yale Robbins, the realty consultant and compiler of New York housing data who is president of the company bearing his name.

TAX PLAN SLOWS SALES OF RESORT PROPERTY
September 2, 1985, Monday
By ROBERT LINDSEY, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); National Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 1, Page 9, Column 1, 1596 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20B1EFF3E5F0C718CDDA00894DD484D81

Uncertainties over President Reagan's proposed overhaul of the tax code are depressing prices and causing a slump in the sale of resort property over much of the nation this summer. From Kaanapali Beach here on the coast of Maui to ski resorts in northern Maine, developers and real estate...

TALKING TWO FAMILIES; The Merits Of Condo Conversion
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: September 29, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9906E4DF1239F93AA1575AC0A963948260

AROUND THE MARKET; High and Low Ends Firm In Vacation Condo Sales
By GENE RONDINARO
Published: October 6, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900EFD71339F935A35753C1A963948260

Brokers at resort centers around the country report a slowing of sales this year from 1984, which they attribute in part to public uncertainty over the tax proposals. But this has has been somewhat offset by lower mortgage-interest rates and, in some cases, declining prices for resale and new recreational units at many resort areas.

''Sales are not at a standstill - I would say they are at a pony trot,'' said Ray Ellis, director of operational services and research for the condominium committee of the American and Hotel Association.

NEW JERSEY OPINION; PLAYING THE GAME CALLED REAL ESTATE
October 20, 1985, Sunday
By REBECCA SCHLAM LUTTO; REBECCA SCHLAM LUTTO'S PLAYING PIECE IS OVER IN THE TEANECK PART OF THE BOARD. (NYT); New Jersey Weekly Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 11NJ, Page 22, Column 1, 700 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0D14FD355D0C738EDDA90994DD484D81

THE Real Estate Game has reached our town. Any number can play, but the minimum bid is $100,000. The playing pieces are suburban houses, and the owners need not move on the game board to enjoy playing. The game was all the rage in Washington and Los Angeles in...

PUTTING THE HOMESTEAD DEEPER INTO HOCK
November 24, 1985, Sunday
By ROBERT A. BENNETT (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 3, Page 1, Column 2, 2759 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30E12F83A5C0C778EDDA80994DD484D81

TURN on the television. Open the junk mail. Sift through the brochures that come with the monthly bank statement. It's no secret: Home-equity loans are being promoted these days as the hottest product in consumer lending. The home-equity loan, of course, is the glossy name that the nation's marketers...

HOUSE VALUES SURGE IN THE OLDER AREAS OF NORTHERN QUEENS
By GENE RONDINARO
Published: December 1, 1985
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400EEDC1F38F932A35751C1A963948260

''There has been a strong housing market here for some time but within the few years prices have gone through the roof,'' said Ted Metalios of Century 21/Metalios Real Estate in Jackson Heights. The agency, according to the Queens Board of Realtors, handles the majority of residential real-estate transactions in Jackson Heights and also brokers many of the sales in the nearby neighborhoods of Astoria, Woodside, Sunnyside, Long Island City, Corona and Elmhurst.

 

1986 - Manic Pace 

U.S. INQUIRY FINDS PATTERN OF FRAUD IN HOUSING LOANS
By PHILIP SHENON, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 21, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE6D81130F932A15752C0A960948260

Federal investigators say they have uncovered a pattern of frauds against the Department of Housing and Urban Development involving falsified documents used to obtain tens of millions of dollars in Government-backed mortgages.

More than a dozen real estate agents and mortgage industry officials have been indicted or convicted because of their involvement in such schemes in southern New Jersey. In the last year, similar swindles have been reported in Houston, Seattle and Milwaukee.

HOME PRICES SOARING IN NEW YORK'S SUBURBS
By THOMAS J. LUECK, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 27, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5D6143DF934A15752C0A960948260

At a time when the nationwide boom in real estate is fading, economists say the suburbs of New York City may be emerging as the region with the strongest demand - and most rapidly rising prices - for housing in the country.

Home prices in southern Connecticut, Westchester County and New Jersey and on Long Island are soaring. In many suburban communities, homes ranging from small two-bedroom bungalows to large, colonial estates have doubled in value over the last five years.

''As an investment, homes here are golden,'' said Joseph J. Bell, the Clerk of Morris County, N.J., where homes sold for an average price of $115,000 two years ago. As of last week, he calculated, the average was $172,515, about 50 percent higher.

The economists say no one should expect home prices in the New York suburbs or elsewhere to continue rising at their current rates. With prices already beyond the reach of many potential buyers, and with the general rate of inflation below 5 percent, they say real-estate values have accelerated at a pace that cannot be sustained.

OUT TOWNS; CASHING IN ON 'THE REAL ESTATE SCENARIO' IN JERSEY
By MICHAEL WINERIP, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: February 23, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEEDE1539F930A15751C0A960948260

Murphy Realty is one of many area concerns offering free seminars. Companies can't get new salesmen fast enough: Murphy had 12 offices last year, has 22 now and projects 100 in five years. ''We have corporate executives coming in every minute,'' Mr. Abrams said. At the free seminar, hopefuls hear about a woman who sold $1 million worth of real estate during the weeks she was at M.I.T. - the Murphy Institute Training program.

Frank Kovats, head of another real estate school, told them, ''For a relatively small investment in time and money, you can enter a career that will change your life.'' He said that he had seen many people pass up the opportunity and that they were kicking themselves in the pants right now

SURGE IN BUILDING DRAINING LABOR POOL
By RICHARD D. LYONS
Published: March 30, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE4D7173CF933A05750C0A960948260

THE surge in building sweeping New York is triggering the greatest demand for construction workers in almost two decades, straining the supply of the most highly skilled tradesmen and increasing the labor costs of some new homes, apartments and offices.

IN WESTCHESTER AND CONNECTICUT; Old Barns Turned Into Luxury Homes
By BETSY BROWN
Published: April 27, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE5DB103DF934A15757C0A960948260

OLD Westchester County barns have been going quickly in recent years as farmland becomes housing developments, but recently three old barns have appeared on the hillsides in North Salem and Lewisboro, looking as if they had always been there.

IN NEW JERSEY; Slaughterhouse Blossoming Into Co-ops
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: May 11, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE4DB1639F932A25756C0A960948260

LOCATION, it is said with numbing regularity, is real estate's most important factor.

Yet location can be what you make of it, and developers around New Jersey have shown they are willing to take a chance on what might appear to be an unpromising site in hopes of creating a successful project.

THE FEW-FRILLS CONDOMINIUM
June 23, 1986, Monday
By THOMAS J. LUECK, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 1, Column 3, 1336 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50715F7345D0C708EDDAF0894DE484D81

The largest builder of condominiums in the New York suburbs, Kevork Hovnanian, says his biggest sales problem is crowd control. ''We want to maintain public safety,'' he said the other day. Again and again, the Hovnanian condominiums have sold out within hours of being offered for sale. Hundreds of...

ABOUT REAL ESTATE; HOUSING SET FOR NEWARK NEWS BUILDING
By PHILIP S. GUTIS, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: July 4, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7D81731F937A35754C0A960948260

''Renaissance Towers is aptly named because it is further testimony to the rebirth, progress and accelerated development that is taking place in our city,'' said Mayor Sharpe James, who took office on Tuesday. ''But the towers are just the tip of the iceberg. I believe this renaissance will spread to our residential areas and neighborhood commercial strips.''

Even though the building is far from complete - indeed its offering plan has not yet been accepted by the New Jersey Attorney General - the 131 units in the condominium are sold out. Buyers have signed agreements and placed $2,500 deposits on the apartments, which range from a $59,000 studio to a $390,000 penthouse.

PERSONAL FINANCE; A Summer House Without Uncle Sam
By CAROLE GOULD; CAROLE GOULD WRITES ON BUSINESS AND FINANCE FROM NEW YORK.
Published: August 3, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE2DE1238F930A3575BC0A960948260

VACATIONERS in the market for a second home, as well as people who already own them, may want to rethink their plans for that seashore or mountainside cottage as a result of the tax revision proposals before Congress. Many rules concerning vacation homes are likely to be tightened, to the extent that, in the view of some tax advisers, it could make economic sense to act now to get under the current, more generous measures. If owners are contemplating selling, experts say, they should sell now to benefit from more generous capital gains treatment. Alternatively, would-be home-buyers might consider buying sooner than planned, to lock in more liberal tax breaks.

REAL ESTATE, THE MAJOR OUTLAY; Refinancing Makes Sense For Many
September 14, 1986, Sunday
By H. J. MAIDENBERG (NYT); Personal Investing Supplement Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 12, Page 25, Column 1, 1508 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071EFB3C5D0C778DDDA00894DE484D81

NOT since the frenzied home-building years following World War II has there been so huge a volume of mortgage activity as in the past year. Forty years ago the source of the mortgage madness was the vast army of veterans taking advantage of low-cost Government financing; much of the...

STATE TO ACT TO EASE MORTGAGE DELAYS
By LEO H. CARNEY
Published: October 5, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE0D6163EF936A35753C1A960948260

Reacting to the heavy volume of complaints about long delays in processing mortgage applications, the state's Department of Banking will soon propose regulations to alleviate the problem.

Soon after interest rates began to drop significantly six to eight months ago, mortgage lenders were beseiged with applications to refinance existing residential and commercial mortgages at lower rates and by applications for new loans.

SUBURBIA PRICING OUT THE YOUNG
By THOMAS J. KNUDSON, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: October 6, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE7D61F3FF935A35753C1A960948260

The economic forces that have brought prosperity and change to the suburbs around New York are also pushing out of the region a precious resource: its young people.

In increasing numbers, people in their 20's and 30's, married and earning $30,000 or more a year, are leaving the area they grew up in because they cannot afford the housing.

FOCUS: Investment; Japanese Plunge Into U.S. Realty
By TIMOTHY EGAN
Published: November 23, 1986
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE1DB1130F930A15752C1A960948260

ONE of Japan's biggest exports these days is investment capital. In record numbers, Japanese banks and financial concerns are investing in the commercial real-estate market throughout the United States, focusing most recently on the West Coast.

Mr. Shima of Coldwell Banker said the influx of capital should continue beyond the rise in exchange rates. ''Regardless of the yen-to-dollar ratio,'' he said, ''Japanese firms will continue to buy in this country for the simple reason that there is such an absolute scarcity of available property in Japan.''

NEWARK IS EVER RICHER IN REAL ESTATE, BUT STILL CASH POOR
December 28, 1986, Sunday
By ALFONSO A. NARVAEZ (NYT); Week in Review Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 4, Page 6, Column 1, 839 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F5071EFF3F5B0C7B8EDDAB0994DE484D81

WHEN he upset Kenneth A. Gibson last spring to become the chief elected official of New Jersey's largest city, Sharpe James recalled recently, ''I knew it would be the worst and the best of times to become Mayor.'' On one hand, there has been a resurgence of development interest...

 

1987 - Cracks Appear At The Top

ECONOMIC GAINS FOUND SOFTER IN NEW YORK AREA
January 11, 1987, Sunday
By PHILIP S. GUTIS (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 1, Page 29, Column 1, 691 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4071FFF3F540C728DDDA80894DF484D81

Although the economy of the New York-New Jersey region continued to grow last year - adding 135,000 jobs -a report released last week said that several suburban counties were beginning to show some signs of decreased economic strength. Although the economy of the New York-New Jersey region continued...

ABOUT REAL ESTATE; BUILDER SAYS THE ACTION IS NOW IN JERSEY SUBURBS
By RICHARD D. LYONS
Published: February 6, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DF123FF935A35751C0A961948260

For years conventional wisdom had it that the hub of the action was Manhattan if you wanted to be successful in metropolitan area real estate. Commercial properties in center city for sure, and residential as close as possible.

But to hear Ara K. Hovnanian tell it, the far suburbs are the focus of today's action, including some in New Jersey.

What Price Progress on the Hudson?
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: February 22, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DB1E3AF931A15751C0A961948260

DRIVING within sight of the river's edge from the George Washington Bridge south to the marsh grass and reeds of Caven Point in Jersey City, it is possible, in less than an hour, to get a good measure of the rapid development under way along the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

IN JERSEY, A STRESS ON URBAN HOUSING
By JOSEPH L. SULLIVAN
Published: March 1, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6DD1E3CF932A35750C0A961948260

BUILDING or rehabilitating housing in New Jersey's decaying urban neighborhoods is on everyone's mind as Governor Kean and the State Legislature try to design a housing program for the current legislative session.

RETRAINING AND HOUSING CALLED KEYS TO GROWTH
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: March 5, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDC123EF936A35750C0A961948260

The strongest expansion of the New York metropolitan region's economy since World War II will stop without significant improvements in job training and housing, according to two government reports released this week.

''After a decade of consistently good economic news, we are bumping up against the limits of our own growth,'' said Rosemary Scanlon, chief economist for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which yesterday released its annual analysis of the economy in New York City, its northern suburbs, Long Island, and eight counties in northern New Jersey.

COST WOES IN HOUSING
By ALAN FINDER
Published: March 5, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D61E3EF936A35750C0A961948260

The question, raised initially by Mayor Koch in December 1985, has acquired a sense of urgency in recent months at City Hall: Can new, unsubsidized housing be built by private developers for middle-income New Yorkers?

The Battle to Preserve a Jersey Utopia
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: March 22, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1D71F38F931A15750C0A961948260

IN their quest to preserve the remnants of Gustav Stickley's utopian community, the out-of-state developer and the home-grown preservationist are of a mind. They differ only in how to reach their goal, but that is a big difference.

The developer, a red-haired firebrand named Jack C. Heller who travels in a limousine and breaks $100 bills in fast-food restaurants, intends to save the log house that served as home and refuge for Stickley, the designer and architect who is sometimes credited with founding the arts and crafts movement in America.

MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION: A HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY
By ERICA ABEEL; ERICA ABEEL IS A WRITER AND A PROFESSOR AT JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK.
Published: April 19, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDA1F30F93AA25757C0A961948260

Gulkin is among the growing number of middle- and upper-middle class Americans whose pursuit of happiness has led them to the purchase of a weekend retreat. For the obsession with having a country house is upon us. If every age has fads, foibles and conventions which reveal its collective psyche, one of ours is to acquire a second home in the mountains, in the woods or at the beach - in any rustic area, in fact, within three hours of the city.

FLORIDA MARKET: BALLYHOO AND BARGAINS
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: April 26, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE4D7173CF935A15757C0A961948260

COMMERCIALS for ''Mediterranean villas'' fill Florida's airwaves and the state's roadways are littered with billboards announcing such events as the grand opening of the 19th phase of the 34th suburban-style project on the left

Marketing offensives aside, it is a buyer's market for the sprawling communities of second and retirement homes in South Florida. High-rise apartment buyers also have their pick, but there are fewer choices for those who want a single-family house that looks original, is apart from the crowd and is set in a natural landscape.

Prices have been flat for several years and the market is awash with real estate. As a result, many sellers are willing to accept considerably less than their asking prices, according to market analysts. The best deals are on about 5,000 high-rise condominium units - primarily in Miami, but scattered around the beaches of both coasts - that have been sitting vacant for several years. And since there are so many expanding projects, developers are quite competitive and more than willing to negotiate; many will immediately offer to pay closing costs and travel expenses.

CAMPERS WAIT DAYS ON A CONDO TRAIL
SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: April 26, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEED9143FF935A15757C0A961948260

They began arriving 10 days ago, dozens of people on the condominium trail. In warm sun and then cold rain, they lived in a community of cars, campers and trucks, assuring themselves a chance to pay $175,000 and up for one of the 100 town houses that will become Society Hill.

Huge Jersey Project Planned on Hudson
June 4, 1987, Thursday
By THOMAS J. LUECK (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section B, Page 1, Column 4, 804 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40710F93C5E0C778CDDAF0894DF484D81

In a project that reflects the growing importance of New Jersey's riverfront real estate, developers said yesterday that they planned to build a $900 million complex of offices, condominiums, stores and a marina along the Hudson River in Jersey City. In a project that reflects the growing importance...

Home Buying Drops Sharply In the Suburbs
By THOMAS J. LUECK, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: July 27, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0DA1731F934A15754C0A961948260

The surging market for homes in the suburbs of New York City has abruptly shifted gears. In many suburban communities, where real-estate prices have more than doubled since 1980, industry experts say there is a huge inventory of unsold homes, and a sudden paucity of buyers.

In May, June and early July - normally the peak of the home-buying season - anxious sellers in much of the suburban region have been lowering their prices, sometimes repeatedly.

''The number of properties on the market is unbelievable,'' said Richard Palmer, regional vice president of the National Board of Realtors for New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. ''For the moment, the unsatiable demand for homes seems to be satisfied.''

About Real Estate; Hoboken
By FLETCHER ROBERTS
Published: August 14, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDE153FF937A2575BC0A961948260

To witness the revitalization taking place in Hoboken, N.J., a visitor need not venture much beyond the PATH station at the southern end of the city. An area once noted for its unsavoriness because of the bars that catered to dockworkers in the waterfront's heyday has in recent years taken on a more genteel air, with sidewalk cafes, health clubs and even a takeout shop featuring food delicacies.

Now this area is expecting a major lift from a $57 million mixed-use complex planned for the 1.3-acre site of a Shop-Rite supermarket, just a few steps from the PATH station. The complex will include 288 condominium units, underground parking and a ground-level shopping mall.

The Windfall Profits in Insider Flips
By MICHAEL DECOURCY HINDS
Published: August 30, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE0DB153BF933A0575BC0A961948260

JAMES AND JOAN DRUKER purchased their Upper West Side apartment last April for $178,000. In June, they signed a sales contract to sell it at a $222,000 profit. Another couple, Eric and Carol Michaels, bought their Greenwich Village apartment in the early spring and sold it three months later, making $80,000.

They are among the tenants in New York City who have purchased their apartments at discounted insider prices during a cooperative or condominium conversion and quickly resold, or flipped them. Beneficiaries of the conversion windfall include many tenants who did not buy apartments, but sold their options to purchase them at discount or took a generous buyout from the landlord.

THE REGION: HOW SOME EXPERTS SEE THE LOCAL ECONOMY; Beyond the Boom: Where Do We Go From Here?
October 4, 1987, Sunday
By THOMAS J. LUECK (NYT); Week in Review Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section 4, Page 24, Column 1, 2565 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40717FA345D0C778CDDA90994DF484D81

A REPORT by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week reaffirmed that the 10-year expansion of the metropolitan area's economy has continued this year, fueled by a sustained boom in construction and resulting in the lowest unemployment rate in nearly two decades. But the...

The Aftermath for Housing and Offices
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: October 25, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2DA1431F936A15753C1A961948260

EVEN before stock prices tumbled on Wall Street last week, developers, investors and house buyers tried to assess just how closely the real estate market and the stock market were linked. Now they want to know if one can prosper without the other.

The losses on Wall Street, and a possible continued loss of financial services jobs, left some commercial developers and investors scrambling to figure whether vacancy rates would rise and how that would affect plans for new office buildings.

There also are worries that the cash-rich traders and others who have been able to pay extraordinary prices for new condominiums and gracious older houses in the suburbs might drop out of the market. If so, what happens to prices and how will that bear on new projects such as Battery Park City, which derives much of its style and reason for being from Wall Street?

MARKET TURMOIL; Real Estate Market Remains Rattled
October 30, 1987, Friday
By LISA BELKIN (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 8, Column 1, 1195 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40712F9385C0C738FDDA90994DF484D81

The stock market plunge is taking a toll on the real estate industry, many buyers, sellers and agents agree. But there is little agreement as to whether the disruption is temporary or likely to be long-lasting. The stock market plunge is taking a toll on the real estate...

Talking: Closings; Surviving Market's Turmoil
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: November 1, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE2D81530F932A35752C1A961948260

THE recent turbulence in the stock market is causing many concerns for buyers who are poised to close on a home or an investment property.

THE recent turbulence in the stock market is causing many concerns for buyers who are poised to close on a home or an investment property.

What if the down payment, or part of it, was to have been raised through the sale of securities that are too diminished in value to cover the obligation? What if there is enough value left in the holdings, but, at current prices, no longer a desire to sell?

 

1988 - The Crash Begins 

Business Growth Is Slowing in New York
January 6, 1988, Wednesday
By THOMAS J. LUECK (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section B, Page 3, Column 1, 1055 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0715FB3A5D0C758CDDA80894D0484D81

Business expansion in the New York metropolitan region slowed last year, with its economy showing strain even before the stock market collapse on Oct. 19, according to a Government report released yesterday. Business expansion in the New York metropolitan region slowed last year, with its economy showing strain...

New York Suburbs Spilling Westward
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: February 14, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE4DB153FF937A25751C0A96E948260

Lured by out-of-date house prices and a twin set of superhighways, growing numbers of New York and New Jersey residents are settling into dozens of small northeastern Pennsylvania communities stretching from the old mill town of Easton to the heart of honeymoon land in the Pocono mountains.

Sweetening the Deals in a Soft Market
By MARK MCCAIN
Published: February 21, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDF143AF932A15751C0A96E948260

Taking a cue from anxious developers, Leonard D'Andrea stirred some flash into the strategy for selling his home in Stamford, Conn. Besides posting a competitive price on the two-bedroom condominium, he is offering to pay the buyer's $160-a-month maintenance fee for six months.

''The market is very, very soft right now,'' said Mr. D'Andrea, who began advertising his apartment without success last month. ''I saw the incentives that developers were offering and figured I needed to do something similar to compete against all their new product.''

A Dream Falls Flat: Fleeing Hoboken for the Suburbs
March 7, 1988, Monday
By DENA KLEIMAN, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section B, Page 1, Column 2, 1325 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0716FC3A5F0C748CDDAA0894D0484D81

Seton and Brian Beckwith bought a brownstone here seven years ago amid hopes that this old waterfront city, minutes from Wall Street and with spectacular views of New York, would be transformed into a new middle-class community. Seton and Brian Beckwith bought a brownstone here seven years ago...

Construction Of Apartments In Manhattan Falls Sharply
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: April 3, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D6143FF930A35757C0A96E948260

NO one expected them to last forever, those buoyant days when it seemed there was a construction crane on every corner of Manhattan and apartment buildings were rising as fast as land could be cleared.

The slide is startling, with apartment starts going from as many as 20,000 in 1985 to only 1,400 last year, according to a survey by the Zeckendorf Company. The meager number of building permits filed with the city last year - 1,200 units, compared to 4,000 in 1986 and 9,900 in 1985 - shows that production will remain at low levels for several years.

A Helping Hand in Buying a First Home
By IVER PETERSON
Published: April 24, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3D9133AF937A15757C0A96E948260

AS home ownership continues to decline among young adults, a growing number of states, municipalities and private employers are developing programs intended to help first-time home buyers over a relatively new hurdle: the difficulty of accumulating down payment and closing costs and meeting tightened mortgage-qualifying rules.

IN THE NEW YORK REGION; With Vacancies Rising, Watchword Is Caution
By MARK MCCAIN
Published: May 15, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFDA133AF936A25756C0A96E948260

A HAZE of caution has been hanging over the Manhattan office market ever since last October's stock market crash. And the forecast for the rest of the year looks - at best - partly sunny.

It is hardly like the mid-70's, when desperate owners would grab any offer dangled in front of them. But the inventory of vacant floors continues to grow. Investment banks are trimming their space requirements, owners are trimming their profit projections and builders are trimming their visions of skyscrapers.

Reassessments Hit Homeowners Hard
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: May 15, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DA1631F936A25756C0A96E948260

NOT even in gentrifying Hoboken can Henry Wurtz imagine that his quirky little rowhouse - only 10 feet wide - is worth $212,200, the value recently put on it by a firm doing the city's new tax assessments.

''It's only a bowling lane, three stories high,'' said Mr. Wurtz, a 59-year-old nurse anesthetist who bought his house in the New Jersey community in 1980 for $47,000. He has gotten so worked up about the new assessment that he hung a sign outside his second-story window. It reads: $212,200 Narrowest House in Town Laughable!!!

Buyers Call the Tune in Home Market
By MARK MCCAIN
Published: July 3, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D8173AF930A35754C0A96E948260

A YEAR ago Joseph Sorbera had big plans for a little piece of Staten Island. He would sell off seven new houses as fast as his construction crews could erect them.

But today only one $665,000 house stands in his Hylan Avenue subdivision. And there are no takers. ''I'm sure we'll ultimately wind up with buyers, but right now the market is soft,'' said Mr. Sorbera, a builder based in Manhattan. ''We've become very cautious. We will only put up houses as they're sold, rather than building them on speculation, which was our initial strategy.''

New York Area Remains Costly
Published: August 16, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEED7173AF935A2575BC0A96E948260

Prices of single-family homes in New York and the surrounding area are among the highest in the country but are increasing at slower rates than those in Southern California.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price in the New York City area, including Long Island, southwestern Connecticut and northeastern New Jersey, rose 4.9 percent for the year ended June 30, to $191,900. Nationally, the median price rose 3.4 percent, to $88,900.

In Bergen County, N.J., the average list price of a single-family home was $409,865 at the end of July, compared with $372,107 last year.

Although prices remain high compared with those in other areas of the nation, there are more homes being offered on the market. Properties available through the Multiple Listing Service of Nassau County, for example, climbed to 8,844 last May from 4,537 a year earlier.

IN THE NATION; Scarcity and High Cost Of Land Slow Housing
By ALAN S. OSER
Published: September 11, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7DE153AF932A2575AC0A96E948260

BUILDERS across the country contend that the scarcity and high cost of land approved by local governments for new residential construction is the chief obstacle to producing the elusive new single-family house affordable to the younger American household.

The problem is most acute on the East and West Coasts, where tougher and tougher zoning rules, anti-growth policies, slow building-approval processes and other obstructions impede the land development process. Environmental concerns also rule out development on land that might formerly have been used, lifting prices for the fewer remaining buildable lots.

Battle Over Condo Conversions Heats Up
By JEFFREY HOFF
Published: September 18, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2DD1E3FF93BA2575AC0A96E948260

WHILE New Jersey suffers from a severe shortage of low-cost housing, tens of thousands of tenants across the state face eviction because their apartments are being converted to condominiums or cooperatives. Mounting opposition to the evictions has generated fierce legislative and legal debates.

A Year After the Crash, Climbing Back; Resilient Economy Puts Home Buyers Back into Market
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: October 16, 1988
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE2DB113DF935A25753C1A96E948260

A YEAR after Wall Street quaked last Oct. 19, tumbling much of the real estate market with it, most residential properties have sprung back smartly. But those closest to the epicenter - houses and apartments destined for buyers with incomes earned from the financial markets - are still slithering around in a slough of weakness.

When Wall Street trembled and the co-op market was stunned to a halt, Mr. Friend tried hard to salvage his deal. He lowered the price on his apartment by $35,000, listed it with 50 brokers and even offered a week's vacation in one of his hotels to the broker who sold it. He postponed the closing on the 79th Street apartment several times and, under the terms of the contract, paid the owner's $2,200 monthly mortgage and maintenance charges.

Banks' Net At Record $5.9 Billion
December 13, 1988, Tuesday
By NATHANIEL C. NASH, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 1, Column 6, 904 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0711FC345E0C708DDDAB0994D0484D81

The nation's commercial banking industry reported a record $5.9 billion in third-quarter profits, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said today. But the agency's chairman warned that the volume of bad loans had increased and that bank involvement in leveraged buyouts should be carefully monitored. The nation's commercial banking...

 

1989 - The Market Turns 

Home Prices Increase 3.4%
February 15, 1989, Wednesday
REUTERS (NYT); Financial Desk
Late City Final Edition, Section D, Page 20, Column 4, 229 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0713FE3B590C768DDDAB0894D1484D81

Prices of existing homes rose 3.4 percent last year, but despite the moderate increase, many first-time buyers are being priced out of the market in some areas, a national real estate group said today. Prices of existing homes rose 3.4 percent last year, but despite the moderate increase,...

Spring Sprouting Buds of Uncertainty
By IVER PETERSON
Published: March 19, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DF133FF93AA25750C0A96F948260

THIS spring, while some people let their fancy turn to thoughts of love, others will be worrying about the New York area housing market.

The reason is simple: The tumultuous boom in house values of this decade's middle years has been followed by 18 months of slack prices and declining sales in the area, and the seasonal outlook speaks of opportunities for buyers, belt-tightening for sellers and uncertainties for all.

Housing prices ran so far ahead of rises in income during the boom that some experts predict the slow market will persist for several years until wages catch up with wishes.

Carefree Days of Turning Garbage Into Real Estate Are Over
June 7, 1989, Wednesday
(NYT); Editorial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 26, Column 4, 413 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0711F73F5D0C748CDDAF0894D1484D81

Bidding for Buyers in a Slow Market
By IVER PETERSON
Published: June 18, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DE113FF93BA25755C0A96F948260

STEVE JANOWIAK cut the price of his penthouse condominium in suburban Chicago twice over the two years he listed it with a broker but it still did not sell. Fred Uehlein's condominium development outside Worcester, Mass., had sold well until the New England market slumped following the stock market crash in October 1987, and he was left with a third of the units unsold.

Market for Top Apartments Is Cooling
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: July 9, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFDC1F31F93AA35754C0A96F948260

TO many New York City renters, particularly those who endured the search for an apartment during the city's economic boom earlier in the 80's, it may seem as if Richard E. Hubner and Janet Aquino are talking about somewhere else.

Both are moving to Manhattan - he from Boston and she from Philadelphia. Both braced themselves for a tortuous transition into the nation's most expensive rental market, expecting to settle for something smaller, dirtier, darker and far more costly than the homes they were leaving.

And both have been pleasantly surprised.

About Real Estate; Co-op Converters Start To Rent in Slowdown
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: July 14, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0DC1F3DF937A25754C0A96F948260

A growing number of cooperative and condominium converters in New Jersey have begun to rent rather than sell their swelling inventory of vacant units, reflecting the continued slowdown in residential sales that has especially affected that state's conversion market.

The New York Area's Flat 'Move-Up' Market
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: August 6, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DEFD81039F935A3575BC0A96F948260

THE weak market for homes in New York City's suburbs, where demand and prices have soured, is creating headaches for everyone trying to sell their houses - and migraines for sellers at the middle and high ends of the spectrum - according to economists and real estate brokers.

The shift conforms to a pattern that has emerged in the past after periods of surging prices: With many homes languishing on the market, buyers are reluctant to stretch their budgets and people who already own homes postpone moves to larger, newer or more fashionable residences.

New York City's Housing Pace Slows
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: August 20, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0D6153FF933A1575BC0A96F948260

The slowdown is most pronounced in construction of expensive condominiums. In 1985, work began on over 21,000 new homes, more than half of them in fashionable Manhattan condominium towers. Now, analysts say, construction rates have dropped to where work is beginning on fewer than 12,000 new homes a year, less than a third of them in Manhattan condominiums.

After a Decade of Expansion, L.I. Economic Bubble Bursts
August 24, 1989, Thursday
By PHILIP S. GUTIS (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 2, 1420 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0714FF395D0C778EDDA10894D1484D81

As the economy slows across the New York metropolitan region and much of the Northeast, economists say Long Island is on the leading edge of the downturn. After a decade of explosive growth, the Island's bubble has burst. As the economy slows across the New York metropolitan region...

IN THE NATION; Demographics Hold Key To Home Appreciation
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: September 10, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DD123AF933A2575AC0A96F948260

''There are never any guarantees that a housing investment will pay off,'' he said. ''Things go sideways, and even downwards for a while, and sometimes people get hurt.'' Like Mr. Pfister, experts across the nation now are reassessing the prospects for home value appreciation with a newfound sense of caution. Most continue to believe that home prices will continue to rise over the long term. But they point to factors already responsible for downturns in some markets, and that could spread to others.

IN THE NEW YORK REGION; A Soft Market Is Chilling Apartment Construction
By MARK MCCAIN
Published: September 10, 1989

''People haven't been shy about negotiating over the phone - to see how far they can whittle down the price before they even look at my apartment,'' said Mr. Ginsberg, who is asking $167,000 for a studio apartment on East 56th Street that he believes was worth more than $200,000 before the stock market crash of 1987.

''Nonserious shoppers are looking for the steal of century,'' he said. ''And unfortunately, some owners are panicking and selling their apartments for less than they're worth - which hurts all the rest of us.''

Whether the motivation is panic or simply realism, successful sellers today are often resigning themselves to break-even deals. And sellers who bought nondescript apartments at the peak of the bidding frenzy four years ago are looking at losses that sometimes exceed $50,000. Buyers have become choosy and cautious, amid fears that prices have not bottomed out yet. Deals are still being struck, but hot spots in the market are few.

Working to Bolster Residential Sales
By PENNY SINGER
Published: September 10, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE0D81330F933A2575AC0A96F948260

''The home-buying market needs new blood to remain healthy,'' she said. ''Sales have been flat across the tristate area.''

Doldrums Troubling Housing Developers
By MARK MCCAIN
Published: September 24, 1989
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE1DB163EF937A1575AC0A96F948260

WITH birch trees and rhododendrons spread across their lush lawns, seven new town houses at the Racquet Club on Long Island Sound look like the pride of loving homeowners. But a wasteland of mud ponds and hardpan that surrounds this manicured oasis in Centerville, L.I., offers evidence of big plans gone awry.

Bulldozers gouged 20 acres out of an oak forest there, 75 miles east of Manhattan, to make way for more than 200 homes. But after spending more than $12 million on land, site work, roads, construction and advertising, the developers found no buyers. The seven model homes now sit locked and empty.

In a Cooling Housing Market, Real Estate Auctions Are Hot
December 3, 1989, Sunday
By CHARLOTTE LIBOV (NYT); Connecticut Weekly Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 12CN, Page 1, Column 5, 1450 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0715FD355F0C708CDDAB0994D1484D81

AUCTIONING off property, a sales method common in foreclosures, is being used more and more to market houses and condominiums in Connecticut as the demand for real estate continues to slacken.

U.S. Seizes New Jersey Savings Bank
December 9, 1989, Saturday
AP (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 1, Page 33, Column 6, 778 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0713FC3D580C7A8CDDAB0994D1484D81

Federal regulators seized New Jersey's largest savings association today after the institution recorded large losses from real estate ventures in New Jersey, Florida and Texas. Federal regulators seized New Jersey's largest savings association today after the institution recorded large losses from real estate ventures in New Jersey, Florida...

NORTHEAST BANKS FACE HEAVY LOSSES ON PROBLEM LOANS
December 15, 1989, Friday
By MICHAEL QUINT (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 6, 1812 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0715FB3F5D0C768DDDAB0994D1484D81

Troubled real estate loans are causing heavy losses for bankers in the Northeast. Troubled real estate loans are causing heavy losses for bankers in the Northeast. With office vacancy rates reaching 25 to 30 percent in places like central New Jersey and Stamford, Conn., and with many condominium...

Banks' Bad Real Estate Loans Spur Rising Worry of Failures
December 29, 1989, Friday
By NATHANIEL C. NASH, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, 1582 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA071EFC3C5B0C7A8EDDAB0994D1484D81

Federal regulators and banking experts say they are increasingly concerned that mounting losses from troubled real estate loans could lead to a series of bank failures, straining the Federal insurance program that protects depositors' funds. Federal regulators and banking experts say they are increasingly concerned that mounting losses...

 

1990 - Bank Failures And Foreclosure 

Savings Agency Ordered to Sell Real Estate Fast
January 4, 1990, Thursday
By NATHANIEL C. NASH, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 2, 1779 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30614FB385D0C778CDDA80894D8494D81

The new agency created to manage the huge savings and loan bailout was instructed today to sell the real estate it inherited from hundreds of insolvent institutions as quickly as possible. The directive from the Bush Administration raised concerns among bankers that the properties could be ''dumped'' in...

Edgewater Sugar Factory Is Now a Rental Complex
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: January 5, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DB1F38F936A35752C0A966958260

''We felt that real estate values alongside the Hudson could only go up,'' Robert Gershon said. And since the buildings were occupied with industrial tenants whose rents supported the $850,000 purchase price, it seemed a good property to hold until a more profitable use might be found. It was still uncertain whether there would be a viable market for luxury housing in a community that formerly had such a strong industral image. ''So it became a wait-and-see purchase,'' Mr. Gershon said.

By 1986 those doubts were gone. The development frenzy that hit the Northeast included the emerging neighborhoods of Edgewater. So the Gershons worked out an agreement with the town that allowed them to carve 40 residential units out of the complex's two main buildings (the second and smaller one to be dubbed Sweet'n Low).

The apartment buildings were originally planned as a condominium. But even before construction began, Robert Gershon said, he and his brother were considering keeping some units as rentals in the hope of profiting from an increase in values. But in 1988, when demand for condominiums weakened, the brothers opted for a total rental complex.

Mortgage Delinquencies Increasing
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: January 14, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DA163BF937A25752C0A966958260

THE slump in the New York region's real estate market, now in its third year, is increasing the financial strain on homeowners, would-be sellers and lenders alike as delinquent mortgage loans and foreclosures spread across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

More than 4 percent of the mortgage loans to individuals and families in New York City and its suburbs are now past due by at least two months, according to several studies. At those rates of delinquency, analysts say the region does not face anything close to the deep economic woes of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and other states around the Southwest, where more than 20 percent of the mortgage loans are delinquent and over 20,000 foreclosed homes are being sold off by the Federal Government.

Buyers Hang Back in Muddled Market
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: January 28, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D81430F93BA15752C0A966958260

A TWO-YEAR slump in property values has pushed down home prices in the New York region and mortgage interest rates also have fallen, but the reductions show little sign of attracting the huge numbers of buyers who were locked out of the region's giddy real estate market in the mid-80's.

CONSUMER'S WORLD; In Today's Housing Market, Is It Better to Buy or Rent?
February 10, 1990, Saturday
By LEONARD SLOANE (NYT); Style Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 1, Page 50, Column 4, 923 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3061EF7345C0C738DDDAB0894D8494D81

The decision to own or to rent a home has traditionally been based on three elements: cost, personal preference and investment. But the recent decline in house and apartment prices has made a such an investment less of a sure thing and has helped to convert many potential...

Job Hoppers Take Losses On Housing
By ANTHONY DEPALMA, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 28, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DB153BF93BA15750C0A966958260

But now that fewer jobs are being created, demand has slackened throughout the region and brokers say prices have flattened or, in some instances, dropped as much as 30 percent.

While that may be good news for potential buyers, a lack of optimism that values will rise soon prompts them to keep their price ranges conservative. Houses stay on the market months longer than before, and inventories of unsold homes have swelled.

TALKING: Default Sales; Foreclosed Property Bargains
By ANDREE BROOKS
Published: April 15, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6DE173CF936A25757C0A966958260

A GROWING number of residential properties are being offered at below-market prices by lenders who have foreclosed on defaulting homeowners and troubled developers. The Dime Savings Bank of New York, for example, has 600 foreclosed homes available, and other banks also have large stocks of seized houses that they want to sell quickly.

Most of these foreclosed properties can be obtained for 60 percent to 90 percent of what similar houses and apartments would bring in today's market.

Developers Offer a Garden to Sell the Kitchen Sink
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: May 4, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4DE1031F937A35756C0A966958260

With huge inventories of unsold homes in the New York region and New England, home hunters this spring are being offered an array of offbeat incentives and promotions.

Select the right house and the sellers will throw in the cost of commuting to Manhattan for a year, or a fully landscaped English garden, or a 1984 Mercedes-Benz or an all-expenses-paid vacation to Disney World.

''Price cutting is too commonplace,'' said one developer, Steve Maun. ''We are trying to be creative.''

With Condos on Their Hands, Builders Turn to Auctioneers
By IVER PETERSON
Published: May 17, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D6153BF934A25756C0A966958260

The bidding had reached $247,000, and Steven Good - natty as a banker, with a red rosebud boutonniere -raised his gavel and put a little more pitch into his patter.

''Do I hear forty-seven five, forty-seven five?'' he implored the crowd assembled last Saturday at the Meadowlands Hilton Ballroom in Secaucus, N.J. ''C'mon ladies and gentlemen, don't let your dream house get away from you, gimme-gimme-gimme forty-seven five.''

A few rows back, Meryl Stevens sat with her fiance, Richard Berk, crunching numbers. The three-story town house on the New Jersey bank of the Hudson had been listed at $565,000 last year, and here it was being auctioned off for less than half price.

MARKET WATCH; Where's The Cash, Mr. Trump?
June 17, 1990, Sunday
By FLOYD NORRIS (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 3, Page 1, Column 1, 495 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30611FD3B550C748DDDAF0894D8494D81

Is Donald a deadbeat? Is Donald a deadbeat? Donald J. Trump's failure to come up with a measly $30 million to pay bondholders at Trump's Castle, which he bought five years ago on amazingly generous, less-than-no-money-down, credit terms, is far from the final chapter of the Trump saga....

Construction Fades as Boom Loses Its Vigor
July 2, 1990, Monday
By RICHARD LEVINE (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section B, Page 1, Column 5, 1465 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30612FE3F5B0C718CDDAE0894D8494D81

So many new towers are rising on the West Side of Manhattan that it is hard to believe the boom is over. But the construction workers who form lunchtime knots on the sidewalks and gather beneath the scaffolding know better. So many new towers are rising on the...

Home Builders See Recession And Blame the Savings Crisis
July 19, 1990, Thursday
By IVER PETERSON (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, 1903 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3061FFE3B580C7A8DDDAE0894D8494D81

For the first time since the recession of the early 1980's, the rate of new housing construction has dropped for five consecutive months, providing further proof, home builders say, that the economic and regulatory fallout from the savings and loan crisis has pulled one of the country's biggest...

A Market Slumps and Real-Estate Lawyers Scramble
By ANTHONY DEPALMA
Published: August 27, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D71430F934A1575BC0A966958260

When houses and apartments were selling in days or weeks during the mid-1980's, real-estate closings were the bread and butter of many law practices in the New York metropolitan region. Some lawyers conducted hundreds of closings a year, collecting from $750 to $1,000 for each one.

But since the real-estate market was laid low and houses began to remain unsold for a year or more, that steady source of income has dried up, and many of those lawyers have had to reorganize the way they practice law.

ECONOMISTS FAULT POPULATION FIGURE FOR NEW YORK CITY
September 1, 1990, Saturday
By RICHARD LEVINE (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 1, Page 1, Column 1, 1096 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3061FFB3B5D0C728CDDA00894D8494D81

Could a city that enjoyed its greatest economic boom since World War II, experienced a dizzying rise in housing prices, attracted the largest wave of immigration since the days of Ellis Island and seemed to grow more crowded in every conceivable way actually be smaller now than it...

Profits Off By 15.9% At Banks
September 7, 1990, Friday
By ROBERT D. HERSHEY JR., SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section D, Page 1, Column 3, 665 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30617FF3C590C748CDDA00894D8494D81

Mounting problems with real estate loans along much of the East Coast cut profits of the nation's commercial banks to $5.3 billion in the second quarter, 15.9 percent below those of the first three months of the year, the Government reported today. ''The quality of the banking industry's...

Buyers Now Looking Just for a Home
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: September 9, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDC153DF93AA3575AC0A966958260&sec=&pagewanted=1

Across the region, where a three-year slump has left thousands of houses and cooperative and condominium apartments languishing on the market, experts say the approach of buyers has changed radically from the go-go years of the 80's. Instead of expecting to sell at a profit after two or three years - as many homeowners did - buyers now expect to remain in their homes for five to 10 years or more.

Residential Auctions More Popular
By JAY ROMANO
Published: October 7, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DB1F3CF934A35753C1A966958260

RESIDENTIAL real-estate auctions, traditionally perceived as the last resort of desperate developers, are fast becoming an acceptable, sometimes preferable sales strategy, real-estate experts say.

In the midst of a real-estate slump that has left the state blanketed with for-sale signs, anxious sellers are more quickly turning to the auction block to lure cautious buyers to their properties. And according to auctioneers, real-estate agents, developers and the buyers themselves, the strategy is working better than anyone expected.

Chemical Bank Cuts Its Dividend As Bad Real Estate Loans Sour
October 12, 1990, Friday
By MICHAEL QUINT (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section A, Page 1, Column 1, 1030 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30612F93E550C718DDDA90994D8494D81

The Chemical Banking Corporation announced a sharp cut in its stock dividend yesterday and a loss for the third quarter, joining a growing list of large banking companies whose problems with real estate loans have led to reduced payments to shareholders. The Chemical Banking Corporation announced a sharp...

Rentals Flourish as Home Sales Slow
By SHAWN G. KENNEDY
Published: November 11, 1990
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D71338F932A25752C1A966958260

IN the New York region's troubled home market, the rental alternative is becoming an increasingly attractive temporary haven for many would-be sellers and buyers. Among them are Samuel and Giedra Trocone, who see the should-we-sell-should-we-buy dilemma from both sides.

Owners in New Jersey, the Troncones found, were lowering their prices every few weeks. But rather than viewing these reductions as a golden opportunity, the Troncones took them as a warning sign.

Northeast Housing Slowdown Spreads Into Industry Recession
December 16, 1990, Sunday
By THOMAS J. LUECK (NYT); National Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 1, Page 1, Column 4, 1607 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30616F63D590C758DDDAB0994D8494D81

A prolonged slump in home sales that began in the New York and Boston areas soon after the stock market collapse of 1987 has expanded into a housing recession that engulfs much of the nation, according to economists and real estate executives. As always, the strength of home sales...

 

1991 - A False Glimmer Of Hope 

Morris County Sees Taxes Rise As Values Fall
By ROBERT HANLEY, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: January 7, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE0D61E3EF934A35752C0A967958260

After a 10-year boom in construction and property values, the taxable worth of real estate is dropping in Morris County, all but guaranteeing higher property taxes for homeowners.

After soaring alongside the economy in the 1980's, Morris County's ratables -- the taxable value of its land and buildings and the foundation of its local budgets -- have declined by $2 billion to about $42 billion for the 1991 tax year, officials said.

"The 80's had them escalating so high that reality has set in," Robert Natoli, the county treasurer, said of property values.

Bud Struble, head of the County Board of Taxation, said, "For the first time in memory, we're going the other way -- real value is coming down." Real, or market, value is a critical part of assessed value.

Redefining 'Affordability' for the 90's
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: January 20, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DE1131F933A15752C0A967958260

And for many homeowners, the gains in affordability are at best a mixed blessing. Millions who bought in the late 80's, believing their homes would prove to be lucrative investments, went further into debt for mortgage loans than has traditionally been considered prudent. Now, caught in a nationwide real estate slump and facing the propspect of selling for little more -- or even less -- than they paid, many are staying put, cutting back on other expenses and paying housing costs that are a heavy load.

Personal Bankruptcies Mounting With the Trepidation Lessening
January 21, 1991, Monday
By NICK RAVO, SPECIAL TO THE NEW YORK TIMES (NYT); Metropolitan Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section B, Page 1, Column 2, 1474 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20610FB3C5D0C728EDDA80894D9494D81

Throughout most of the 1980's, Paul Bernier, like many people here, prospered. He owned a 20-year-old contracting business. He also owned a fairly modest $300,000 home in this wealthy Fairfield County town. In the last 18 months, though, Mr. Bernier's company has collapsed under the Northeast's falling real-estate market....

Bottom of the Housing Slump Is Seen in the New York Area
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: March 1, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DD103BF932A35750C0A967958260

The New York area's housing slump may have finally hit bottom, or come close to it.

Jersey's 'Gold Coast' Losing Its Glitter
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: March 24, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE3D61438F937A15750C0A967958260

THE New Jersey shore of the Hudson River, which emerged in the mid-80's as a powerful new magnet for high-rise office development, is struggling with high vacancy rates, canceled projects and nagging doubts about the capacity of its roads, parking and public transportation.

No area better symbolized the 80's real estate boom in the New York region. An 18-mile corridor of gritty piers, derelict warehouses and abandoned railroad yards, the New Jersey riverfront became a patchwork of huge development sites.

It also became the focus of a feisty battle for New York City tenants and the centerpiece of an urban renaissance so sweeping that some began calling the area the "Gold Coast" of New Jersey.

After a Long Slump, Home Sales Rise
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: August 25, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D7103AF936A1575BC0A967958260

SALES of houses, co-ops and condominiums in the New York metropolitan area, still near the bottom of a slump that has been longer and deeper than any since before World War II, have improved steadily since the spring in what analysts say is the beginning of a slow recovery.

For sellers, the long slump has given rise to a new calculus in housing finance. They may accept less than their house was worth in the recent past, but they pay less for whatever they are buying in replacement.

Recovery In Housing Is Erratic
September 2, 1991, Monday
By THOMAS J. LUECK (NYT); Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 1, Page 25, Column 6, 1414 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20616FC34540C718CDDA00894D9494D81

After five months of robust sales gains during the spring and early summer, the nation's housing markets have lapsed into a sluggish, uneven recovery. Still, prices are increasing gradually in most areas, while new construction is rising steadily. "This is a very weak and spotty recovery," said David Shulman,...

Are Auctions Driving Housing Prices Down?
By IVER PETERSON
Published: October 6, 1991

LAST spring, as many housing developers despaired of hitting their price goals in an open market and began to auction off their apartments and town houses, some holdouts protested that the auctions would push the market lower and drag down prices on all properties.

Auctioneers, eager to break into the New York area's rich market of overbuilt and undersold housing, insisted that a quick sale of most units in a troubled development, even if at a discount, would shore up the prices of the remaining apartments and houses and secure higher prices for them.

Home Buyers Holding Off Despite Low Interest Rates
By THOMAS J. LUECK
Published: October 27, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1D7153BF934A15753C1A967958260

DESPITE a steep decline in interest rates that has brought fixed 30-year mortgage loans to below 9 percent for the first time since 1977, home buyers are holding back across most of the nation in what experts say are stubborn fears that job cuts and other recessionary pressures will persist.

Elsewhere in the nation, home sales have declined steadily at the very time that interest rates have dropped most sharply.

In This Buyers' Market The Buyers Are Edgy
By NICK RAVO
Published: December 15, 1991
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DC103DF936A25751C1A967958260

Indeed, these are tense times for home buyers, brokers, builders and sellers. Sale prices in the Northeast, in defiance of the old "it-can-only-go-up" axiom, have been falling for two years, making many shoppers and new home owners wonder about the real worth of real estate.

 

1992 - Reality Sets Back In 

The Shattered Vision of the Booming 90's
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
Published: March 8, 1992
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEED9163CF93BA35750C0A964958260

As New York City's real-estate market enters its fourth year of distress, the absence of the Ninth Avenue projects, as well as dozens of others proposed in the last decade, is keenly felt. The virtual freeze in construction has cost millions of dollars in tax revenues and thousands of jobs, underscoring the city's dependence on development not only as a prime stimulator of its economy but also as a prop for its civic identity, as a place that ceaselessly, impatiently renews itself.

An Uptick for Home Sales in the Region
By NICK RAVO
Published: June 7, 1992
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0D6153BF934A35755C0A964958260

SPURRED by low interest rates and lower prices, the residential real estate market in the New York metropolitan region, which has been dramatically deflated by a three-year recession and rapidly changing demographics, appears, for the most part, to be taking a slight upward turn.

Few real estate analysts, however, expect a sharp rise in sales volume for one-family homes, co-op apartments or condominiums anytime soon. Nor do they expect sale prices in the foreseeable future to return to the heights of the middle to late 80's.

New Housing At Lowest Since '85
By NICK RAVO
Published: August 30, 1992
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEEDF1F3AF933A0575BC0A964958260

THE once frenetic pace of housing construction in New York City has slowed to a virtual halt over the last three years, impeded by the lingering recession, a dearth of Federal funds and a bureaucratic bog of rent and land-use regulations.

Housing experts are unsure exactly how many new units are needed today. They contend, though, that despite attempts by the administrations of Mayors Edward I. Koch and David N. Dinkins to stimulate both construction and rehabilitation, vast numbers of affordable homes for low- and middle-income residents need to be built, particularly in the outer boroughs.

Surge in Home Foreclosures and Evictions Shattering Families
By NICK RAVO
Published: November 15, 1992
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1D81E3DF936A25752C1A964958260

The number of homes in foreclosure in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut has almost doubled since the middle of last year, rising to levels not seen in decades.

The sudden surge in foreclosures, after a steady climb since the late 1980's, reflects the region's job losses, falling real-estate values and a growing backlog of cases that have clogged the courts, delaying some foreclosures for months and even years, lenders and lawyers say.

Foreclosures on Rise While Prices Still Falter
November 29, 1992, Sunday
By ROBERT A. HAMILTON (NYT); Connecticut Weekly Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 13CN, Page 1, Column 5, 1556 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F1061FFD3C5C0C7A8EDDA80994DA494D81

WHILE most of the Connecticut economy languishes, one sector is thriving. Lawyers, auctioneers, real estate agents and others involved in foreclosures are doing a booming business. Four years ago, when real estate prices in Connecticut were at an all-time high, about 20 mortgages of every 1,000 were in foreclosure....

Foreclosures May Have Hit the Bottom
By PENNY SINGER
Published: December 13, 1992
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D9123BF930A25751C1A964958260

A critical factor in foreclosures, he said, is the large number of borrowers who bought high-priced houses in the 80's. "The foreclosures reflect the mortgage policy of the mid-80's. They were allowed to liberally get large mortgages, but now the economic pressures for many, brought on by the recession -- such as loss of jobs, loss of income -- make it impossible for a lot of them to come up with their mortgage payments. That's the bad news. The good news is that the high level of foreclosures that we began seeing back in the first half of 1989 is finally leveling off."

 

1993 - Hope For A Bottom

Have Suburban Prices Hit the Bottom?
By NICK RAVO
Published: February 28, 1993
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE7D9153CF93BA15751C0A965958260

THE market for one-family homes in the suburban New York metropolitan region, much of which has been in decline for the last five years, appears to have bottomed out in most areas, and, in some places, such as Northern New Jersey, a modest recovery seems to be under way.

Real estate brokers attribute the trend to low mortgage interest rates, realistic prices set by sellers, the dearth of new construction and a small surge of first-time buyers who were priced out of the market in the mid-80's and frightened out in the late 80's and early 90's.

 

1994 - Disappointing Bounce

Residential Real Estate Market Rebounds in New York Region
By NICK RAVO
Published: January 23, 1994
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E6DF1030F930A15752C0A962958260

After five years of slumping sales and plummeting prices, the residential real estate market in the New York region is starting to rebound, according to housing analysts.

Though the recovery is not as robust as in other parts of the country, like the Southeast and the Rocky Mountain states, the precipitous slide that saw home values in the region plunge by double-digit rates in the late 1980's and early 1990's appears to be ending.

 

1995 - Uncertainty As The Bottom Is Hit

For Suburban Homes, Modest Recovery
By NICK RAVO
Published: February 19, 1995
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DD1631F93AA25751C0A963958260

RECOVERY that was reserved in most areas and robust in some reigned over the residential real estate market in the New York suburbs last year. Home sales surged in much of Connecticut and Long Island and in Westchester and Rockland Counties and parts of Northern New Jersey -- but fell short of their mid-1980's peaks. Sale prices, in most places, were flat or rose only slightly, barely bouncing off the bottoms hit during the recession in the early 90's.

New York Housing: Sellers Finally Sell
By NICK RAVO
Published: February 26, 1995
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE6DC153BF935A15751C0A963958260

OWNERS of residential real estate in New York City, particularly those with co-ops, may look back on 1994 as the year when it once again became possible to sell their homes -- even studios and one-bedroom apartments. It still wasn't easy, and the big profits of the 1980's remained only a memory, but the increased demand and stable prices were a substantial improvement over the early 1990's, when market activity slowed drastically and prices fell.

In the Region/Connecticut; 'If You're Breathing' You Can Get a Home Mortgage
By ELEANOR CHARLES
Published: April 2, 1995
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE1DB123AF931A35757C0A963958260

For Home Buyers, Patience Has Paid Off
By NICK RAVO
Published: May 21, 1995

INTEREST rates are falling. Interest rates are falling. It's a mantra being intoned by almost every real estate broker, mortgage banker and potential home buyer these days. And unlike other industry slogans -- like "now is a good time to buy" or "prices are rising" -- this one is unarguable, at least for now.

Spring Housing-Sales Climate Is Chilly
By NICK RAVO
Published: June 18, 1995
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5D7153FF93BA25755C0A963958260

SPRING is the time of year when residential real estate markets often blossom. This spring, though, the market's climate in most of the New York metropolitan region has been cool.

House closing figures -- which typically reflect contracts signed one to three months earlier -- have been below those of a year ago in most areas and sale prices have been somewhat lower for many types of houses.

About Real Estate; Agents Say Home Sales Remain in the Doldrums
By TRACIE ROZHON
Published: July 28, 1995
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CEEDF1131F93BA15754C0A963958260

As the summer doldrums settle in, real estate agents across the metropolitan New York region are hoping for cooler weather -- and more sales.

Among the reasons for the decline, she said, were that " Wall Street bonuses were significantly lower and there were a lot of layoffs in industry here." New listings of properties for sale are "twice what's going off," she said.

COPING;Selling My Place. Naked Before the World.
November 5, 1995, Sunday
By ROBERT LIPSYTE (NYT); The City Weekly Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section 13, Page 1, Column 3, 891 words
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30716F83C5D0C768CDDA80994DD494D81

THE real estate lady drove in from New Jersey with a box of cookies, a nice touch. She planned to put them near the front door so people would feel welcome to walk through my apartment as if they'd been invited to a party instead of an advertised Sunday...

 

Today - Will this bubble end differently?

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