Monthly Archives: May 2006

From the APP: Anemic economy forecast for N.J. Rising unemployment, a slowdown in the housing market and declining business for vendors could add up to an anemic economy for New Jersey in the coming months, according to the latest data … Continue reading →

From Smartmoney: Inflation Eats Up Income Gains in April Rising prices offset the gains in personal incomes in April, the Commerce Department said Friday. Personal incomes rose 0.5% in the month, but consumer prices also rose 0.5%. Real disposable incomes … Continue reading →

Greetings from the Jersey Shore. Love is… …an unsecured wireless network. Sorry for the lack of updates today, I’m down on Long Beach Island for the holiday weekend. Thought I’d get a chance to find internet access locally, but no … Continue reading →

From the National Association of Realtors: April Existing Home Sales April Year-over-year Sales – Unadjusted Nationwide -10.1% Northeast -7.1% Midwest -8.5% South -7.7% West -17.9% Median Sales Price Changes Nationwide 4.2% Northeast 5.6% Midwest -1.2% South 3.4% West 4.8% Inventory … Continue reading →

While we’re on the subject of Montclair, I’d like to invite everyone out to the Montclair Twilight Criterium tonite (Thursday, May 25th). While I’m not racing tonite, I am part of the crew putting this race on. For those who … Continue reading →

The Consumer Federation of America recently completed a survey and study of non-traditional mortgage products. Unfortunately, the results only serve to further confirm what we’ve seen and heard before, the bulk of these exotic mortgages are being taken by under-qualified … Continue reading →

New Jersey 2006 Q1 Statistics are available on the NJAR website: NJAR – First Quarter 2006 Caveat Emptor! Grim

Census department released the New Home Sales data earlier this morning, that data is available here: NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN APRIL 2006 “Sales of new one-family houses in April 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,198,000, according … Continue reading →

From Reuters: US home loan demand fell despite lower rates “U.S. mortgage applications fell last week, driven by a steep decline in home purchasing loans even as interest rates dropped, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.” “The Mortgage Bankers … Continue reading →

GSMLS – http://www.gsmls.com (Garden State Multiple Listing Service) Single Family Homes, Condo, Coop (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren Counties) 5/17 – 16,846 5/24 – 17,138 (1.7% Weekly Increase) NJMLS – http://www.njmls.com (New Jersey Multiple Listing Service) … Continue reading →

Lowball! takes a look at home sales over the past week from a very different perspective. For those new to Lowball!, a lowball offer is when a buyer offers a significantly lower bid than asking in hopes that the seller … Continue reading →

From Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO): OFHEO REPORT: FANNIE MAE FAÇADE (PDF) “Washington, DC – James B. Lockhart, Acting Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), today released its Report of the Special Examination of … Continue reading →

From the Daily Record: State revenue falling short of expectations BY JONATHAN TAMARI “State Treasurer Bradley Abelow plans to pull the state’s purse strings even tighter on an already difficult budget after the latest round of revenue projections.” “Abelow is … Continue reading →

From Businesswire: ForeclosureS.com: Northeast Foreclosure Activity Up Sharply “California based ForeclosureS.com, a real estate investment advisory firm and nationwide foreclosure lists publisher, reported today that 2006 foreclosure activity in the Northeast is up sharply from 2005 levels.” “”According to our … Continue reading →

From BusinessWeek: The Growl of a Housing Bear “John Talbott warned that home prices were ready to fall back in 2003, when he wrote the best-seller The Coming Crash in the Housing Market (McGraw-Hill). A former Goldman Sachs (GS ) … Continue reading →