Monthly Archives: June 2006

From Bloomberg: U.S. May Personal Spending Rises 0.4%; Core Prices Up 0.2% Consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent, the smallest increase in three months, and inflation held above the Federal Reserve’s preferred range. The rise in spending follows … Continue reading →

From the Daily Record: Highlands funding takes dive this year The roller coaster ride that is federal funding for Highlands preservation continued downhill Thursday as a U.S. Senate committee endorsed only $1 million to be split among four states this … Continue reading →

From The Otteau Group (http://www.otteau.com) MAY SALES TREND HIGHER, BUT STILL LAG LAST YEAR Following a disappointing April, residential contract-sales activity in New Jersey trended higher in May providing some balance to the housing market. However, while buying activity in … Continue reading →

From the Federal Reserve: FOMC Statement The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to raise its target for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5-1/4 percent. Recent indicators suggest that economic growth is moderating from its quite … Continue reading →

From Bloomberg: U.S. First-Quarter Gross Domestic Product Grew at a 5.6% Rate The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 5.6 percent in the first quarter, propelled by a surge in consumer spending that has since faded as gasoline … 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) 6/21 – 18,240 6/28 – 18,526 (1.6% Increase) NJMLS – http://www.njmls.com (New Jersey Multiple Listing Service) Single … Continue reading →

I’ve received a number of emails lately, which all asked the same question. If people are boycotting open houses, and not placing bids, how are sellers supposed to know that their homes are overpriced? It’s a good question. Unless the … Continue reading →

There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about rent increases being passed through to the Core CPI through something called OER (Owners’ Equivalent Rent). The CPI doesn’t take into account housing prices directly, so the stagging increase over … Continue reading →

From Reuters: Home loan demand drops as rates hit 4-year high U.S. mortgage applications fell last week as interest rates hit their highest in over four years, an industry trade group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its … Continue reading →

From the News Transcript: Crowded conditions draw look in Freehold Hitting landlords with higher fines and providing public education for landlords and tenants are ways the Freehold Borough Rental Property Advisory Committee hopes to address the issue of residential overcrowding. … Continue reading →

From the Jersey Journal: $11M IN THE HOLE By RONALD LEIR One partner in a joint venture designated to build 1,700 apartments at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor has bolted, leaving the city with an $11 million deficit in the … Continue reading →

From CNN/Money: Stuck! Homes sit longer on the market The tell-tale sign of a stagnating real estate market? When homes for sale start lingering – and that’s exactly what real estate brokers and other industry watchers say they’re seeing now. … Continue reading →

From Reuters: U.S. house price risk jumped in past year Homes in about 30 percent of the top 50 U.S. house markets are at risk of losing value, up from about a fifth a year ago, according to an index … Continue reading →

From the National Association of Realtors: May Existing Home Sales (PDF) Nationally, Existing home sales for May fell 1.2% from April, and 6.6% from last May. The Northeast saw a 4.2% monthly decline, and a 5% year over year decline … Continue reading →

Hat Tip to the Jersey Shore Bubble Blog for the link: From the Philidelphia Inquirer: Forecast turns bit cloudier By Alletta Emeno and Alan J. Heavens Without a doubt, the Jersey Shore real estate market has had a fantastic run … Continue reading →