Monthly Archives: October 2006

North Jersey Weekly Inventory Update

Posted on October 25, 2006 by grim
Posted in North Jersey Real Estate | 2 Comments

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) 10/18 – 19,035 10/25 – 18,940 (0.5% Decrease) NJMLS – http://www.njmls.com (New Jersey Multiple Listing Service) Single … Continue reading →

Would you support merging municipalities and schools?

Posted on October 25, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 10 Comments

From the Home News Tribune: Majority in poll would link towns By JASON METHOD A majority of state residents say they are willing to merge municipalities and school districts to cut local property taxes, a new poll shows. They say … Continue reading →

Just another piece of paper to sign at closing

Posted on October 25, 2006 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 11 Comments

From RealtyTimes: Robbins Calls for Personal Commitment by Lew Sichelman The new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association has called for an “industry-wide commitment to personal responsibility.” Taking over the reins of the MBA at the group’s annual convention in … Continue reading →

Funding Open Spaces

Posted on October 25, 2006 by grim
Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 12 Comments

From the Philadelphia Inquirer: It’s a question of preserving the state’s future By Paul Chrystie In coming months, New Jersey will determine the fate of its parks and open-space programs. Voters get to make the first decision on Election Day: … Continue reading →

Are Sellers the problem? Or are Buyers?

Posted on October 24, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 59 Comments

From Reuters: Stubborn sellers could harm housing sector At a recent meeting with her Las Vegas real estate firm’s 200 agents, Joanne Levy told them they needed to deliver a stark message to clients. They would tell them that unsold … Continue reading →

Slowdown ending or just beginning?

Posted on October 24, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 116 Comments

From BusinessWeek: Is Housing Out of the Woods? by Marc Hogan Depending on whom you ask, the winds may already be shifting for the housing market. All year, economists have warned of a bursting housing bubble and its potential impact … Continue reading →

Strong demand for non-traditional mortgages

Posted on October 24, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 61 Comments

From Inman News: ‘Nontraditional’ mortgages rise as overall origination falls A slowing housing market has put a damper on first-mortgage origination volume for the first half of the year, an industry survey released Monday shows. First-mortgage origination volume decreased 16 … Continue reading →

Jersey Residents Squeezed

Posted on October 24, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics | 10 Comments

From the Asbury Park Press: N.J. health care costs skyrocketing, group says With rising health care costs outpacing incomes in New Jersey, a healthcare advocacy group warned Monday that increasing numbers of state residents are unable to afford adequate medical … Continue reading →

New Jersey Condos – A Look At The Last Crash

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 162 Comments

Note: This is a repost of an older piece. Decided to spend some time going through the tax records to see if I could determine how condos were affected during the last real estate crash. I’m sure many of you … Continue reading →

“The slumping U.S. housing market is about to get a lot worse”

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 19 Comments

From Bloomberg: Housing in U.S. Poised to Worsen, Derivatives Show By Darrell Hassler and Hamish Risk The slumping U.S. housing market is about to get a lot worse, according to traders of mortgage-backed securities and the so-called derivatives on which … Continue reading →

An interesting way to provide affordable housing

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 6 Comments

From the Daily Record: Extra room at home could bring big bucks BY TOM BALDWIN Check your mail. The folks at town hall might want to give you $20,000. Growing numbers of New Jersey municipalities, including Long Hill, offer residents … Continue reading →

JC workers must contribute 30%

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 11 Comments

From the Jersey Journal: Redevelopers to be forced to hire Jersey City residents By KEN THORBOURNE Developers who agree to rebuild blighted areas in Jersey City have to give more than lip service to hiring local residents: they must contract … Continue reading →

Changing Wildwood

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim
Posted in New Development, Shore Real Estate | 18 Comments

From the Press of Atlantic City: Wildwood developers look to sky By MICHAEL MILLER Lately, when developers size up land for new construction in the city, they risk getting cricks in their necks. That’s because the most ambitious new projects … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on October 22, 2006 by grim
Posted in General | 207 Comments

This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing bubble, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading →

Flip Flop

Posted on October 22, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 15 Comments

From the Daily Breeze: Can a house flip put you in the flophouse? By Jim Woodard House flipping has been an obsession for many people over the past few years — but no more. Flipping is the practice of buying … Continue reading →