Monthly Archives: November 2006

Want a raise? Send your resume to Corzine.

Posted on November 22, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, Politics | 21 Comments

From the AP: Rutgers study: Government workers paid more than private workers State and local government employees earn more than private-sector workers, mainly because the income of those working for private companies has eroded over the past few decades, a … Continue reading →

What corruption?

Posted on November 22, 2006 by grim
Posted in Politics | 11 Comments

From the Asbury Park Press: Indictment: Mayor offered jobs to opponent A small-town mayor from southern New Jersey offered his political opponent municipal jobs if the man would agree to drop out of a political race, state Attorney General Stuart … Continue reading →

NAHB Housing Opportunity Index for NJ

Posted on November 21, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 42 Comments

The NAHB released the Q3 Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) yesterday: NAHB-Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) Affordability continues to fall across New Jersey: New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ 2005.Q3 6.7 2005.Q4 5.7 2006.Q1 6.1 2006.Q2 5.9 2006.Q3 5.1 Newark-Union, NJ-PA 2005.Q3 … Continue reading →

Is the worst over or just beginning?

Posted on November 21, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 12 Comments

From the Wall Street Journal: Is the Worst Over for the Housing Bust? The worst of the housing bust is over, economists said by nearly 2-to-1 in the latest WSJ.com economic forecasting survey. But they still predict that the average … Continue reading →

Lowball! 11/1 – 11/15

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in Lowball | 115 Comments

Welcome to another edition of Lowball! Lowball! takes a look at home sales from a 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 … Continue reading →

“Economic growth in New Jersey is slowly grinding to a halt”

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics | 3 Comments

From NJBiz: This Economic Train Is Stuck in the Station Economic growth in New Jersey is slowly grinding to a halt, according to a seasonal study put out by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) that points to an easing … Continue reading →

Affordability holding back first-time buyers

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 9 Comments

From the WSJ Real Estate Journal: Declining Affordability Pushes Homes Out of Reach for Some Despite low mortgage interest rates, a smaller percentage of first-time home buyers are entering the market, according to an annual profile of buyers and sellers … Continue reading →

Long-term Jersey Outlook

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 16 Comments

From the Asbury Park Press: Jump-start N.J. economy New Jersey’s high property taxes aren’t the only thing that should keep state leaders awake at night. The economy is pretty much flat, with the state actually losing 2,200 jobs last month. … Continue reading →

The Greenspan Legacy

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble | 10 Comments

From Bloomberg: Greenspan Legacy Submits to Its First Review Alan Greenspan didn’t go quietly from the global stage when he retired as chairman of the Federal Reserve in January. His speeches are still widely reported, his economic views and forecasts … Continue reading →

Preserving Greenville and West Side

Posted on November 20, 2006 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Jersey Journal: Planning division aims to save century-old homes The Jersey City Planning Division wants to carve out new residential zones in the Greenville and West Side sections of the city in the hopes of saving older Victorian-style … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on November 19, 2006 by grim
Posted in General | 226 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 →

The Illustrated Bubble

Posted on November 19, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 13 Comments

Some very interesting charting by Gary Shilling: The Coming Collapse in Housing

“A tornado hit the housing sector in October”

Posted on November 18, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 8 Comments

From the AP: 5-year housing boom turning into ‘recession’ Housing construction plunged in October as builders slashed activity to the lowest level in more than six years. Further declines were expected as the five-year housing boom turns into what is … Continue reading →

Housing starts plunge to 6 year low

Posted on November 17, 2006 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 83 Comments

From Marketwatch: U.S. housing starts plunge 14.6% to 6-year low WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Starts of new U.S. homes plunged 14.6% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.486 million, the lowest level in more than six years, the … Continue reading →

Price Reduced 11/1 – 11/15

Posted on November 17, 2006 by grim
Posted in Price Reduced | 23 Comments

Welcome to another edition of Price Reduced! For all the newcomers to the site, Price Reduced! takes a look at a handful of significant price reductions across Northern NJ. The purpose of this exercise is to serve as evidence that … Continue reading →