Monthly Archives: December 2007

“Charmless…soulless…hasty…slick…”

Posted on December 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | 20 Comments

From the Daily Reckoning: THE “WOW” FACTOR Tacky, vulgar and trashy…say good riddance to the Great Rubbish Market of 2001-2007. … “The Wow Factor”, it said, in large red letters. We looked beyond the sign to see what the ‘wow’ … Continue reading →

Undeserved reputation

Posted on December 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 1 Comment

From the Hudson Reporter: Longtime residents set record straight about 1970s-era Jersey City Barbara Bromirski, 67, recalls a time when she would take walks from her home on Warren Street to the corner hardware store. “The neighbors would have been … Continue reading →

Powerhouse legal, financial, and business district

Posted on December 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Jersey Journal: FINDING FEW TAKERS City officials say they are struggling to find qualified applicants for new affordable or market-rate live/work artist studios in the downtown Powerhouse Arts District. The problem isn’t a shortage of artists – the … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion – Part II

Posted on December 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in General | 59 Comments

Now Open, Part II! Prior weekend thread closed due to comment overflow.

Homeowner a misnomer

Posted on December 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 1 Comment

From the Hartford Courant: The Cash-Cow Myth Homeowners started losing hold of their homes years before spiking foreclosures and the housing slump slammed the economy. Piece by piece, some gave away their homes by tapping equity to take cash out … Continue reading →

“There’s no sense of urgency whatsoever”

Posted on December 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Record: Builders cutting prices to cut deals How much would a buyer pay for a new house in Ramsey, with three bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms, a stone facade and high-end finishes such as crown molding and stainless steel appliances? … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on December 21, 2007 by grim
Posted in General | 317 Comments

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

NAHB: House values to fall 10 to 15 percent

Posted on December 21, 2007 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 3 Comments

From Inman News: 2008 not so great, says builders’ economist Single-family housing starts are expected to plummet 29.3 percent this year compared to 2006, and to drop another 23.6 percent in 2008, National Association of Home Builders chief economist David … Continue reading →

“It was so easy, it’s incredible”

Posted on December 21, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off

From the Wall Street Journal: Fraud Seen as a Driver In Wave of Foreclosures Atlanta Ring Scams Bear Stearns, Getting $6.8 Million in Loans By MICHAEL CORKERY December 21, 2007; Page A1 Skyrocketing foreclosures are a testament to how easy … Continue reading →

LoanPerformance October 2007 House Price Index

Posted on December 20, 2007 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 301 Comments

From LoanPerformance: First American LoanPerformance Releases October 2007 House Price Index 12 Month Change By Top 30 CBSAs (Core Based Statistical Areas) As of October 2007 Honolulu, HI 17.91% Salt Lake City, UT 11.63% Austin-Round Rock, TX 8.62% San Antonio, … Continue reading →

November foreclosures up 68% YOY

Posted on December 19, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 236 Comments

From the Associated Press: US Foreclosure Filings Rose in November S. homeowners increasingly failed to keep up with their home loan payments in November, as the number of foreclosure filings surged 68 percent nationwide compared with the same month a … Continue reading →

Hovnanian loss widens

Posted on December 19, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | 6 Comments

From Dow Jones: Home Builder Hovnanian Reports Quarterly Loss Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. late Tuesday reported a widened fourth-quarter loss, as home builders continue in vain to search for a bottom in the residential housing market. The Red Bank, N.J.-based company … Continue reading →

No pain for NJ banks?

Posted on December 19, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off

From the Record: Subprime woes take toll on regional banks Valley National Bancorp Chief Executive Officer Gerald Lipkin thinks regional banks such as his are being unfairly punished by investors anxious over subprime mortgage writedowns at large banks. Shares at … Continue reading →

Will the Fed step in?

Posted on December 18, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 287 Comments

From the Associated Press: Fed to Unveil Home Mortgage Plan Federal Reserve plan being unveiled Tuesday would give people taking out home mortgages new protections against shady lending practices. The rules to be proposed are especially geared to providing some … Continue reading →

Subprime: All you need to know

Posted on December 18, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 4 Comments

From Bloomberg: `Deal With Devil’ Funded Carrera Crash Before Subprime Shakeout One week in 2002, Daniel Sadek was $6,000 short of covering the payroll for his new subprime mortgage company, Quick Loan Funding Corp. So he flew to Las Vegas … Continue reading →