Monthly Archives: June 2008

Home prices to fall further

Posted on June 17, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 78 Comments

From the Associated Press via the International Herald Tribune: Bank economists see home prices only halfway through decline, gloom for consumers “home … prices … halfway … through … decline” (The above quote meets the AP standards for blog quotation) … Continue reading →

The New American Dream

Posted on June 17, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 345 Comments

From CNN: Is America’s suburban dream collapsing into a nightmare? While the foreclosure epidemic has left communities across the United States overrun with unoccupied houses and overgrown grass, underneath the chaos another trend is quietly emerging that, over the next … Continue reading →

“New Jerseyans need homes they can afford”

Posted on June 16, 2008 by grim
Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 205 Comments

From the AP: Housing reform on tap in NJ The Assembly will consider a sweeping plan Monday to revamp New Jersey’s affordable housing laws. Supporters contend the bill would increase affordable housing throughout the state but critics argue it would … Continue reading →

VINDICATION – NJ Q1 Home Sales down 30%

Posted on June 14, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 182 Comments

On May 13th, the National Association or Realtors released their first quarter 2008 sales data, which indicated that sales in New Jersey were up 4% year over year. Almost immediately I suspected there was an issue with the data, their … Continue reading →

North Jersey May 2008 Residential Sales

Posted on June 12, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 318 Comments

Preliminary May sales and inventory data for Northern New Jersey (GSMLS) is in. Please note that this data is subject to revision. The first graph plots the unadjusted sales data (closed sales) for the counties listed. Please note the lower … Continue reading →

Feeling the squeeze

Posted on June 12, 2008 by grim
Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble | 289 Comments

The long awaited Gold Coast Get Together! Don’t miss it! June 14th, 2008 at 5pm The Brass Rail 135 Washington St Hoboken, NJ 07030 ————————– From the NY Post: FORECLOSURES HIT NYC LIKE A BRICK How big has New York … Continue reading →

June Beige Book

Posted on June 12, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Federal Reserve: Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions (PDF) SECOND DISTRICT–NEW YORK The Second District’s economy has been generally weaker since the last report. Manufacturers report that business activity remained sluggish in May, while cost pressures have … Continue reading →

Buy and Bail

Posted on June 11, 2008 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 260 Comments

From the Wall Street Journal: Some Buy a New Home to Bail on the Old Fannie Plans Rules To Avoid Practice Described as Fraud By NICK TIMIRAOS June 11, 2008; Page A3 In markets hit hardest by falling home prices … Continue reading →

High-end Housing Not Immune

Posted on June 10, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 195 Comments

From CNN/Money: Housing crunch, 90210 Across the country, real estate agents and home sellers in wealthy neighborhoods who grew accustomed to seven-figure bidding wars during the boom are feeling the sting of the housing crunch. Ed McMahon can vouch for … Continue reading →

Drive until you qualify

Posted on June 9, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 218 Comments

From Bloomberg: Wealth Evaporates as Gas Prices Clobber McMansions, SUV Makers Homeowners in the exurbs aren’t the only ones whose assets have taken a hit because of the surge in energy costs. Companies such as General Motors Corp. and UAL … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion – Part II

Posted on June 7, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 166 Comments

Now Open, Part II! Prior weekend thread closed due to comment overflow ——————————————– Save the Date! New Jersey Real Estate Report Get Together June 14th, 2008 at 5pm The Brass Rail 135 Washington St Hoboken, NJ 07030

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on June 6, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 370 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 →

State moves forward with $2,000 Foreclosure Tax

Posted on June 5, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 41 Comments

From the Courier Post Online: State moves to help those in danger of foreclosure An Assembly panel released a measure today that would create a roughly $30 million fund aimed at helping those facing foreclosure because of the problems in … Continue reading →

May Bergen County Chartfest

Posted on June 4, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 296 Comments

For those of you interested in Bergen County, Rich has provided an incredible set of charts based on New Jersey MLS (NJMLS) Bergen County data. While I’ve focused on GSMLS data, because of it’s broader coverage, its downside is that … Continue reading →

“I just saved a bundle on my real estate commissions!”

Posted on June 4, 2008 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Politics | 272 Comments

From MarketWatch: Buyer’s recourse There’s a big, annoying ad campaign for a popular insurance company where the punch line of every commercial is “I saved a bundle on my car insurance.” If people actually behaved like the actors in the … Continue reading →