Monthly Archives: December 2008

“We’re going to see a pretty significant storm next year”

Posted on December 11, 2008 by grim
Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 370 Comments

From Bloomberg: Foreclosure Storm Will Hit U.S. in 2009 as Loan Changes Fail U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 28 percent in November from a year earlier and a brewing “storm” of new defaults and job losses may force 1 million homeowners … Continue reading →

Becoming a Subprime Society

Posted on December 10, 2008 by grim
Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 335 Comments

From MarketWatch: Foreclosures could top 8 million: Credit Suisse More than 8 million mortgages could go into foreclosure in coming years in the wake of the credit meltdown as the economy worsens and the U.S. suffers more job losses, according … Continue reading →

Schools: What do our tax dollars buy us?

Posted on December 8, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 406 Comments

That time of year again, no not Christmas, U.S. News and World Report released its “America’s Best High Schools” report. America’s Best High Schools So how does New Jersey rank nationwide? Unfortunately, the answer is: Not very good at all. … Continue reading →

Freddie: How to do business in Washington

Posted on December 8, 2008 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 421 Comments

From the AP via CNBC: How Freddie Mac Splashed Cash to Halt Regulation From a hefty lobbying budget to the use of free baseball tickets, Freddie Mac fended off any meaningful regulation in the years before the housing mortgage giant … Continue reading →

Multifamily Slows in North Jersey

Posted on December 7, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 75 Comments

From the Record: Multifamily projects in slowdown Builders who started condo and town house projects during the housing boom are now cutting prices or putting the brakes on development as they face a steep downturn in sales. “We’re not going … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on December 5, 2008 by grim
Posted in General | 481 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 →

Surprise surprise, NYC in recession

Posted on December 4, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 349 Comments

From the NY Times: No Surprise, New York Is in Recession One year after the national economy officially fell into a recession, New York City and State have joined it, according to an influential research firm. On Wednesday, Moody’s Economy.com … Continue reading →

North Jersey October Residential Sales

Posted on December 3, 2008 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 184 Comments

Preliminary October 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 →

Straight out of the early 90s real estate bust playbook

Posted on December 3, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 146 Comments

From the WSJ: Lenders Tiptoe Into Bulk Sales Glut of Foreclosed Homes Spurs Some Trial Runs By JAMES R. HAGERTY As the glut of foreclosed homes swells, banks and other lenders are starting to warm to the idea of selling … Continue reading →

How does real estate perform in a recession?

Posted on December 2, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 219 Comments

From Bloomberg: Recession in U.S. May Be Just Beginning as Job Losses Mount The U.S. economy, now officially in recession, may be in the midst of the longest slump in the post- World War II era as job losses mount … Continue reading →

“It’s not enough to have a rail station, but it’s a really good start.”

Posted on December 1, 2008 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 299 Comments

From the Record: A route to higher home values And, yes, it is an oncoming train. But in this real estate market — more than any other — that’s a good thing. Homes in towns with rail stations at their … Continue reading →