Monthly Archives: September 2009

Are home prices up or down?

Posted on September 30, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 231 Comments

From the Record: Decline in home prices slows Home prices are still falling, but not as quickly, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller home price index said Tuesday. Prices nationwide were down 13.3 percent in July from July 2008, while prices … Continue reading →

When Losing is Winning (aka Reverse Pyrrhic Victory?)

Posted on September 29, 2009 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 243 Comments

From the Wall Street Journal: Would-Be Hovnanian Condo Buyer Lost Bid, But Saved Cash David Bartz doesn’t regret the one that got away. About a year ago, Bartz wanted to buy a $1.4-million unit at 77 Hudson, a 48-story condo … Continue reading →

No Quick Recovery For NJ

Posted on September 28, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 42 Comments

From Bloomberg: Fed Says New York, New Jersey May Lag National Recovery Trend New York Federal Reserve Bank economists said that while the worst of the recession in New York and New Jersey may be over, a recovery in the … Continue reading →

“There is no bright spot in New Jersey”

Posted on September 28, 2009 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 152 Comments

From the Vineland Daily Journal: Property taxes are stealing our way of life New Jersey’s property tax system is broken. But you already know that. What is not well known is that property taxes promote disparities among economic and racial … Continue reading →

“New Jersey continues as the overall property tax champ”

Posted on September 26, 2009 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 167 Comments

From the WSJ: New Jersey Moves Up The Property Tax Charts New Jersey, infamous for having some of the highest property taxes in the U.S., is only getting more so. The state has inched its way up on a list … Continue reading →

Housing “recovery” falters

Posted on September 25, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 239 Comments

From MarketWatch: Existing-home sales drop 2.7% in August to 5.1 million pace Resales of U.S. homes dropped 2.7% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million, the first decline in five months, prompting the National Association of … Continue reading →

NJ foreclosure mediation barely makes a dent

Posted on September 23, 2009 by grim
Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 314 Comments

Estimated NJ foreclosures: 60,000 Estimated helped by the program: 16,000 Actual helped by the program: 854 (5% of estimate) Cost: Priceless No, really: $12,500,000 (~$15,000 per case) Just for reference, according to RealtyTrac, there were 6,043 Notices of Delinquency, 1,396 … Continue reading →

NJ tops the list!

Posted on September 23, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 210 Comments

From Bloomberg: New Jersey, New York Taxes Are Worst for Business, Study Says New Jersey and New York are the worst of the 50 U.S. states for business because of their tax burdens, a study by the Tax Foundation says. … Continue reading →

NJ job numbers not as rosy as first reported

Posted on September 22, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 152 Comments

Some Seneca and Hughes (and Mantell) from NJBIZ: Economic Heartbeat: Revised jobs data forecast a gloomy future for N.J. This may be the case for some time to come if the United States repeats the employment change pattern of the … Continue reading →

No respite for mortgage delinqencies

Posted on September 21, 2009 by grim
Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 47 Comments

From Reuters via CNBC: Mortgage Delinquencies Rise Alongside Unemployment High U.S. unemployment keeps pushing up the rate of mortgage delinquencies, which could in turn drive personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures, monthly data from the Equifax credit bureau showed on Monday. … Continue reading →

“Things could get ugly”

Posted on September 21, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 182 Comments

From Bloomberg: Housing Suffering Relapse Confronts Bernanke Credit Conundrum The recovering housing market may be heading for a relapse as President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke consider ending support for the source of the global financial … Continue reading →

Moody’s: NJ home prices will take 10 years to return to peak

Posted on September 18, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 174 Comments

From MarketWatch: Moody’s bearish on housing recovery Moody’s Investors Service threw cold water on optimistic projections of a V-shaped recovery in the battered U.S. housing market, predicting it could take more than 10 years to get back to boom-level prices. … Continue reading →

NJ unemployment rockets to 9.7%

Posted on September 17, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics | 356 Comments

From New Jersey Newsroom: N.J. jobless rate climbs to 9.7 percent, highest in 33 years New Jersey unemployment climbed to a 33-year-high of 9.7 percent in August but preliminary estimates show that job growth continued for a second month after … Continue reading →

Money well spent or a “a questionable redistributive policy”?

Posted on September 16, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 213 Comments

From the NY Times: Fight Looms in Congress on Tax Break for Home Buyers When Congress passed an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers last winter, it was intended as a dose of shock therapy during a crisis. Now … Continue reading →

Save housing, at any cost.

Posted on September 15, 2009 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 213 Comments

From the WSJ: No Easy Exit for Government as Housing Market’s Savior After a year of extraordinary interventions in the economy, the federal government is starting to pare its support for the private sector. It doesn’t look that way to … Continue reading →