Monthly Archives: December 2009

New Jersey Home Price Tracker – December

The New Jersey Home Price Index Tracker has been updated to include: * October S&P Case Shiller (Aggregate, Tiered, Condo) * Q3 FHFA Home Price Index (HPI, Purchase Only) * Q3 NJAR Home Price Index (Statewide Median) (click to enlarge) … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 275 Comments

Is the bottom in? Or a pause before the next dip?

From the Record: North Jersey homes prices flat in October Housing prices in the New York metropolitan area, which includes North Jersey, remained flat in October and declined 7.7 percent compared to October 2008, reported the Standard & Poors/Case-Shiller Home-Price … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 299 Comments

Mortgage delinquencies still rising

From Reuters: Fannie mortgage holdings sink, delinquencies leap Fannie Mae’s gross mortgage portfolio shrank sharply in November while the delinquency rate on single-family loans it guarantees leaped in October, the government-controlled U.S. home funding company said on Monday. The company … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 288 Comments

Tax Credit Not Permanent? Say It Ain’t So!

From the LA Times: No more extensions of tax credit for first-time home buyers The provision that puts up to $8,000 in buyers’ pockets won’t be renewed a third time, industry leaders and lawmakers say. … Proponents of the $8,000 … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 234 Comments

Looking back at 2009

From the APP: 2009: The year in review In business for 25 years, Mary Burnetsky, the owner of Farley’s Ice Cream in Jackson, had seen enough economic cycles to believe that her industry might have been recession-proof. hen came 2009. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 101 Comments

Billion dollar tax coming to NJ employers

From the Philly Inquirer: Looming unemployment-tax hike divides N.J. officials A tax increase that could cost employers $1 billion is needed to replenish New Jersey’s depleted unemployment-insurance fund, according to Gov. Corzine’s labor commissioner. With large shortfalls in the fund … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 174 Comments

Divining the 2010 market

From Inside Jersey: Trying for a comeback: New Jersey’s housing market in 2010 After putting the nation’s economy through the spin cycle, the real estate market this year could take a break. Home prices look as if they’ve reached their … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 213 Comments

Jersey agents being sent back to school

From the Today’s Sunbeam: Bill in New Jersey Legislature calls for real estate professionals education A measure sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Steve Sweeney, which would require real estate professionals to complete continuing education courses as a condition of their … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 205 Comments

LoanPerformance: Metro area prices down 11.1% in the past year

From LoanPerformance: National HPI for September – Home Prices Down 9.8% vs 2008 National home prices, including distressed sales, declined by -7.8 percent in October 2009 compared to October 2008, according to First American CoreLogic and its LoanPerformance Home Price … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 392 Comments

Jersey bucks the trend

From the Courier News: New Jersey real estate trends don’t mirror national patterns As the real estate market seems to be stabilizing nationally and the number of foreclosed homes across the country fell for the fourth straight month, according to … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 268 Comments

We’re all tourguides now

Didn’t we talk about this the other day? From the New York Times: Agent or No Agent? Are real estate brokers — like travel agents and other middlemen coping with the increasingly digital culture — in danger of becoming expensive … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 321 Comments

Harvard (Feldstein) says prices are going down

From Bloomberg (Hat tip CR!): Harvard’s Feldstein Says U.S. Economy Still Mired in Recession The U.S. economy remains mired in a recession, prospects for next year are weak and home prices may resume declines, Harvard University economics professor Martin Feldstein … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 212 Comments

“The rich aren’t as rich as they used to be”

From Bloomberg: Luxury Homeowners in U.S. Use ‘Short Sales’ as Defaults Rise Homeowners with mortgages of more than $1 million are defaulting at almost twice the U.S. rate and some are turning to so-called short sales to unload properties as … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 271 Comments

Mixed Bag: Nov. Unemployment Rate Stable, But 9k Jobs Lost

From the APP: Weak holiday hiring leads to loss of 9,400 jobs in November in New Jersey New Jersey lost 9,400 jobs in November in part because retailers added fewer workers than expected for the holiday shopping season, the state … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 81 Comments

Wednesday Open

Boarding a red-eye back to reality. Open thread, game on.

Posted in General | 234 Comments