Monthly Archives: October 2010

The “other” housing market

Posted on October 13, 2010 by grim

From the WSJ: Home Deals in Suburbs Start to Dry Up When Daniel Allen and his wife, Elizabeth, decided they were finally ready to leave their apartment on West 15th Street and buy a house in the suburbs, the couple … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 214 Comments

So much for “innovation” in lending

Posted on October 12, 2010 by grim

From HousingWire: Freddie Mac economist: Exotic mortgages meant steepest declines in area values In states where adjustable-rate or exotic mortgages were more prevalent than traditional loans, home values fell 39% on average, compared to a 5% decrease in more conservative … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 162 Comments

So who owns the house?

Posted on October 11, 2010 by grim

From Bloomberg: Foreclosure Freeze May Sideline U.S. Homebuyers as Legal Worry Cuts Sales A halt in home foreclosures at the largest U.S. mortgage firms may sideline buyers worried about legal issues, further depressing sales at a time when distressed properties … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 119 Comments

Closing up until the Spring

Posted on October 9, 2010 by grim

From the NY Times: A Long Winter Awaits Some Sellers THE five-bedroom four-bath farm ranch on more than 2.5 acres that Margaret Trautmann owns in Upper Brookville has been on the market for nine months. Originally listed at $1.695 million, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 97 Comments

Back to reality?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by grim

From the Press of Atlantic City: Mortgate rates hit new low as qualifying standards hit new high, so what’s a housing market to do? Mortgage rates this month have fallen to their lowest levels in recorded history, but local industry … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 373 Comments

Bye Bye McMansions! (Good Riddance)

Posted on October 7, 2010 by grim

From the NY Times: Builders Move Beyond McMansions in New Jersey Faced with the prospect that New Jersey’s buildable open space could be gone by midcentury, developers are turning to projects that tap into existing infrastructure, use vacant buildings and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 227 Comments

“it is time that banks are held accountable for their practices.” (But what about borrowers?)

Posted on October 6, 2010 by grim

The fact of the matter is that the borrower is in default, and should be foreclosed on. Where did anyone get the idea that the pre-MERS world of robosigners was without error or fraud? These exact same types of issues … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 118 Comments

Pending home sales fall in the Northeast

Posted on October 5, 2010 by grim

From Forbes: Pending Home Sales Don’t Move The Needle The pending home sales index for the month of August released today by the National Association of Realtors beat analyst expectations, rising 4% to 82.3 from 78.9 in July. Home buying … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 216 Comments

“They’re angry. They’re bitter. They’re in a bad place; they’re in a sad place,”

Posted on October 4, 2010 by grim

From the Record: In a tough market, home sellers feel discouraged Ken and Linda Bolsch put their five-bedroom, five-year-old Mahwah colonial on the market in January, sure that buyers would appreciate its low taxes, wooded lot, and impeccable decor and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 180 Comments

No bottom for the shore

Posted on October 3, 2010 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Shore home prices still falling ome prices at the Jersey Shore continue to search for a bottom, almost four years after the U.S. housing market took a downward turn. An analysis of second-quarter 2010 sale prices … Continue reading →

Posted in Shore Real Estate | 63 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on October 1, 2010 by grim

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 →

Posted in General | 214 Comments