Monthly Archives: April 2011

Housing is the best long-term investment a person can make!!!

(Brought to you by the folks who also recommended Beanie babies, Internet stocks, and Worldcom as the best long-term investments a person can make) From Reuters: Housing still best investment despite downturn: study Even as a five-year slump in house … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 176 Comments

Spring is in the air

From the Star Ledger: Warmer weather, lower prices bringing out prospective homebuyers Spring is here. The birds are chirping, the daffodils are blooming and each weekend lawn signs are posted around New Jersey’s neighborhoods, guiding prospective homeowners to open houses. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 137 Comments

Lowest priced areas see largest declines in North Jersey

From the Record: Home values fall faster in lower-priced areas North Jersey’s lower-priced neighborhoods were hit harder by the housing downturn last year, as home values plummeted by 9.1 percent in Passaic County, while Bergen County saw a milder 1.9 … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 120 Comments

Febuary CoreLogic HPI shows stabilization in nondistressed pricing

Prices in the New York Metro Area (New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. MSA) were up 0.8% in the past year, and up 2.6% if you exclude distressed properties. From MarketWatch: Home prices fall for seventh month in February Home prices fell … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 247 Comments

High taxes not just for homeowners

From the Record: N.J. commercial property owners filing in record numbers In 2007, the Shanahan brothers who own Washington Garage, a small auto repair shop on Main Street in Bergenfield, paid $22,107 in property taxes. After the town conducted a … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 279 Comments

Trulia: New York area sellers “stubborn”

From Fortune: America’s most stubborn home sellers Homeowners in certain cities are more likely to quickly reduce their price than others. And where are the sellers most resistant to price reductions? New York City, of course. … In many cities … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 137 Comments

No takers for Jersey timeshares

From the Press of Atlantic City: Timeshares in southern New Jersey hit by foreclosure When times get tough, the timeshare has got to go. Owners of timeshare resorts in southern New Jersey apparently feel that way, as nearly 30 of … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 121 Comments

But they said they weren’t making any more land…

From the Record: North Jersey housing vacancy rates rising A growing number of houses and apartments sit empty in North Jersey, a result of the four-year-old housing bust. From affluent to middle-class to poor neighborhoods, the percentage of vacant homes … Continue reading

Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 167 Comments

National snoop around your neighbor’s house day!

From the Record: NJAR Open House Weekend kicks off home-buying season With the spring home-buying season approaching, Realtors across New Jersey are showcasing inventories of homes for sale and celebrating the second year of Open House Weekend. Today and tomorrow … Continue reading

Posted in National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 98 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

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 | 232 Comments