Monthly Archives: December 2011

Predictions 2012!

Posted on December 31, 2011 by grim
Posted in General | 100 Comments

This is becoming a tradition around here, so here we go again! You know how this works, break out the crystal balls and prognosticate. Ground Rules Review the Predictions 2011! thread, and if you did make a prediction, please post … Continue reading →

November Contracts Surprise – But can we believe the numbers?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 135 Comments

From the WSJ: Pending-Home Sales Hit 19-Month High The housing market showed signs of improvement as the number of Americans signing contracts to buy existing homes increased in November to the highest level in 19 months. The National Association of … Continue reading →

Time: What mattered in 2011 – Grim: What really mattered in 2011

Posted on December 29, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 133 Comments

From Time: 5 Events that Really Mattered for Housing in 2011 – and Beyond Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the … Continue reading →

Sellers: Any questions?

Posted on December 28, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, North Jersey Real Estate | 146 Comments

From the Record: Home prices down in most major US cities Home prices in the New York metropolitan area, including North Jersey, dropped 2 percent in the 12 months ended in October, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index reported Tuesday. … Continue reading →

October Case Shiller due in at 9

Posted on December 27, 2011 by grim
Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 123 Comments

From Bloomberg: Home Prices in U.S. Cities Decline More Than Forecast, Case-Shiller Says Residential real estate prices dropped more than forecast in the year ended October, showing a broad-based decline that indicates the housing market continues to be weighed down … Continue reading →

Being early to the spring market a good strategy for sellers

Posted on December 26, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 43 Comments

From the Star Ledger: In a down housing market, real estate agents get a head start now for a busy spring season It used to be real estate agents spent the slow winter months sending out calendars and working on … Continue reading →

FHFA: October prices continue to dip

Posted on December 23, 2011 by grim
Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 100 Comments

From Bloomberg: U.S. Home Prices Fell 2.8% in October From Prior Year, FHFA Says U.S. home prices fell 2.8 percent in October from a year earlier, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said, as foreclosures continued to depress real estate values. … Continue reading →

Good News – Shadow inventory down, Bad News – It’s in our back yards

Posted on December 22, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 90 Comments

From Inman News: Shadow inventory down 16% from a year ago Lenders had a “shadow inventory” of 1.6 million distressed properties and repossessed homes they hadn’t yet put up for sale at the end of October, down 16 percent from … Continue reading →

The Day Realtors Rewrote History

Posted on December 21, 2011 by grim
Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 134 Comments

Well here it is folks, the day that the Realtors finally tell us what really happened when the bubble burst. This isn’t a surprise, they were caught publishing all sorts of incorrect (dare I say intentionally misleading) data during the … Continue reading →

Who is to blame? Borrowers or Banks?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 128 Comments

From Reuters: Modification blunders bedevil U.S. housing recovery Shirley Burnell, a community activist from Oakland, California, has been trying to get her subprime loan restructured since 2007. She never missed a payment, but the adjustable rate mortgage she got in … Continue reading →

Agents and Sellers “adjusted to the new pricing realities”?

Posted on December 19, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate, Price Reduced | 105 Comments

From the Record: Bergen, Passaic home prices continue to slide North Jersey home values dropped 3 percent in the first half of this year, bringing Bergen County’s median single-family home price below $400,000 for the first time since the housing … Continue reading →

“With only one month to go New Jersey is sure to record the largest annual gain in private sector employment in more than a decade”

Posted on December 15, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 163 Comments

From the AP: New Jersey added 10,400 private sector jobs in November Holiday hiring helped drive a gain of 10,400 private sector jobs as New Jersey’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.1 percent in November. The state Labor Department says … Continue reading →

Mansions – Check, Mercedes – Check, Food Stamps … Check

Posted on December 15, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 166 Comments

From Bloomberg: New Jersey’s Richest County Leads Rise in Food Stamp Recipients New Jersey’s Hunterdon County, the hilly region of horse farms and weekend retreats where last year’s median household income was almost $100,000, is a surprising new face of … Continue reading →

Jersey’s got the highest down payments in the nation

Posted on December 13, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 165 Comments

From New Jersey Newsroom: N.J. tops housing market with highest average mortgage down payment Out of all 50 states, New Jersey has the highest average down payment on real estate purchases, according to a new report published by LendingTree.com, an … Continue reading →

The land where unicorns roam

Posted on December 10, 2011 by grim
Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, North Jersey Real Estate | 106 Comments

From the NY Times: Demand for ‘Estate’-Like Condos REAL ESTATE optimists have been picking up blips on the radar in Bergen County lately, most recently this one: 24 of 68 “attached manor” condominiums with prices starting at $1.25 million sold … Continue reading →