From the NYT:
New Jersey Condo Market Heats Up as Demand Surges
After years of stagnating sales, the New Jersey condominium market is finally warming up, with developers building again and potential owners buying from floor plans.
A handful of developers have revived projects and are releasing a few units in prime locations to willing buyers. In Weehawken, buyers have signed contracts for riverfront apartments sight unseen. Construction will not be completed for another month, yet all but one of the 36 units at one building are already under contract. A few miles north, in Palisades Park, developers converted a handful of rentals in a luxury development to condos. And in Long Branch, on the Jersey Shore, developers are getting ready to release 44 new units later this month.
Unlike New York City, where condo sales bounced back quickly after the recession hit, New Jersey has had a slower recovery. After the housing crisis, banks were unwilling to finance new condo construction and buyers were unable to get mortgages, so developers shelved condo projects and retreated to the rental market. But now a few developers see the low inventory of new condos for sale and the thriving New York market as signs that New Jersey is ready to sell again.
“The market is strong now, but it’s going to get stronger,” said Craig Klingensmith, division president of Lennar Urban, which developed Henley-on-the-Hudson in Weehawken with the Roseland Properties Company. “If you have very good properties and they’re well situated, there are people looking to place their money.”
…
Despite local curiosity, 60 percent of the buyers are from overseas, many from China, Korea and Russia. “If the international market wasn’t in the area, the market wouldn’t be as strong,” said Mr. Klingensmith.The international buyers that have shown interest in Henley-on-the-Hudson are not investors looking for a pied-à-terre. Rather, they are generally younger buyers looking for a primary residence or a second home with easy access to Manhattan, and have been priced out of the New York City market.
…
Sales over all have improved in northern New Jersey from a year ago. Median condo prices in Hudson County are up 17.6 percent from the same time last year, to $344,400, according to data provided by Zillow. In Bergen County, they’re up 7.3 percent from a year ago, to $301,700. But prices still have a far way to climb to return to their March 2006 peak, when the median price for a condo in Hudson County, $384,000, was 10 percent higher than it is today. In Bergen County, it was 24 percent higher at $395,200. Compared to New York City, where the median condo price exceeds $1 million, sales have been relatively tame along New Jersey’s Gold Coast, which runs along the Hudson River from Jersey City to Englewood Cliffs.“It’s not New York,” said Jordan Roth, Senior Branch Manager at GFI Mortgage Bankers. “The New Jersey market allows people a path of entry to homeownership where they get much more space than they would if they bought in New York.”
Ultimately, most New Jersey buyers see a condo purchase as a pathway to buying a single-family home in the suburbs, which make up the majority of the New Jersey housing stock.
From Bloomberg:
Home Prices May Decline in Some Cities as Rates Increase
Home prices are climbing too fast relative to buyer incomes, signaling that property values may fall in some U.S. cities once mortgage rates rise and reduce affordability, according to a study by Zillow Inc. (Z)
Driven in part by borrowing costs close to historic lows, buyers spent three times their annual incomes on homes at the end of last year, up from a 2.6 multiple from 1985 to 1999, Zillow said in a statement today. That means properties were almost 15 percent pricier relative to incomes than before the housing bubble of the mid-2000s, according to the Seattle-based real estate research firm.
“The days of historically high levels of housing affordability are numbered,” Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, said in the statement. When interest rates rise, property prices “will have to either remain stagnant while incomes catch up or, quite possibly, home values will have to fall in some markets. This will especially be the case in some markets that have seen strong home-value appreciation.”
…
Rates may rise to about 4 percent by the end of this year, and 4.5 percent by late 2014, Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com, a Riverdale, New Jersey-based mortgage-information website, said in a telephone interview.
Grim completely blew the condo call, not only wrong, but 180 degrees wrong (condo/townhouse/attached would generally under-perform SFH).
you just have to lol whenever some pundit pretends to know when rates are going up.
I think I’m a whole 2 miles away from HSH, maybe I should pop in one day? I’ve always wanted to do video interviews for the blog.
Good Morning New jersey
Six police officers injured in violence at Thatcher death street party
A A A
By ROD MINCHIN
Tuesday 09 April 2013
Six police officers were injured when a scuffle broke out at a party in Bristol celebrating the death of Margaret Thatcher.
Police were called to Chelsea Road in the Easton area of the city during the early hours of today where 200 people had gathered.
One officer remains in hospital and one person was arrested for violent disorder.
Chief Inspector Mark Jackson, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: “We were called to Chelsea Road, Easton at around 12.30am today.
“Around 200 people had gathered to have a street party and refused police requests to peacefully disperse.
“Bottles and cans were thrown at officers, six of whom suffered injuries. One remains in hospital.
“A police vehicle was damaged and one person was arrested for violent disorder.
“Some small bin fires were also started and the fire service also attended.”
The wheels are coming off, folks. Smoke ’em if you got ’em.
Grim pleaase start with JJ. you can do it with his voice changed and shaded like a 20/20 expose.
so john, may i call you john, tell me about the day you banged three girls within 24 hours?
from the internets:
@: Immigration, a lexicon. You’re a ‘migrant’ when you’re very poor; ‘immigrant’ when you’re not so poor; and ‘expat’ when you’re rich.
[9] anon
Good one!
joyce says:
April 9, 2013 at 10:16 pm
If it wasn’t for the possibility of wrongful convictions, I would say the death penalty for heinous crimes is a win-win-win.
joyce: You are wrong…..the current and preeminent penalty for heinous crimes is apparently an adjunct professorship at Columbia University…..
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/outrage_puQlvJIeZxsT7nFZds0HIJ
Even the homeless are becoming Doomsday Preppers, with underground bunkers.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/police-discover-hidden-underground-tunnels-used-homeless-221637268.html
My only question is: Who will be spared?
I don’t think income is a good indicator for home prices at this point.
Folks are looking to park cash or take advantage of low rates. With interest rates at all time low some folks for that reason alone are buying properties as an alternative investment driving up prices. With stocks at an all time high folks are showing up for beach houses last three weeks in droves.
We are in “double capitulation mode” right now. Sellers have done their last price cuts, buyers are forced to either buy at this price or not buy at all. Combined with lower rates and stocks being up homes are much more affordable.
For instance I started my trade up house/vacation home account back in 2007 and started investing in an account. Well I am selling all week, (dont forget to tip your waitresses), and guess what I am not touching any principal. Interest and Cap gains last four years is all you need. Folks are gambling with the houses money now. The wise one with the beard at the Fed has manufactured the mother of recoveries.
He said buy TARP companies they are cash equivalents in 2008/2009, he then said take interest from said bonds paying 20% and put it into stocks now he is saying sell some bonds and stocks and go into house. Man is an evil genius. I almost see him with his pinkie in his mouth.
My countrywide bond hit 140 yesterday. WOW, I love Ben I want to rub his bald head right now.
no one
I cant remember them all. My flying penus has had seen many a wrinkly tunnel in his day
Painhrtz – Doc Daneeka says:
April 10, 2013 at 8:32 am
Grim pleaase start with JJ. you can do it with his voice changed and shaded like a 20/20 expose.
so john, may i call you john, tell me about the day you banged three girls within 24 hours?
The article says she “teaches about ex-cons.” I guess they prefer their professors to have private sector experience. ;-)
11.chicagofinance says:
April 10, 2013 at 8:44 am
joyce: You are wrong…..the current and preeminent penalty for heinous crimes is apparently an adjunct professorship at Columbia University…..
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/outrage_puQlvJIeZxsT7nFZds0HIJ
Since you have to be a pr1ck to be Mayor of NYC, he’s the obvious choice:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-rep-weiner-weighing-run-nyc-mayor-18921415#.UWV6O5PqmSo
For you NJ accounting geeks out there, I will be at the Meadowlands for the NJ Business and Accounting trade show on May 16th.
Thinking of setting up a dunk tank. That should bring in Fabius, Ottoman (Dope?), anon . . .
[14] JJ
Okay, that looked and sounded like JJ, but there’s something wrong with this post.
No typos
No sex
Okay, who are you and what have you done with JJ?
Probably hasn’t had his first drink yet today.
Can’t be me as I know there is no business in NJ so how can you have a trade show
13. Me!!
I miss all those great headlines….
The Rise and Fall of Weiner
Obama Beats Weiner
etc.
Comrade Nom Deplume, Rainy Day Prepper says:
April 10, 2013 at 10:42 am
Since you have to be a pr1ck to be Mayor of NYC, he’s the obvious choice:
At the Meadowlands?
What is GAAP treatment for the expense of disposing of a corpse? Are you allowed to capitalize it?
Comrade Nom Deplume, Rainy Day Prepper says:
April 10, 2013 at 10:45 am
For you NJ accounting geeks out there, I will be at the Meadowlands for the NJ Business and Accounting trade show on May 16th.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/size-matter-women-study-article-1.1311604
This one….
Happy Renter says:
April 10, 2013 at 8:58 am
My only question is: Who will be spared?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98g4l4laWdw
> 60 percent of the buyers are from overseas, many from China, Korea and Russia.
That’s pretty much all you need to know. My friends in Australia complain about Chinese coming over buying up all the houses, same with people I know in Vancouver, and London and of course HK & Singapore.
Does anyone know about the mega towers in Jersey City – Journal Square and Harbourside are starting? I see quite a lot of cranes in town already.
28
They’ve started the underground. It’s going slow.
The chinks have chunks of cash
I’m crowdsourcing ways to spend rising income. Ideas?
1)I could buy a house in Basking Ridge, Short Hills or Far Hills to boost my tax deductions and slightly boost my school district. Buying a second or vacation home sounds like too much work, in contrast.
2) I could start buying more expensive cars (M3, Audi S5, Lexus GS, Panamera – I still need a rear seat).
3) I could do more landscaping projects or buy art
4) I could donate more to the Ayn Rand Institute
5) I could keep saving for retirement – but it seems that the government really wants to punish me if I decide to do that. No interest rates, threat of higher taxes on investments, higher income tax rates in the future, phase out of eligibility for all sorts of government stuff.
Give it to me!
Pied a Tier NYC
Hamptons House
Trophy wife
Yacht
Ferrari
Helicopter
Southbeach Condo
Ragnar says:
April 10, 2013 at 12:35 pm
I’m crowdsourcing ways to spend rising income. Ideas?
Travel
Ragnar says:
April 10, 2013 at 12:35 pm
I’m crowdsourcing ways to spend rising income. Ideas?
Give it to me!!
Prepare to die.
#31
6) create an oasis in your yard with built in pool that has cascading water falls and an infinity edge.
“Curious why every bank and their grandmother, and most recently Goldman today, has been lining up to push the price of gold as low as possible? Here’s why:
CYPRUS TO SELL 400 MLN EUROS WORTH OF GOLD RESERVES TO FINANCE PART OF ITS BAILOUT – TROIKA DOCUMENTS – RTRS
Or about 10 tons of gold. But… the bailout was prefunded and there was no need to provide any additional cash? What happened: was the deposit outflow discovered to have been even greater than the worst case scenario and thus Cyprus needed even more cash? As for the buyers? We will venture a guess: central banks buying at the lows.
Finally: congratulations Cypriots. You are now handing over your gold for the one time, unbeatable opportunity to remain a vassal state to the Eurozone. But at least you have your €.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-10/here-we-go-cyprus-sell-%E2%82%AC400-million-gold-finance-part-its-bailout
The pool in your primary house feels wasteful cause when you go to your beach house you feel guilty for not using your pool.
Natasha says:
April 10, 2013 at 1:01 pm
#31
6) create an oasis in your yard with built in pool that has cascading water falls and an infinity edge.
Long time lurker here. Put an offer on a house of Friday April 5th. Offer was a little low (12% off). Owner countered on Saturday April 6th at 1,000 off of list price (house lists in range of 400-500). My wife and I have been patiently considering offer, while each day since counteroffer we are badgered by our buyer’s agent regarding what we want to do with the counter offer submitted by the owner. We rent and are not in a rush to buy. Finally get this email today.
”
Xxxxxxxx,
You really have to let the xxxx(address of house) know what you are going to do with their counter
offer. We can thank them for the counter offer, but at this time you
would feel better not offering a counter. Wish them well thank them. If
at a later time you still keep coming back to that house we will just
start again. I know home owner and to be fair to them we need to let
them know.
Thank you,
xxxxxxxx
Sales Associate
x Real Estate – xxxx Office @ xxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
”
Awesome representation! It has only been 3 full days since counter. It never came up that buyer’s agent knew the owners. Really enjoying the home buying process so far :)
Curious, was there any obligation by our realtor to disclose that she knows the home owners?
Deafening silence is the best course of action…..it drives everyone completely insane…..
EJ says:
April 10, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Long time lurker here. Put an offer on a house of Friday April 5th. Offer was a little low (12% off). Owner countered on Saturday April 6th at 1,000 off of list price (house lists in range of 400-500). My wife and I have been patiently considering offer, while each day since counteroffer we are badgered by our buyer’s agent regarding what we want to do with the counter offer submitted by the owner. We rent and are not in a rush to buy. Finally get this email today.
”
Xxxxxxxx,
You really have to let the xxxx(address of house) know what you are going to do with their counter
offer. We can thank them for the counter offer, but at this time you
would feel better not offering a counter. Wish them well thank them. If
at a later time you still keep coming back to that house we will just
start again. I know home owner and to be fair to them we need to let
them know.
Thank you,
xxxxxxxx
Sales Associate
x Real Estate – xxxx Office @ xxx
xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxx
”
Awesome representation! It has only been 3 full days since counter. It never came up that buyer’s agent knew the owners. Really enjoying the home buying process so far :)
Curious, was there any obligation by our realtor to disclose that she knows the home owners?
“Curious, was there any obligation by our realtor to disclose that she knows the home owners?” yes
I thought you were a gold bug. Isn’t that news bearish for the price of gold?
Scrapple Cannon says:
April 10, 2013 at 1:03 pm
“Curious why every bank and their grandmother, and most recently Goldman today, has been lining up to push the price of gold as low as possible? Here’s why:
Wish them well and tell them when they come to their senses, they should look you up. We did that a few times. There was one home which we made an offer on, where they decided to rent the place out on a 3 year lease. About 18 months into the lease, the renters broke the lease, completely trashed the place (Gator knows the exact costs for the repair but I think it was like 30K) and then the house sold for less than we offered them. You can bring a horse to water…
On a tangent…..some of these hedgies K-1’s are absolutely stunning…..so completely out of proportion to anything you have seen or experienced. I can’t even provide any kind of frame of reference……
Ragnar says:
April 10, 2013 at 12:35 pm
I’m crowdsourcing ways to spend rising income. Ideas?
Ragnar You obviously are in the 1% congratulations! here are my suggestions:
import illegals to start a monocle construction and polishing business.
get un cut sheets of 1 dollar bills and have rolled into toilet paper.
If you are going to have to do landscapinig projects use said illegals create a hedge menagerie I hear they are all the rage
Invest in a space exploration company, why not it is disposable afterall
give it to lib he seems to want it, write it off as a charitable deduction.
Seriously though if you are going to waste it on a ride get one second hand, so you can have cash left over this comes from the owner of a German automobile. Other than waving your dick around to say look at me i can see no other reason for owning one. The roads here are brutal and any good road tracks are too far away.
#31, a boat. 60ft boat costs probably 2m to buy and 250k per yr to operate with fuel, maintnence, slip, etc. Best waste of money you’ll find.
#31 I’ll take it off your hands for a downpayment on my first house.
It’s not a bad investment if you think about it. My wife and I will take care of the property, keep the interior modern, do our part of keep home values decent in our neighborhood, etc. Think of it as a donation to whatever community we end up living in.
….or you could just wait until the market tanks within the next 18 months and go all in ala March 2009.
JJ,
Not enough $ for any of that, unless I want to lever up and become another ward of the state.
Natasha,
My lot is too sloped, and has too many trees, and I’d end up cleaning the pool for what, 4 months a year of use. If I wanted a pool, I’d could buy a house in Florida, a house w/pool can be bought for the cost of adding one here. My daughter would love it though.
Brian,
We travel some already, I guess it’s easy enough to do it more expensively. Custom tours increase expense dramatically. Maybe do Disney Tour packages. I’m less into “experiences” vs stuff, compared to my wife. I guess a trip to BMW in Munich to pick up a car could provide both.
Trying to spend money on Grim by clicking on “Donate” above, but the system rejects both of my cards.
brain (43)-
Amazingly, you are the last person here to figure out that I don’t post here simply to talk my own book.
Go back to sleep.
Remember, brain, GS and JPM are your friends.
” but the system rejects both of my cards.”
Mine didn’t. You really are doing quite well. :P
(31)
You can build a house like mine.
(JJ pool-shore comparison) Contrary, I consider myself lucky not wanting to go to the shore. I have a built in pool on a large lot that is private and quiet. No need to deal with NJ/NY stupidity.
And if I tire of the pool, 2 hours away to Sullivan County for fishing and drinking beer. And if I really need a beach fix, a trip to Palm Islands SC suffices. All in the family.
p.s. Whatever happened to ‘Jersey Shore’ poster?
re #31 – Ragnar I was thinking of flipping my new home before I even move in. I will give it to you for 10% over what I paid cash.
How is that for a quick turnaround Tom Vu?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K853GykeGH0
Sorry Chip, somehow I got the impression you were always pumping gold. Oops my bad.
55.Scrapple Cannon says:
April 8, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Gold, bitchez!
[50] ragnar,
Had the same problem last year.
Brian,
Do you confuse him with Jim Cramer who has multiple TV shows?
[26] JJ
Well, that gets the DUH! award of the day.
and was I the only one who found this gratuitous parenthetical amusing?
“The findings were published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the United States, called the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).”
[25] chifi,
The cost of disposal isn’t an asset to the enterprise so you are allowed to expense the disposal costs.
If you acquired the body as an asset, and it is under the limit, then you can expense it under Sec. 179. Otherwise, look to the asset class and use the appropriate depreciation method and schedule.
If the body is an investment asset, there is no depreciation allowance. However, your maintenance costs, such as the freezer or storage locker used to store the body, is tax deductible.
joyce (58)-
Go easy on brain. Living in Sussex Co. has destroyed his sense of irony.
I guess ending up in Sussex is sort of a cosmic irony.
WSJ Europe article on BoA analyst recommendation to take the 500 euro note out of circulation.
“But according to the BofA analyst, the “store of value” mindset is precisely the problem with the €500 notes. The evidence, Mr. Vamvakidis notes, is that the mega bills end up as “mattress money,” rarely seeing the light of day and existing as an alternative vehicle for holding savings. An ECB study itself suggests that only one-third of these notes in circulation are used for transaction purposes.
And there’s significant evidence that much of the demand comes from criminals and tax evaders. The U.K.’s Serious Organized Crime Agency, for one, once claimed that 90% of all €500 notes were in the hands of organized crime.”
My farorite quote: “Spaniards used to call €500 notes “Bin Ladens.” Everyone knew the big denomination bills existed, the joke went, but no one had ever seen them.”
Even better, use redfin or something similar to submit more offers under other names at lower prices. I did that it was funny.
I actually drove the seller right up to hiring a lawyer, pulling listing then sending me final contract and I then started countered myself 25k lower. Then I pulled the old no mortgage contingency, cash close as is, but I already did inspection so I knew like 1k worth of work. At that point the seller was not happy, but then like on those shows like Pickers, some folks love the term I can pay cash right now. Makes no sense. I see folks buy cars, houses and when you have the stacks of cash people discount. No clue why, I rather get 5% more in two weeks than cash today.
Either way for someone who hates RE and thinks it is a bad investment I am most likely one of few people on site who owns two homes, both mortgage free.
chicagofinance says:
April 10, 2013 at 1:24 pm
Deafening silence is the best course of action…..it drives everyone completely insane…..
EJ says:
April 10, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Bitcoin, bitchez!
What could go wrong?
To borrow 200K on a 15 year mortgage here is the cost.
Fixed Rate 15 Year 0 2.500% 2.599 % $1,333.58
15 year is most popular mortgage for refinancing and vacation homes. A low tax vacation home combined a low mortgage that you can rent out when not in use makes it almost free.
re # 63 – Why not take all of it out of circulation the printed notes that is?
Don’t be surprised to see the CEO of Bitcoin incinerated in a mysterious car accident soon.
Rising Home Prices a Plus for Local Governments
by: Tonya Chin
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
The S&P Case Shiller index for January saw its greatest year over year increase in home prices since 2006, a development that could improve budget situations among local governments.
“Bitcoined” will be a new term similar to munsoned.
http://techcrunch.com/2013/04/10/bitcoin-crash/
#39
JJ says: April 10, 2013 at 1:14 pm
The pool in your primary house feels wasteful cause when you go to your beach house you feel guilty for not using your pool.
In reality a pool is almost always a waste of money in NJ. You are lucky if you get a good enough summer to really use it. I have a pool, but above ground that is mostly for my daughter and her friends. Last year they hardly used it. I would only get a built in if I had ooodles of cash burning a hole in my pocket. Of course I would still buy the beach house.
I know zero about bitcoin, but when I hear all this crap about “mining” for bitcoins and the associated CPU power devoted to this, the only thing I can think about is the illicit use of that computational power to decrypt strongly encrypted data. This is the perfect platform for it. The whole purpose of mining is to generate matching hashes in a way that isn’t very different from 70 trillion monkeys on typewriters. It’s perfect really, you are paying an army of computer nerds to essentially piece a “supercomputer” together for you for free. Yeah yeah, I know this isn’t the case cryptographically, but it’s too sexy of a conspiracy theory to just drop.
Still looking for a home in Fair Lawn but haven’t hired an agent to help with the process. Do you guys have any opinions/thoughts about using the listing agent if I find a house that I like? Or am I better off going with my own agent to represent me? Sorry for the elementary questions. First time home shopping and I want to do it right. (PS. if anybody knows of any honest agents that know Fair Lawn well, please let me know. Thx)
Now, here a timely recipe to try out my One Pie Dough to Rule Them All recipe I gave you last night. it before the fleeting cherry season is over. try, even if you one of those who couldn stand the generic, gloopy cherry pie – I looking at you Matt.
Hurry. Bring your checkbook.
BOOOYAH!!!
http://www.nj.com/devils/index.ssf/2013/04/devils_28.html#incart_flyout_sports
Todays PSA brought to you by Wesley.
Winners pay taxes!
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/04/wesley-snipes-released-from-prison/
I think Bernie Ebbers’ version of GAAP is the proper treatment. Disposal costs are an operational expense, but still capitalize them anyway to increase your capital assets and increase current net income.
Comrade Nom Deplume, Rainy Day Prepper says:
April 10, 2013 at 2:37 pm
[25] chifi,
The cost of disposal isn’t an asset to the enterprise so you are allowed to expense the disposal costs.
If you acquired the body as an asset, and it is under the limit, then you can expense it under Sec. 179. Otherwise, look to the asset class and use the appropriate depreciation method and schedule.
If the body is an investment asset, there is no depreciation allowance. However, your maintenance costs, such as the freezer or storage locker used to store the body, is tax deductible.
Bernie Ebbers is somebody’s wife right now.
[77] Fabius,
I’ve never known you to brag about how much you pay in taxes . . .
This is usually a really great site content, im delighted I came across it. Ill be back off the track to look at other reports that.