Monthly Archives: September 2014

August Pending Home Sales

From HousingWire: Pending home sales slowed in August Despite slowing in August, pending home sales are still running at the second-highest level in the past 12 months, according to the National Association of Realtors. Declines were evident in every region … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 53 Comments

Funny way of defining “success”

From the South Jersey Times: Real estate markets aren’t known for consistency, but as South Jersey inches toward pre-recession normalcy, one old adage appears to remain true — it’s all about location. Specifically on the county level, data from recent … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Employment, South Jersey Real Estate | 48 Comments

The Gold Coast River Bank?

From the WSJ: Comeback for Harrison, N.J. The town of Harrison, N.J., has long offered its residents a friendly, diverse and safe community; easy access to Newark, Jersey City and Manhattan; and relatively affordable wood-frame houses on quiet streets. “I … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, New Development | 41 Comments

Price growth being driven by mix shift?

From HousingWire: Home-price growth in August slows in 18 of 20 largest housing markets Home-price growth is slowing even as the sales of homes under $200,000 slip and the share of home sales above the $500,000 price point grow, according … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 69 Comments

August home sales disappoint

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Sales Falter as Investors Pull Back U.S. home sales slumped in August as investors continued to pull away, raising doubts about the market’s underlying strength. Sales of previously owned homes fell 1.8% from July to … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 213 Comments

The New Gold Coast

From the WSJ: Jersey City’s Housing Boom Expands Jersey City’s residential construction boom is spreading beyond its waterfront area to neighborhoods farther inland where planners and developers have long dreamed about building with little to show for it until now. … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, New Development | 71 Comments

Mickey Mouse Deadbeat Renters 1936

Mickey and Donald miss 6 months of rent payments then avert the Sheriff Sale by packing up their belongings and skipping out the back door. The more things change…

Posted in Humor | 10 Comments

NY/NJ Makes Top 10 Buyers’ Markets

From Zillow: Fall Housing Market Cools, Revealing New Top Metros for Buyers and Sellers U.S. home values rose more slowly in August than they have in a year, and the cooling market offered a clear view of local markets that … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 46 Comments

“Prospects slightly better in New Jersey”

From HousingWire: New York’s foreclosure backlog isn’t going away until 2016, at least The backlog that keeps the average property in the state New York in foreclosure proceedings for more than four years isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 128 Comments

Stuck In Place

From HousingWire: American mobility at historic low and not changing soon The U.S. Census Bureau’s current population survey released on Tuesday shows that mobility is flat – at the same low level of 11.7% as the year before. This comes … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate | 133 Comments

Time to move out kids!

From CNBC: Millennials start leaving Mom and Dad’s nest As the U.S. economy improves and adds jobs, younger Americans—millennials—are slowly starting to move out from their parents’ basements, where a record number of them have been living for the past … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 122 Comments

Is it really so easy to downsize?

From Forbes: The Next Housing Crisis: Aging Americans’ Homes There’s another potential housing crisis coming and this one won’t be a collapse in home values. The nation is facing a lack of affordable, physically-accessible and well-located homes for America’s aging … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics | 135 Comments

Say hi to Alice

From the Star Ledger: Struggling to survive: 38 percent of N.J. households can’t meet basic needs Every day, Kim Ticehurst walks a financial tightrope. A single mother in Montclair, Ticehurst lost her job in the construction industry in January. At … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 120 Comments

The New Boomer Ball and Chain

From the NYT: Housing Costs After Retirement Paying off the mortgage isn’t the priority it once was, and for many households, it isn’t even a possibility. But a new report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reaffirms the … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 42 Comments

Where are all the NJ foreclosures?

From the Star Ledger: Foreclosures spiking in N.J., paced by Atlantic City Foreclosure activity in New Jersey jumped in August, a new report shows, leaving the state with one of the highest foreclosure rates nationwide. New Jersey has the nation’s … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, South Jersey Real Estate | 139 Comments