Monthly Archives: November 2014

Merry Christmas from Freddie and Fannie

From the WSJ: Mortgage Lenders Set to Relax Standards Some of the largest U.S. mortgage lenders are preparing to further ease standards for borrowers after the release of new guidelines this month from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … Continue reading

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 52 Comments

A different kind of housing boom in NJ

From the Record: NJ home building on track for best year since 2006 Powered by a surge in multifamily construction, home building in New Jersey is on track for its strongest year since 2006. Builders have taken out 23,738 building … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Housing Recovery, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 73 Comments

October pending sales dip, but still up year to year

From Reuters: U.S. pending home sales post surprise drop in October Contracts to buy previously-owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in October, dropping to their lowest level in four months and casting a shadow over the housing market’s recovery. The National … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 46 Comments

Home prices continue to slow

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Prices Decelerated Further in September, Says S&P/Case-Shiller The yearly growth in home prices across the U.S. decelerated further in September, according to a home price report released Tuesday. The home price index covering the entire … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery | 100 Comments

September Case Shiller

Case Shiller Day – Not that anyone is going to talk about it…

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 116 Comments

Low rate burnout?

From MarketWatch: Fannie cuts mortgage-rate outlook, but home buyers may not bite Mortgage-finance giant Fannie Mae cut its outlook Thursday for home-loan rates in 2015, but cheap monthly payments may do little to bump up residential sales, experts said. The … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 85 Comments

By the hour

From HousingWire: Realtors don’t deserve 3% commission? Should Realtors and other real estate agents be just paid hourly, or should we stick with the 3% commission? … Some posts on other forums suggest paying Realtors by the hour. Really? Really. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, General, Humor, Unrest | 44 Comments

Home sales hit 1 year high

From the WSJ: Existing Home Sales Rise as Recovery Regains Momentum Sales of existing homes rose in October to their highest level in a year, the latest sign of the U.S. housing recovery shaking off the shock of last year’s … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 187 Comments

Warren goes for the throat

From HousingWire: Sen. Warren accuses FHFA’s Watt: “You haven’t helped a single family” What started as a dry, lame-duck session hearing on the Federal Housing Finance Agency in the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, got heated when U.S. Sen. Elizabeth … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, Politics | 92 Comments

Your commute is about to get shorter

From the Record: Cash vs. cachet: N.J. eager to lure NYC firms Two days after JPMorgan Chase said it had dropped plans to build two new office towers for $6.5 billion in midtown Manhattan, reportedly because New York City refused … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Employment, North Jersey Real Estate | 153 Comments

CRDA Wins Eminent Domain Case

From the APP: Judge: New Jersey can take piano tuner’s home An Atlantic City piano tuner cannot stop the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority from taking his family home, a state judge ruled Monday. Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez, who heard … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Shore Real Estate | 83 Comments

Living Downtown

From the Record: Bergen County’s suburbs embrace a touch of the city  Robert Weiner, co-owner of the Bruce the Bed King mattress and furniture store on Hackensack’s Main Street, last week took his 96-year-old father to see a first in … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 85 Comments

Welcome to the top!

From the Record: NJ leads in foreclosure activity as mortgage trouble eases nationwide New Jersey leads the nation in the rate of foreclosures started during the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday. Nationally, by contrast, the worst of … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 43 Comments

Monthly foreclosures jump. End in sight? Nope.

From HousingWire: RealtyTrac: Foreclosures increase for two months straight Foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, increased 15% from last month but are still down 8% from a year ago levels, RealtyTrac’s October Foreclosure Market Report said. … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 93 Comments

BEFORE it strangles the city?

From the Record: Paterson’s foreclosures jumped by more than 500 percent over three years City documents say a surge in foreclosures has cost Paterson’s municipal government about $12 million in tax payments over the past three years, part of an … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 78 Comments