Monthly Archives: August 2015

The Subprime Myth

From PBS: The U.S. foreclosure crisis was not just a subprime event Many studies of the housing market collapse of the last decade, and the associated sharp rise in defaults and foreclosures, focus on the role of the subprime mortgage … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 65 Comments

Will higher rates tank the market?

From Reuters: U.S. housing market seen strong enough to handle Fed rate hikes: Reuters poll The U.S. housing market is probably strong enough to stand up against an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year, with stabilizing home … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages | 44 Comments

Pending Home Sales Up in July

From CNBC: Pending home sales rose just 0.5% in July U.S. home buyer demand remained steady in July, although consumers did not react significantly to easing mortgage rates. An index of so-called pending home sales from the National Association of … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 51 Comments

As goes our infrastructure, so goes our economy

From Bloomberg: N.J.’s Creaky Mass Transit Endangers Boom for Wall Street West Jersey City, one of the few bright stars in New Jersey’s employment recovery, is in danger of being strangled by the state’s transportation crisis. The city on the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, NYC | 72 Comments

The Buyers Are Back In Town

Guess who just got back today Them wild-eyed boys that had been away Haven’t changed that much to say But man, I still think them cats are crazy They were askin’ if you were around How you was, where you … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 101 Comments

Housing data to set the stage

From CNBC: Home prices rise 5% in June vs. expectations for 5.1% gain: S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. home prices continued to rise in June, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, but the increase fell short of analyst estimates. The 20-city index … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 59 Comments

One third of U.S. metros hit new home price peaks

From HousingWire: Black Knight: June home prices rose 0.9% from May Home prices rose 0.9% in June from May and 5.1% since June 2014, according to the new home price report from Black Knight Financial Services. The Black Knight HPI … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 106 Comments

Philly metro sees best spring market in years

From the Philly Inquirer: Region – especially Phila. – had a good spring for home sales Spring’s real estate market was the Philadelphia area’s best since the housing bubble burst in mid-2007, with significant increases in prices and sales volume … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Recovery, South Jersey Real Estate | 10 Comments

Salvage cat is out of the bag

From the NYT: Recycled Kitchens, Salvaged Splendor When Jonathan and Barbara Pessolano began renovating an 1850s three-family house on Staten Island earlier this year, they didn’t intend to make it a model of recycling. But a search for a deal … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 36 Comments

Existing Home Sales at 8 year high

From the WSJ: U.S. Existing-Home Sales Reach Prerecession Pace Sales of existing homes climbed in July to their prerecession pace, but low inventory and higher prices threaten to curtail those gains heading into the fall. Existing-home sales rose 2% last … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 123 Comments

NJ labor market tanks in July

From the Record: New Jersey’s economic picture darkened further in July as the state lost 13,600 jobs and revised figures showed that the job loss for June was even worse than previously reported. The state lost 12,300 private sector jobs … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate | 29 Comments

Millennials can’t catch a break

From the Washington Post: Are home prices rising too quickly for millennials? Many young workers today find that home prices are rising faster than their pay, making it harder for them to set aside the cash they need for the … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble | 117 Comments

Shocker – Not foreclosing on delinquent homes means high delinquencies

From the Star Ledger: N.J. has highest rate of distressed mortgages in nation, study shows A greater share of residential mortgages in New Jersey were distressed at the end of the second quarter of this year than any other state … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Politics, Risky Lending | 64 Comments

Mortgage delinquencies down 20% since last year

From HousingWire: TransUnion: Mortgage delinquency rates continue rapid decline The mortgage delinquency rate — the rate of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgages — continued its rapid decline, falling to 2.72% in Q2 2015, according to TransUnion. … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 69 Comments

The rent squeeze continues

From the WSJ: Renters Spent a Record-High Share of Income on Rent This Spring The rental squeeze is getting worse, according to a new report by Zillow, as people are paying the highest-ever percentage of their income on rent. Renters … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 9 Comments