Monthly Archives: December 2017

Predictions 2018!

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 Predictions provided should either be for June 30th, 2018 or December 31st, 2018, please … Continue reading

Posted in General | 143 Comments

Stick it to Trump by paying early?

From the Star Ledger: Christie orders N.J. towns to accept 2018 property tax prepayments New Jerseyans rushing to their town halls this week in hopes of immediately paying next year’s property tax bills before the new federal tax law kicks … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 86 Comments

Will NJ home prices fall?

From NJTV: Tax reform throws NJ real estate market into period of uncertainty The president gathered a crowd outside the White House to celebrate the new tax plan last week. Republicans cheered the new order, but across New Jersey homeowners … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 170 Comments

Up up and away

From CNBC: US home prices surged 6.2% from a year ago U.S. home prices climbed a robust 6.2 percent from a year ago, amid strong demand from would-be buyers and a shrinking supply of properties for sale. Standard & Poor’s … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 15 Comments

Uh, no. Sorry.

From the Morning Call: Will tax cuts spur another New Jersey surge into the Lehigh Valley’s housing market? As the 2008 housing crisis eased, Easton Realtor Clay Mitman saw New Jersey residents looking to relocate to the Lehigh Valley become … Continue reading

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 44 Comments

Everyone hates affordable housing

From the Jersey Journal: Court win for developer of micro units opposed by neighbors The four-year fight over a micro-unit building slated for Downtown Jersey City is finally over, with the New Jersey Supreme Court this month declining to hear … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Unrest | 98 Comments

Existing home sales hit 11 year high

From HousingWire: Existing home sales surge past decade high Existing home sales increased for the third straight month to their highest point in more than a decade, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors. Total existing … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 103 Comments

Give NJ even more money?

From NJBIZ: New Jerseyans need to prepay real estate, local taxes before year’s end, say accountants New tax reform laws could spur New Jerseyans – retirees in particular – to sell their homes and move into rental spaces, according to … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 170 Comments

Hey Murphy – want to stick it to Trump?

From Bloomberg: These Are the Tricks States May Use to Get Around the SALT Deduction Exploiting tax loopholes is a sport associated with rich people and their fancy accountants. State governments may have to start getting fancy, too. Republican Senate … Continue reading

Posted in National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 185 Comments

“No one gets creamed more than New Jersey from this tax bill”

From the NY Times: In One New Jersey Town, Pending Tax Changes Create Anxiety Politically speaking, Livingston is not the bluest of the suburbs surrounding New York City. But there are few places where people are feeling any more anxious … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 126 Comments

“We’ve been subsidizing debt”

From the NYT: Homeowners Have Had It Good. Too Good, Says the Tax Bill. For decades, the tax code has been filled with rewards for homeownership. Tax breaks encourage people to get into first homes and to trade up as … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Politics | 24 Comments

Do or die time

From NJBIZ: NJ’s challenged suburban economy is now in crisis courtesy of Congress New Jersey is the most suburban state in the nation, which means plenty of malls and office parks. Not too long ago these properties helped make New … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 107 Comments

Trump vs the Fed

From the NY Times: Fed Predicts Modest Economic Growth From Tax Cut The Federal Reserve, buoyed by a steadily strengthening economy, raised interest rates on Wednesday for a fifth time since the financial crisis and predicted that a proposed tax … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Politics | 33 Comments

NY Mortgages Worse Than NJ

From CoreLogic’s December Loan Performance Insights: NY has finally taken the overtaken NJ in mortgage delinquency stats, something I’ve been talking about for months. This is primarily being driven by distressed loan performance improving in NJ, and not delinquencies growing … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Mortgages, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 76 Comments

Silly Valley

From the Star Ledger: Assembly speaker-elect: We can make N.J. the new Silicon Valley They all came from the same place — the transistors that powered radio to the digital cellular that powers our smartphones, fiber optics to LCD technology, … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 104 Comments