Monthly Archives: October 2006

Movement towards merged services

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From the AP via NorthJersey.com: Municipal mergers promoted under proposed legislation By TOM HESTER Jr. After months of meetings about how to cut property taxes in New Jersey, lawmakers on Wednesday were to begin debating actual legislation aimed at driving … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 44 Comments

What arsenic?

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From the Gloucester County Times: Developer sues over permit terms A developer planning to construct 29 single family homes on property owned by the Holy Name of Jesus is suing the township planning board, claiming that the board violated state … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 4 Comments

Jersey’s bleak housing picture

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From the Jersey Journal: Jersey’s housing crisis: High costs The rest of the state is learning what Jersey City residents have known for a long time. Housing is very expensive, and at times unaffordable. Data released Monday by the 2005 … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 71 Comments

Long downward slide for Manhattan?

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From the NY Post: N.Y. CRA$H PADS By BRADEN KEIL The top-heavy Manhattan residential real-estate market is teetering toward a long downward slide, new sales data show. Third-quarter market reports released today by the city’s top four real-estate companies show … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 13 Comments

Higher taxes on businesses “all but history”

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From NorthJersey.com: Higher business tax is dead By Hugh R. Morley The move to levy different property tax rates on business and residences is all but history. Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, said he would not support the elimination of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 1 Comment

Steaming over water

Posted on October 4, 2006 by grim

From the News Transcript: High water, sewer bills spark resident outrage Rob Nicastro and his neighbors are drowning in water bills, and the residents of the Reserve at Manasquan, a Lennar development, say they are not going to stand for … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 15 Comments

Housing Boom = Backdoor Tax Hike

Posted on October 3, 2006 by grim

From CNN/Money: NY, NJ highest payers of property tax New Jersey and New York homeowners face the highest property taxes in the United States, according to a report released Tuesday by the Tax Foundation. Of the top 10 counties ranked … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 8 Comments

Housing euphoria turns into despair

Posted on October 3, 2006 by grim

From the Herald News: Cries for help getting louder By HEATHER HADDON and TOM MEAGHER “Mike,” 26, was trying his best to pay a $1,600 mortgage on the Clifton home where he grew up. Since his father died and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 31 Comments

“Prices are going to go down and stay down for awhile.”

Posted on October 3, 2006 by grim

From the AP: Housing slowdown may cause price drops By MARTIN CRUTSINGER Housing prices, slumping after a five-year boom, are projected to decline in half of the nation’s metropolitan areas, with the Northeast, Florida and California among the areas hardest … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 32 Comments

Inspecting the inspectors

Posted on October 3, 2006 by grim

From the Record: Towns taking critical look at inspector schedules By SHAWN BOBURG and MATTHEW VAN DUSEN Officials in several North Jersey communities said Monday that they will examine building officials’ work schedules after The Record found dozens of inspectors … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 5 Comments

Can what goes up go down?

Posted on October 3, 2006 by grim

From the Daily Record: Sticker shock: Census shows home prices jump 82.5% BY COLLEEN O’DEA New estimates released today from the U.S. Census Bureau confirm what people here already knew: Housing in Morris County is an expensive place to live. … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 12 Comments

Allowing Impact Fees

Posted on October 2, 2006 by grim

From the Daily Record: Pols mull local tax, fees to cut property taxes By Tom Hester Allowing local governments to charge their own taxes and levy fees against developers are two concepts that appear to be gaining momentum at the … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 40 Comments

Ben on booms and busts

Posted on October 2, 2006 by grim

From Ben Stein’s How Not to Ruin Your Life: What to Do When a Boom Goes Bust In March of 1990, after two years of looking for a house during a hysterical real estate boom, I bought a modest home … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 38 Comments

Pending Home Sales down 14.1% YOY

Posted on October 2, 2006 by grim

From Marketwatch: Pending home sales rise 4.3% in August By Rex Nutting Pending sales of U.S. existing homes rose by 4.3% in August, indicating the housing market may be stabilizing, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. Pending-home sales are … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 22 Comments

Farmland loophole questioned

Posted on October 2, 2006 by grim

From Today’s Sunbeam: Panel mulls N.J. farmland tax loophole By MARTIN C. BRICKETTO One legislator says a panel investigating constitutional reforms should reconsider the way the state taxes farmland, calling the status quo a loophole for wealthy individuals with vast … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 5 Comments