Monthly Archives: November 2006

Adjusting to the cyclical swings

From the Daily Record: Chatham homebuilder trims costs to weather chilly sales As the large, publicly owned homebuilders accumulated increasing market muscle in the 1990s, Brian M. Stolar decided to diversify and ferret out niches they ignored to keep his … Continue reading

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

Blending in

From the Home News Tribune: Town-home plan draws jeers About 50 people spoke out against the proposed construction of 84 multifamily homes in the Princeton Gate subdivision at last night’s Planning Board meeting. The Planning Board had not yet voted … Continue reading

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 8 Comments

Feeding the obsession

From PBS: Newspaper, Bubble Blogs Feed the Real Estate Obsession Have you ever gone to an open house even though you knew you weren’t interested in buying the property? Have you ever pored over housing price data on Zillow or … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 27 Comments

October New Home Sales Down 25.4%, Median Price Up 1.9%

From the U.S. Census Bureau News: NEW RESIDENTIAL SALES IN OCTOBER 2006 Sales of new one-family houses in October 2006 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,004,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 156 Comments

Bleak outlook for Jersey economy

From Newsday: Companies have bleak outlook on N.J. economy New Jersey’s business leaders are less confident in the state’s economy and business climate than they have been in more than a decade, according to a survey released Tuesday by the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | 17 Comments

16-acres of economic segregation

From the New Jersey Herald: Fredon lifts veil from revised plan Revisions to the proposed master plan, many based on a subcommittee’s work this fall, will be discussed by the town’s Planning Board when it meets tonight, the discussion will … Continue reading

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off on 16-acres of economic segregation

How to blow a housing bubble

From Prudent Bear, by Ron Peebles: How I would have blown a housing bubble – if I had done it Or: Confessions of a former Fed Chairman People are always asking me about bubbles. Like do I believe in bubbles? … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | Comments Off on How to blow a housing bubble

October Existing Home Sales Rise, Median Price Falls

From Marketwatch: Existing-home sales rise first time since Feb. Sales of existing U.S. homes rose 0.5% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.24 million in October, the first increase since February, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Economists … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 267 Comments

NJAR Q3 Statistics

The New Jersey Association of Realtors (NJAR) 2006 Q3 Statistics are available: New Jersey Home Sales Report (PDF) Highlights:

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 42 Comments

What to do if you’re in a falling market?

From the WSJ Real Estate Journal: What to Do in a Market That Is Headed for a Falloff After hurtling along for years, the nationwide real-estate boom has come to a screeching halt. In 2005, home prices in the U.S. … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 2 Comments

NAHB Prospective Home Buyer Survey

From the Originator Times: News Stories Not the Driving Force Behind Home Buying The nation’s prospective home buyers may derive some of their information on the housing market from the news media, but at the end of the day the … Continue reading

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Labor unions rally over proposed cuts

From the Courier Post Online: State workers decry planned cuts at rally With lawmakers mulling pension and health-care cuts for public workers, including a plan that would roll back retirement benefits, labor unions rallied at the State House Monday, insisting … Continue reading

Posted in Politics, Property Taxes | 53 Comments

NJ – No place for Small Business

From the Cherry Hill Courier Post: SMALL-BUSINESS ADVICE: N.J. gets low marks for policy climate New Jersey ranked second-worst in the nation for its “public policy climate for small business and entrepreneurship, according to a study by the Small Business … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics | 71 Comments

Trimming NJ State Government

From the Home News Tribune: Lawmakers tout bills to cut state work force, tighten ethics Three Shore-area Republican state legislators are hopeful that bills they’ve proposed to reduce the size of the state work force and tighten ethics rules will … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Politics | Comments Off on Trimming NJ State Government

NY Housing Humming?

From the New York Post: New York’s Housing Scene Is Humming Again The fourth quarter is invariably the slowest and weakest period of the year for the city’s housing market. Because of the holiday season, New Yorkers are more interested … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 12 Comments