Monthly Archives: February 2007

Has housing bottomed?

Posted on February 19, 2007 by grim

From Yahoo Finance:

Posted in General | 26 Comments

Short sales back in the news

Posted on February 19, 2007 by grim

It’s been a while since talk about short sales has been commonplace. From the WSJ Real Estate Journal: Short Sale May Be an Option When Mortgage Debt Looms Too Large Question: Could you please explain more about a short sale. … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Debt service stresses NJ finances

Posted on February 19, 2007 by grim

From NorthJersey.com: State debt hurts taxpayers New Jersey taxpayers this year are on the hook for a record payment — nearly $2.8 billion — just to cover the cost of borrowing money. That’s 3½ times as much as it cost … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Property Taxes | 14 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on February 18, 2007 by grim

This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 341 Comments

“Wishful thinking, propaganda and ploy”

Posted on February 18, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: The Psychology of Pricing IN a market where buyers and sellers circle one another warily — each certain that he or she is being taken advantage of, no matter what the conclusion of a deal … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Do CDOs place the housing market at risk?

Posted on February 18, 2007 by grim

From Joseph R. Madison and Joshua Rosner, as presented at the Hudson Institute: How Resilient Are Mortgage Backed Securities to Collateralized Debt Obligation Market Disruptions? (PDF) A summary, provided by reader/commenter abamitphd: Some highlights: 1. Since the last cycle, servicers … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Risky Lending | 1 Comment

Credit crunch deja vu

Posted on February 17, 2007 by grim

From HSH Associates: Is a ‘Credit Crunch’ Coming to the Mortgage Market? Part I: History Lessions Like many of you, we’ve been following the issues of mortgage risks and housing bubbles for an extended period. Of late, certain of those … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 4 Comments

Plugging a $2 billion hole

Posted on February 17, 2007 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: Amount of tax relief still undecided New Jersey’s legislative leaders say they hope Gov. Corzine will agree to devote all of the revenue from last year’s sales tax increase to easing the state’s property taxes … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Property Taxes | 1 Comment

Contradicting the bottom

Posted on February 17, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: Home Construction Dropped in January Home builders, grappling with a slump in demand, slowed construction on new homes in January to the lowest level in almost a decade. The Commerce Department reported Friday that its … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | Comments Off on Contradicting the bottom

Bubble-bursting weakness

Posted on February 16, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: Home Prices Fall in More Than Half of Nation’s Biggest Markets Prices for single-family homes fell in more than half of the nation’s 149 biggest metropolitan areas in the last three months of 2006, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Levin appeals affordable housing ruling

Posted on February 16, 2007 by grim

From the Courier Post: Portion of affordable housing plan appealed Weeks after an appellate court shot down the state’s plan for municipalities to fulfill their court-ordered mandates for affordable housing, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Susan Bass Levin announced Thursday … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 7 Comments

History or commodity?

Posted on February 16, 2007 by grim

From the Jersey Journal: Taking on the tear-down trend Bayonne’s city administration is drafting a new law aimed at rescuing its classic Victorian-style homes – and other one-families – from developers looking to replace them with multi-family construction. “We’re trying … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off on History or commodity?

Largest percentage of price declines since ’79

Posted on February 15, 2007 by grim

From the AP via Yahoo: Housing Sales Fall in 40 States in 4Q The slump in housing deepened in the final three months of last year with sales falling in 40 states and median home prices declining in nearly half … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble | 70 Comments

Is this the tipping point?

Posted on February 15, 2007 by grim

From Salon (Registration/SitePass Required): Brother, can you spare a sub-prime (insurance policy)? Wanna raise hackles on Wall Street? Sneak up behind an investment banker and whisper the words “systemic risk.” As in: The miseries currently being experienced by subprime mortgage … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 76 Comments

If it sounds too good to be true…

Posted on February 15, 2007 by grim

From the Herald Tribune: Northeast investors see fast-bucks plan unravel It sounded like easy money, a no-brainer. Hundreds turned out to a Long Island Marriott Hotel to hear one of several presentations that led many northeastern investors into perhaps the … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | 1 Comment