Monthly Archives: February 2007

North Jersey 2007 January Residential Sales (revised)

Posted on February 6, 2007 by grim

(Note, January 2006 sales figures were revised downwards due to a database error.) Preliminary January sales/inventory data for Northern New Jersey is in.. The first graph plots the unadjusted sales data (closed sales) for the counties listed. Please note the … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 2 Comments

Bush budget to hurt NJ?

Posted on February 6, 2007 by grim

From the Home News Tribune: Bush budget splits N.J. delegation The $2.9 trillion budget President Bush released Monday would hurt New Jersey by cutting money for homeland-security grants, eliminating college Perkins Loans and scaling back home-heating assistance used by 165,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | Comments Off on Bush budget to hurt NJ?

“Jersey now has even more bad news to deal with.”

Posted on February 5, 2007 by grim

From the City Journal: The Garden State Wilts For decades, New York City residents and firms, seeking a haven from high taxes and overregulation, fled to New Jersey, boosting the state’s population and its economy. But a steady diet of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 121 Comments

Vacancy rate clouds rebound picture

Posted on February 5, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Vacant Homes For Sale Cloud Economic Hopes Amid brightening hopes that the U.S. housing market is stabilizing, some economists are zeroing in on a piece of data that could augur badly for the consensus view: … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 5 Comments

Mortgage volume to decline through 2008

Posted on February 5, 2007 by grim

From the Originator Times: Loan Volume Decline Equals More Pink Slips The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday; employment in the mortgage finance industry fell to 494,700, which is lower than one month and one year earlier. Based on a … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Risky Lending | 2 Comments

Credible threat or environmental fear mongering?

Posted on February 5, 2007 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: Sea-level rise threatens bay shores, wetlands A rising sea level. Greater coastal flooding. Threats to wetlands. New Jersey’s future will include these and other key issues, according to experts interviewed before and after a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Shore Real Estate | Comments Off on Credible threat or environmental fear mongering?

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on February 4, 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 bubble, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 371 Comments

“If the price is too high, that’s not the Realtor’s fault.”

Posted on February 4, 2007 by grim

From NorthJersey.com: Should you renew agent’s contract? Diane Barone could hardly wait for the six-month real estate listing on her Elmwood Park ranch home to expire in late January. She had listed with a neighbor, who is a real estate … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 14 Comments

Northern NJ January Residential Sales

Posted on February 3, 2007 by grim

Preliminary January sales/inventory data for Northern New Jersey is in.. The first graph plots the unadjusted sales data (closed sales) for the counties listed. Please note the lower bound of the graph, it is set to 1000, not to zero. … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 16 Comments

Pressure to inflate values at “pandemic proportions”

Posted on February 3, 2007 by grim

From the Charlotte Observer: Pressure is on appraisers to inflate values With home prices softening and sales volumes sagging in many local markets, real estate appraisers say that pressure on them to inflate values has reached pandemic proportions. A new … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 1 Comment

Buyers gaining the upper hand?

Posted on February 2, 2007 by grim

From the WSJ Online: Housing Glut Gives Buyers Upper Hand Amid a continuing glut of homes for sale in most of the country, buyers should have plenty of choices and lots of bargaining power in the spring selling season — … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 4 Comments

Economic uncertainty builds in NJ

Posted on February 2, 2007 by grim

From the West Milford Messenger: Residents bearish on business, personal finances Half of New Jersey consumers expect their household will do same or worse financially than last year, and state residents are nearly as bearish about business conditions this year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off on Economic uncertainty builds in NJ

Asbury Rebirth

Posted on February 2, 2007 by grim

From the Absury Park Press: Waterfront condos to make splash If the city’s three waterfront developers were racing to see who can get the first new condominium residents moved in, Paramount Homes’ North Beach project appears to have won. Paramount … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 3 Comments

Political Mathematics 101

Posted on February 2, 2007 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: Tax cut plan not creditable New Jersey property taxpayers are being promised what Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. this week called a “double dose of property tax relief and reform.” Don’t expect that double … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Politics, Property Taxes | 5 Comments

Is the bubble the most important factor?

Posted on February 1, 2007 by grim

From the Sun Times: Housing equals economic pressure This past week’s economic news revealed some startling statistics regarding the state of both the U.S. economy as well as certain factors exercising downward pressure on the nation’s capital markets. Now, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble | 193 Comments