Monthly Archives: May 2007

Housing downturn to “continue for longer than previously expected”

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From Forbes: Fed Expects Long Housing Slump Gentle Ben is not the only central banker who is worried about housing. Based on the latest minutes of the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee, it seems that the entire panel thinks America’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 466 Comments

Jersey Shore foreclosures up 110%

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From CBS: Home Foreclosures On The Rise At The Jersey Shore A cooling real estate market has lead to a tremendous amount of home foreclosures at the Jersey shore. From April ’06 to April ’07, foreclosures nationwide jumped 65-percent. Home … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 6 Comments

“It was easier than financing a car”

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: Subprime Fiasco Exposes Manipulation by Mortgage Brokerages Taher Afghani was working for discount retailer Target Corp. near San Francisco when friends told him about the riches to be made in California’s Mortgage Alley. It was 2004, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 1 Comment

Mortgaging their futures

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: ‘Subprime’ Aftermath: Losing the Family Home Mortgages Bolstered Detroit’s Middle Class — Until Money Ran Out By MARK WHITEHOUSE May 30, 2007; Page A1 For decades, the 5100 block of West Outer Drive in Detroit … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 100 Comments

Mortgage index drops most in four months

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. MBA’s Mortgage Applications Index Fell 7.3% Last Week Mortgage applications in the U.S. last week fell by the most in four months as higher borrowing costs discouraged filings for home purchases and refinancing. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 4 Comments

Middle class squeeze

Posted on May 30, 2007 by grim

From the Herald News: Middle class workers earning less than previous generation At age 18, Joe Rocco proudly followed his father in hoisting steel beams and digging foundations. Construction was the ticket to a good salary, benefits and a comfortable … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 5 Comments

Home prices fall in March

Posted on May 29, 2007 by grim

From MarketWatch: U.S. home prices fall for first time in 15 years U.S. home prices fell 1.4% in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, the first year-over-year decline since 1991, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index released … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 112 Comments

Robbing Peter to pay Paul in NJ

Posted on May 29, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: To the Barricades! Property Taxes Spur Revolts When it comes to property taxes in the U.S., often you are blessed and cursed. In a rising market, the local assessor will raise his estimate of your home’s worth, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Property Taxes | 39 Comments

No bust for real estate TV

Posted on May 29, 2007 by grim

From the Chicago Tribune: No housing slump in reality TV ratings The sagging housing market makes for good television. Apparently it doesn’t matter that annual rate of home sales nationwide are down 10.7 percent: The real estate boom is alive … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 13 Comments

Gas tax increase on the horizon?

Posted on May 29, 2007 by grim

From Newsday: Corzine: Maybe a gas tax hike, someday New Jerseyans tend to pay the nation’s cheapest gas prices thanks largely to low gas taxes, but Gov. Jon S. Corzine is warning that the tax may have to go up … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 9 Comments

Memorial Day Open Discussion

Posted on May 28, 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 | 73 Comments

Going back to their old jobs

Posted on May 28, 2007 by grim

From the St. Petersburg Times: After the bubble bursts By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN Marc Stern was a commercial airline pilot for 29 years. In 2005, the year homes sold in a day and buyers lined up at the door, Stern did … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 2 Comments

Get your hands out of the cookie jar

Posted on May 28, 2007 by grim

From NorthJersey.com: Public to get a clearer view of N.J. budget By ADRIENNE LU For the first time in recent history, state lawmakers will be required to attach their names to eleventh-hour budget appropriations — ending the anonymous system that … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Property Taxes | 1 Comment

“Even vultures gotta eat.”

Posted on May 28, 2007 by grim

From the NY Post: BIG GARAGE SALE HOUSING MARKET COLLAPSE ATTRACTS BARGAIN HUNTERS By PAUL THARP Clint Eastwood’s gunslinger character who steps over corpses of bad guys and then spits – “Even vultures gotta eat.” In the case of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 4 Comments

Can we really afford open space?

Posted on May 28, 2007 by grim

From the Herald News: Towns worry open space funds may be limited By ASHLEY KINDERGAN If state funds for environmental preservation are allowed to dry up next year, the burden of creating and maintaining green space will fall to counties … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Property Taxes | 4 Comments