Monthly Archives: May 2007

Will frequent revals ease tax hike pain?

Posted on May 17, 2007 by grim

From the Stamford Advocate: New cycle sought for revaluations By Donna Porstner Published May 17 2007 The city would be required to conduct a revaluation every two years under a new legislative proposal intended to prevent huge increases in property … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Property Taxes | 8 Comments

NY tax burden tops the charts

Posted on May 16, 2007 by grim

From the NY Post: BURDEN OF OOF: TAX PAIN WORST IN N.Y. New York’s overall tax burden is the heaviest in the nation – a staggering $5,770 average for every man, woman and child, a new study found. Per-capita state … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Property Taxes | 4 Comments

Scam This House

Posted on May 15, 2007 by grim

From Fox News Atlanta: I-Team: Flip This House What if you found out an American Idol contestant was lip-synching? What if the Bachelor was really married? How real is reality TV? The FOX 5 I-Team answers that question with one … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 19 Comments

Tighter lending standards adding pressure

Posted on May 15, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Lenders Get Tougher Qualifying for a Mortgage Becomes Harder, Even for Applicants With Good Credit, As Banks Probe Deeper Into Personal Finances By RUTH SIMON May 15, 2007; Page D1 Mortgage lenders are beginning to … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 194 Comments

April foreclosures up 65% from a year earlier

Posted on May 15, 2007 by grim

From CNN/Money: Foreclosure rates still soaring Knock-on effects from risky mortgages and softening home prices show few signs of letting up; Nevada leads nation in delinquent homeowners. By Les Christie May 15 2007 Foreclosures continue to trouble real estate markets … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 2 Comments

Raiding the unemployment trust fund

Posted on May 15, 2007 by grim

From NJBIZ: A $400M Tax Hike Could Be On the Way The unemployment insurance fund is dangerously low Scott Goldstein Trenton Bureau 5/14/2007 The fund that pays unemployment benefits to New Jerseyans has dipped so low that it is close … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics | 9 Comments

Real estate market worse than reported

Posted on May 14, 2007 by grim

From Inman News: Housing is falling much faster than reported The housing market has softened much more than is being reported. We have been advising our retainer clients for more than one year about misleading national sales information, both with … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 179 Comments

A country full of canaries

Posted on May 14, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Does Canary In U.S. Economy Nest in Florida? May 14, 2007; Page C1 the housing-market shakeout has an epicenter, it probably lies in Florida. For companies with business tied closely to the state, that is … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 2 Comments

Is 6% sacrosanct?

Posted on May 14, 2007 by grim

From 60 Minutes: Hi-Tech Real Estate Moves In (Video) Realtors’ sacrosanct commission rates of 6 percent may be in danger due to emerging online competition from Internet real estate sellers and buyers.

Posted in National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on May 13, 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 | 327 Comments

No bottom until late ’08?

Posted on May 13, 2007 by grim

From the NY Post: HARSH REALTY The housing market has not hit bottom yet and probably won’t until sometime in 2008. Yep, there it is in black and white. And while no one really wants to hear it – except, … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 6 Comments

Alt-A shakeout on the horizon

Posted on May 13, 2007 by grim

From the OC Register: Lending’s next tsunami? Alt-A loans once were limited to people with good or pretty good credit who didn’t qualify for the best mortgage rates. The original Alt-A borrowers had little money for a down payment or … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 8 Comments

A peek into the boiler room

Posted on May 12, 2007 by grim

From the United States District Court – Minnesota DECLARATION OF MARK BOMCHILL (PDF) (Hat tip to http://patrick.net for the link.) 1. My name is Mark Bomchill. I am over eighteen years of age and of sound mind. I was employed … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, Risky Lending | 9 Comments

Fiserv Real Estate Forecast

Posted on May 11, 2007 by grim

From CNN/Money: Forecast: 100 biggest markets Major real estate forecasters are looking for prices to bounce along the bottom this year and next and fully recover by 2009. “Once the correction from the boom works through, we’ll see slow, steady … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 10 Comments

Bailout: 40-years of servitude

Posted on May 11, 2007 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Pa., N.J. moving to aid subprime borrowers Government help is on the way for some Pennsylvania and New Jersey homeowners facing unaffordable increases in monthly payments on adjustable-rate mortgages – sometimes called “exploding ARMs.” The board … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 31 Comments