Monthly Archives: June 2007

Downturn “has turned ugly”

Posted on June 20, 2007 by grim

From Kiplingers: Voices from the Home-Loan Bust It wasn’t long ago that homeowners across the country were gloating over soaring home values in their neighborhoods. Now there’s blood in the streets. What at first looked like an inevitable downturn in … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 32 Comments

Reval triggers tax spike in Haddon Heights

Posted on June 20, 2007 by grim

From the Courier Post: Haddon Heights tax hikes spark ire Hundreds of angry residents on Tuesday night protested sharp increases in property taxes here after a revaluation. “It’s absolutely absurd,” shouted Ron DiMedio, who said the annual property taxes for … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 10 Comments

Housing Starts fall 2.1% in May

Posted on June 20, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Home Builders Cut Output, Lending Support to Prices By KELLY EVANS June 20, 2007; Page A2 The nation’s home builders continued to cut production last month as they struggled to pare bloated inventories. Housing starts … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Development | Comments Off on Housing Starts fall 2.1% in May

“There is not a recovery that is about to happen.”

Posted on June 19, 2007 by grim

From MarketWatch: Housing starts fall 2.1% to 1.47 million pace Starts of new homes in the United States fell by 2.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.47 million in May, as building permits for new construction rose 3% … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 262 Comments

NJ “economic engines” slow

Posted on June 19, 2007 by grim

From NJBIZ: A Tale of Two Key Industries Throughout the last century, the pharmaceutical and telecommunications sectors were strong economic engines for New Jersey. While both industries have since downsized, Big Pharma has held up much better. Reporting on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 1 Comment

Tremors down Wall Street

Posted on June 19, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: Mortgages Give Wall St. New Worries After the first cracks in the subprime mortgage business appeared late last year, several large lenders were forced into bankruptcy. Now, the stress is sending tremors down Wall Street, … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off on Tremors down Wall Street

Homebuilder confidence at 16 year low

Posted on June 19, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Home Builders’ Confidence Drops By JEFF BATER June 19, 2007; Page D3 The confidence of the nation’s home builders sank in June to its lowest level in 16 years, battered by rising mortgage rates and … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | Comments Off on Homebuilder confidence at 16 year low

Home prices “will be weak – and possibly falling – for some time to come”

Posted on June 18, 2007 by grim

From the Christian Science Monitor: Forecasters predict further housing market slump Usually, home prices are an exception to the old rule that what goes up must come down. But in the aftermath of a historic housing boom, it now looks … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 272 Comments

No quick end to the subprime shakeout

Posted on June 18, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Ills Deepen in Subprime-Bond Arena More Downgrades Seen As Foreclosures Ripple By SERENA NG and KATE KELLY June 18, 2007; Page C1 few weeks ago, the market for bonds backed by risky home loans looked … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 2 Comments

A “situation similar to what happened in the late 1980s”

Posted on June 18, 2007 by grim

From the Pocono Record: Monroe home sales drop 35 percent Sales of homes in Monroe County took a sharp dip last month, falling 35 percent from May 2006. Home sales fell from 291 to 190 for May 2006 and 2007, … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Subprime foreclosures hit NYC

Posted on June 18, 2007 by grim

From the New York Post: NYC ‘DEBT’ RECKONING A silent crisis is ripping through many city neighborhoods as more and more homeowners are unable to pay down their subprime mortgage loans. In Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant, one-fifth of subprime mortgages were more … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 2 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on June 17, 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 | 414 Comments

“And then everyone might agree on what a housing bust is.”

Posted on June 17, 2007 by grim

From the International Herald Tribune: When does a housing slump become a bust? Many Americans fear the consequences of a housing bust, but few know what one would really look like. Think about it. How far do housing prices have … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 3 Comments

Second leg down for ABX

Posted on June 16, 2007 by grim

From the NY Times: Slumping Confidence in Bonds Tied to Subprime Mortgages A series of indexes that gauge investor confidence in subprime mortgage bonds dropped sharply this week and neared the pessimistic levels that they last sank to in late … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 6 Comments

NJAR 2007.Q1 Sales Data

Posted on June 15, 2007 by grim

From the New Jersey Association of Realtors: New Jersey Home Sales Report (PDF)

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 9 Comments