Monthly Archives: August 2007

“You find surprising linkages that you never would have expected”

Posted on August 12, 2007 by grim

From the NY Times: In a Credit Crisis, Large Mortgages Grow Costly When an investment banker set out to buy a $1.5 million home on Long Island last month, his mortgage broker quoted an interest rate of 8 percent. Three … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off on “You find surprising linkages that you never would have expected”

“It turns out that the turmoil was contagious.”

Posted on August 10, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: Bernanke, Paulson Were Wrong: Subprime Contagion Is Spreading Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was wrong. So were U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Merrill Lynch & Co. Chief Executive Officer Stanley O’Neal. The subprime mortgage industry’s problems … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 357 Comments

Saying goodbye to easy money

Posted on August 10, 2007 by grim

From the Hartford Courant: Death Of Zero-Down In the latest sign that the nationwide credit crunch is worsening, lenders are saying no to borrowers who want no-money-down mortgages. The popular financing option – which required no down payments and financed … Continue reading →

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Where o’ where will we find $7b?

Posted on August 10, 2007 by grim

From the Record: Cost to fix N.J. bridges: $7B It will cost up to $7 billion to fix hundreds of deteriorating bridges throughout New Jersey, Governor Corzine said Thursday. Findings from an interim report by the state Department of Transportation … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Property Taxes | 3 Comments

North Jersey July Residential Sales

Posted on August 9, 2007 by grim

Preliminary July sales and 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 325 Comments

Bergen, Passaic see pop. growth decline, Hudson drops

Posted on August 9, 2007 by grim

From the Record: Census: Bergen, Passaic trail N.J. Bergen and Passaic counties trail the rest of the state in population growth, according to census figures that will be released today. Bergen’s population grew only 2 percent, to 904,000, and Passaic’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 3 Comments

Will regulation restore confidence?

Posted on August 9, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: New Laws Needed to Curb Unscrupulous Brokers August 9, 2007; Page A11 … Charles E. Schumer U.S. Senator (D., N.Y.) Washington As I have learned over the course of conducting several hearings on the subprime … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 3 Comments

Bringing the punchbowl back

Posted on August 8, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Fannie Mae to the Rescue August 8, 2007; Page A12 With Wall Street openly lobbying for someone to ride to its rescue in the credit markets, the news is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 207 Comments

When something sounds too good to be true…

Posted on August 8, 2007 by grim

From the Herald News: Lessons to be learned from housing mess These are scary times in the housing industry. Scary for lenders. Scary for buyers. The depth of that anxiety was fully realized late last month when the Commerce Department … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 1 Comment

”Sellers remember 2005 … It is not the same market.”

Posted on August 8, 2007 by grim

From the Allentown Morning Call: Home sales dip again Home sales fell again in July, but average house prices continued to rise in the Lehigh Valley, an extension of trends that began last year. The average price of an existing … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 1 Comment

Moral hazard and the Bernanke put

Posted on August 7, 2007 by grim

From Reuters: Fed seen on hold as credit worries rise The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold overnight interest rates steady and reaffirm concerns about inflation at its meeting on Tuesday, but may also acknowledge emerging signs of economic … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 314 Comments

“Jacking up rates” on prime

Posted on August 7, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Mortgage Fears Drive Up Rates On Jumbo Loans By JAMES R. HAGERTY August 7, 2007; Page A1 Turmoil in the U.S. home-mortgage market is starting to pinch even buyers of high-end homes with good credit … Continue reading →

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“The market is in a panic”

Posted on August 6, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Housing Market to Weaken Even Further As Mortgage Industry Takes Cure By JAMES R. HAGERTY August 6, 2007; Page A2 After a binge of lax lending in recent years, the U.S. home-mortgage industry is finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 310 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on August 3, 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 | 544 Comments

“We don’t think the banks will be that forgiving this time around”

Posted on August 2, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Lenders Tighten Standards, Pare Loans in Face of Debt By MICHAEL CORKERY, RANDALL SMITH and KATE KELLY August 2, 2007; Page C1 Banks and securities firms are trimming loans, especially to companies tied to the … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 278 Comments