Monthly Archives: October 2007

Should Foxtons let clients out?

Posted on October 11, 2007 by grim

From the APP: Foxtons allowed to seek bids for home listings Foxtons North America Inc., a West Long Branch-based real estate broker that abruptly began shutting down its operations two weeks ago, can seek bids for its listings from other … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 1 Comment

“[R]isky mortgages were made in nearly every corner of the nation”

Posted on October 11, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: The United States of Subprime Data Show Bad Loans Permeate the Nation; Pain Could Last Years By RICK BROOKS and CONSTANCE MITCHELL FORD October 11, 2007; Page A1 As America’s mortgage markets began unraveling this … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off on “[R]isky mortgages were made in nearly every corner of the nation”

“Movin’ out”

Posted on October 10, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: Departures for Other States Erode New Jersey’s Economy The net number of people leaving New Jersey for other states has more than tripled since 2002, and if the trend continues, the state’s total population could … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 264 Comments

NJ facing $3.5b budget gap

Posted on October 9, 2007 by grim

From the AP: NJ Budget Woes Loom New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Tuesday said the state could be facing a budget deficit as large as $3.5 billion next year. A deficit that large could require the state to … Continue reading →

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

The tax man giveth, the tax man taketh away

Posted on October 9, 2007 by grim

From the AP: Property tax rebates must be reported on federal tax returns New Jersey may have just delivered the largest amount of property tax relief ever to beleaguered homeowners, but that won’t stop the taxman from coming next spring … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 9 Comments

Smoke and mirrors

Posted on October 9, 2007 by grim

From the Courier Post Online: Don’t let tax rebate purchase your vote Voters must remember the whole truth about the property-tax relief checks they’ve recently received. Over the last few weeks, about 2 million New Jerseyans got a pleasant surprise … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 141 Comments

If illegals can pay their mortgages, why can’t we?

Posted on October 9, 2007 by grim

From the WSJ: Unlikely Mortgage Winner Illegal-Immigrant Loans Have Been Solid Bets; Threats Are Looming By MIRIAM JORDAN October 9, 2007; Page C1 Despite the downturn of the mortgage market, a type of home loan has remained surprisingly sturdy: one … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 7 Comments

Real estate goes down sometimes too…

Posted on October 8, 2007 by grim

Interesting sale on the GSMLS hotsheet this afternoon. This home in Mendham, NJ was purchased in 2004 for $1,050,000, and was recently sold again. No, the fact that the house sold isn’t the interesting part, it’s that the home sold … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 36 Comments

“[M]ost home markets are in a funk and won’t pull out of it soon.”

Posted on October 8, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. Housing Decline Reveals Winners and Losers: John F. Wasik The U.S. housing bust is like a leaking ship. You may still be able to stay afloat, depending upon where and how bad the holes are. Will the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 118 Comments

Not all brokers doing poorly

Posted on October 8, 2007 by grim

From Inman News: Business booms for REO specialists Business is booming for Ralph Barone, a New Jersey real estate broker, thanks to the housing market decline. Barone owns New Jersey REO Asset Management and Realty — the largest brokerage company … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 2 Comments

“The reality is that New Jersey is deep in a financial hole”

Posted on October 8, 2007 by grim

From the Times Trenton: State can’t afford to drag feet on debt The continuing barrage of numbers reflecting the amount of money New Jersey needs to meet its basic responsibilities has become mind-numbing. Almost weekly, a new report arrives from … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Property Taxes | Comments Off on “The reality is that New Jersey is deep in a financial hole”

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on October 6, 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 | 126 Comments

Racing against foreclosure

Posted on October 6, 2007 by grim

This Bergen County property was purchased in July of 2004 for $675,000. While I don’t have any details about the original financing, or if the loan was refinanced between purchase and today, I do know that the outstanding mortgage balance … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, Risky Lending | 17 Comments

North Jersey September Residential Sales

Posted on October 5, 2007 by grim

Preliminary September sales and inventory data for Northern New Jersey is in. Please note that this data is subject to revision. The first graph plots the unadjusted sales data (closed sales) for the counties listed. Please note the lower bound … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 142 Comments

Price Reduced $850,005 (46%)!

Posted on October 5, 2007 by grim

I’m not sure what I’m more amazed by, the fact that this property has been reduced by almost half, or the fact that the original asking price was a pipe dream. Another great example of trying to chase the market … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Price Reduced | 7 Comments