Monthly Archives: December 2007

Predictions 2008!

Posted on December 31, 2007 by grim

OK you pompous prognosticators, dust off that crystal ball and lets hear ’em! Ground Rules Predictions provided should either be for June 30th, 2008 or December 31th, 2008, please specify. Provide justification for your forecast, where applicable (unless you are … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 204 Comments

How Ameriquest bought NJ legislators

Posted on December 31, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess Ameriquest Pressed For Changes in Laws; A Battle in New Jersey By GLENN R. SIMPSON December 31, 2007 During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than … Continue reading →

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

Bending the rules to move condos

Posted on December 31, 2007 by grim

From the Record: Senior housing age limit lowered The council recently lowered the eligible age for age-restricted communities in the borough because a senior complex wasn’t selling its units. Now residents must be 55 — not 62 — to move … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | Comments Off on Bending the rules to move condos

A look back at the 2007 market

Posted on December 30, 2007 by grim

From the Home News Tribune: State homeowners “coped with the bursting of the housing bubble” In June, Mary Lou Mangarella listed her New Brunswick home with discount real-estate broker Foxtons, in a move that unwittingly placed her smack dab in … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 81 Comments

Tips for navigating the market in ’08

Posted on December 30, 2007 by grim

From the Record: Laying the foundation for a deal Heading into 2008, the outlook for housing is more promising for buyers than sellers. Most analysts expect home sales to be slow, with flat or declining prices. But whatever happens, both … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 2 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on December 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 | 260 Comments

November New Home Sales

Posted on December 28, 2007 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. November New-Home Sales Probably Fell to Near 11-Year Low Sales of new homes in the U.S. fell in November, approaching an 11-year low and signaling no end to the housing recession that’s threatening to stall growth in … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | Comments Off on November New Home Sales

“We are in uncharted territory”

Posted on December 27, 2007 by grim

From the NY Times: Home Prices Fell Faster in October The decline in home prices accelerated and spread to more regions of the country in October, according to data released Wednesday. Prices fell 6.1 percent from October 2006 in 20 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 142 Comments

A necessary adjustment

Posted on December 27, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Pace of Decline In Home Prices Sets a Record By JAMES R. HAGERTY and KELLY EVANS December 27, 2007 A closely watched gauge of U.S. home prices shows they are falling sharply across most of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 1 Comment

Shiller: “single-family housing market remains grim”

Posted on December 26, 2007 by grim

From Standard and Poor’s: Broadbased, Record Declines in Home Prices in October According to the S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices (PDF) Data through October 2007, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller® Home Price Indices, the leading measure of … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 127 Comments

A return to rational prices

Posted on December 26, 2007 by grim

From the New York Times: Frozen Rates, Falling Prices THE Bush administration’s mortgage rescue plan will worsen, not alleviate, the problems in the housing market. We are suffering from a home value crisis, not simply a credit crisis. If home … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 24 Comments

Who’s watching the henhouse?

Posted on December 26, 2007 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: States, feds must impose tighter lending standards The Federal Reserve’s proposals last week to address deception and fraud in mortgage lending will all be for naught unless the states, the Fed, and other federal agencies tighten … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 3 Comments

“Lending is going to be tight for the next year or two”

Posted on December 26, 2007 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Profit Outlook Darkens for Big Banks By DAVID REILLY and DAVID ENRICH December 26, 2007; Page C1 For major banks, the next few years will be a return to a simpler and possibly less-profitable time. … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 2 Comments

“Banks Stole Christmas.”

Posted on December 25, 2007 by grim

From the NY Daily News: Bank protesters say predatory loans threatening to make them homeless Gloria Knight hasn’t been able to heat her home to a comfortable temperature this winter. The 64-year-old Brooklyn woman also keeps her modest, three-bedroom house … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 27 Comments

Subprime Breakdown

Posted on December 24, 2007 by grim

From the IMF Finance and Development Magazine: Subprime: Tentacles of a Crisis How could a modest increase in seriously delinquent subprime mortgages, which amounted to an additional $34 billion in troubled loans, so disrupt the $57 trillion U.S. financial system … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 126 Comments