Preliminary February sales and inventory data for Northern New Jersey (GSMLS) 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 of the graph, it is set to 500, not to zero. I do this to emphasize the seasonal nature of the Northern NJ market.
(click to enlarge)
The second graph is another view at the sales data for the full year. Please note that this graph does cross at zero.
(click to enlarge)
The third graph displays only February sales, 2000 to 2009 YOY.
(click to enlarge)
The fourth graph displays an overlay of Sales and Inventory from 2003 to 2009.
(click to enlarge)
The fifth graph displays the year over year change in inventory on a month by month basis.
(click to enlarge)
The sixth graph displays the year over year change in sales on a month by month basis.
(click to enlarge)
The last graph displays the absorption rate (not seasonally adjusted), in months:
(click to enlarge)
Bonus Graphs!
February Sales By County (log scale):
(click to enlarge)
Also from the Ledger:
Investment firm chief charged with Ponzi scheme
The owner of an Asbury Park real estate investment group surrendered to authorities yesterday after being charged with diverting $2 million to projects that the money was not intended to finance, including construction of his home.
Gary Klein, 45, of Colts Neck was indicted by a grand jury in Monmouth County on Wednesday on one count of theft by deception in connection with a three-year investigation into practices at his company, REI Group Inc. in Asbury Park.
Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin said Klein, the founder and sole owner of the real estate development and investment firm, enticed clients with promises of returns of between 12 percent and 85 percent over one or two years.
From the NYT:
WINKs Make Developers Smile
IN a generally weaker market for condominiums, one type of buyer is showing increasing strength: WINKs. Housing trend analysts came up with the acronym for “women with income, no kids.”
Last year in New Jersey, almost half of all condominium buyers — 45 percent — were women in this category, analysts say. That fact dovetails with the findings of various national studies that over the last decade, the number of unmarried women buying housing of any type increased 20 percent.
The Otteau Valuation Group in New Brunswick recently reported that in New Jersey, WINKs represented 21 percent of all buyers last year, up from 14 percent the year before.
The percentage of single male buyers rose to 10 percent from 9 during that period.
“Amongst all single-woman buyers, condos are far and away the most popular choice,” said Jeffrey G. Otteau, who heads the group, a housing-trend analytical company.
From the Star Ledger:
U.S. Postal Service to close Edison office, offer early retirement to quarter of workforce
Faced with staggering financial losses and a historic dropoff in the number of people sending mail, the U.S. Postal Service announced today it will offer early retirement to nearly a quarter of its workforce, shutter administrative offices and eliminate about 3,000 positions across the country.
An administrative hub at Edison’s sprawling Kilmer Processing and Distribution Center is among those slated for closure, resulting in the loss of up to 92 jobs, said Monica Hand, a postal service spokeswoman. The distribution center itself will remain open, Hand said.
Additional jobs are likely to be cut at a postal center in Newark, though Hand could not provide a specific number today. Letter-carriers are not included in the nationwide layoffs.
Made a small donation. First time using Pay Pal. Hope it worked.
Interesting numbers again. It’s going to take a LONG time for things to turn around at this pace. Heck, people will be thankful for 2007, and that was a crappy sales year. Oh, and FIFTH!!!
http://www.fresnobee.com/170/story/1274460.html
Fresno Bee – Sanford Nax
National R/E – Central Valley CA
“Sales of existing Homes in Fresno County up 87%”
They are expected to climb again in March..
“Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale in Fresno and Clovis slid from 5,092 a year ago to 3,841, a decline of 24.5%. Martin said the market is absorbing the foreclosures.”
“Three of every four homes sold are bank-owned. Lenders are capitulating, which is driving prices down, analysts said. How far they continue to fall remains to be seen.”
The charts in the newspaper edition show:
Existing home median price 2/08 $240,000 vs. 2/09 $127,750
New homes median price 2/08 $268,500
vs. 2/09 $228,500
Cindy (6)-
Amazing how a market can stabilize when gubmint and criminal bankers stop trying to put a false floor under values.
Too bad that if this is allowed to happen everywhere, the people who own/run our country will be ruined.
Therefore, it will never happen. Or, it will be allowed to happen after we are all living in suspended animation, shifting aimlessly from shantytown to shantytown.
Cindy (6)-
Why do you think this story doesn’t get wide play in the national media?
IMO, it is THE story in RE.
Markets work. When they are not manipulated.
Re: Donations
Just want to thank all the donors out there, it is you folks that keep this site up and running.
Realize that this site generates no income other than what comes in via the tip jar. No ads, no pop-ups, and no spam.
I think the same thing that motivates me to continue blogging is the same thing that motivates you folks to keep coming.
Special thanks go out to what might just be the coolest donation I’ve ever received. Can’t wait for Tuesday!
“Please remember that real estate is an extension of politics by other means.”
Ahh, Von Housewitz.
“Too bad that if this is allowed to happen everywhere, the people who own/run our country will be ruined”
Looking over congressional financial disclosure forms, this citizen is persuaded that TARP, TALF, BARF, and myriad other plans and actions are geared towards protecting the as$ets of our “leaders” and their enablers/funders and has very little to do with the rest of us. We may benefit but it will be a colatteral benefit of, not the reason for, their actions.
(10) Grim – Special thanks go out to what might just be the coolest donation
I’ve ever received. Can’t wait for Tuesday!
Do tell… Is Spookey getting a playmate? Is it Stu’s SRS funds?
Grim,
You posted a list of Drug Fair closings, and others have posted about retail closings. Are there any data that show a relationship between declining retail occupancy rates and residential RE values? One would think that empty storefronts would cause some bit of drag.
Grim,
You posted a list of Drug Fair closings, and others have posted about retail closings. Are there any data that show a relationship between declining retail occupancy rates and residential RE values? One would think that empty storefronts would cause some bit of drag.
Clot – (8)
“Why do you think this story doesn’t get wide play in the national media?”
Maybe – Because we flew so high and crashed so low, our story is considered to be an exception. Our unemployment is also above the national average so people might argue that CA is different.
I imagine Florida would be flying high as well if they didn’t have the “it has to go to court” issue.
Only within the last few months have the banks come on board. Prior to that, foreclosures just sat there. Offers were made but they wouldn’t accept them. Now, all cylinders are firing: buyers are there, sellers, banks and even builders. The builders slowed down and are making sweet deals on existing inventory.
Perhaps Client Number Eight is sending over an, um… associate skilled at “executive stress relief.”
Grim – It is my pleasure to post a donation. I only wish it could be more. No whining – just sayin…
Cindy (16)-
The fact that your area has such high unemployment makes the story even more compelling. Even in the face of such job loss, sales can still recover when prices are allowed to fall to a level of affordability.
IMO, I don’t think the fact that CA has a non-judicial foreclosure process has much to do with all this. Non-judicial foreclosure state or not, it all goes back to the bank. At its core, this is about lenders and their attitudes toward unsold inventories of REO.
Clot- Just thought of this:
With Prop 13, low property taxes that only can increase 3% a year, people are penciling out owning vs. renting and buying works out.
Also, folks who have pulled out of the market can park saving into a rental and have a revenue source for retirement. Seeing that too.
Taxes – Clot – Taxes. I pay $1,400. a year. Do you think I could afford a home paying $10,000 a year? No way.
Cindy (20)-
Even with our insane property tax structure, you can “pencil out” affordability scenarios here, too.
We’re just nowhere near it with our prices.
Cindy (22)-
And now you see why the graph on this post has that lonely little blue line, pointing downward.
And you see why I wish there were somewhere I could make a bet on the next gubnor election. Corzine is toast.
Do tell… Is Spookey getting a playmate?
Poor little Spooky has irritable bowel disease (the biopsies confirmed). He’s about 8 months old now, and only 40 pounds. Seriously underweight for a male boxer, he should be closer to 60.
He is on steroids now (Prednisone) which can help control symptoms, but it isn’t a good option long-term (side effects will outweigh any benefits).
Trying to help control the symptoms with diet as well. We believe it may be due to a food allergy, so we’re trying to eliminate grains and starches from his diet. Spooky is eating Bambi now (venison), mainly because it is a novel protein and nothing else has worked.
He is a super dog though, just about the most affectionate little big dog I’ve ever seen. He wears out quick so his favorite thing to do is hop up on the couch and sleep on you.
Grim – I’m in mod @ 26 ???
message from Senator Dodd. We are in competent hands.
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-dodd-expains-aig-bonuses.artmar21,0,1069600.story
“This past Tuesday, I misunderstood a question in a television interview about whether I inserted a date to protect AIG …”
(25) Oh – Spooky. That’s got to be tough. How about some yogurt? I have a friend with irritable bowel syndrome and she has to have no gluten or meat during flare ups – dairy, fruits etc. Maybe a nice round of banana/yogurt shakes. Do pro-biotics or anything like that help?
She said it is painful, too. Poor Spooky.
@ 26 – that should be: “…lost money month to month by NOT accepting the deals…”
Good Morning Everyone, Does anyone know if residents of “The Grand” in Riverdale are plagued by noise from the adjoining quarry?? I was planning on bringing a buyer soon. Thanks.
I really see things getting bad in Hoboken this Spring, I mean real bad. I’ve heard 8 to 10 of the 40 units in the building I live in are likely to be on the market at the same time. You multiply that throughout Hoboken and it’s going to be a circus.
Certainly some of them are just testing the waters but with that many units on the market the people who need to sell are going to see a new reality.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/127035-lennar-picking-calpers-pocket?source=email
Oh nice – “Lennar picking Calpers pockets”
anyway, just pulled the trigger and signed a lease on a new apt.
This works out to be 17% off from current rent, after all the specials and factoring in fixed moving costs. It might have been possible to get slightly better deal from a speculator in a condo building, but there are additional hassles and risks with private owners (bad experiences with that).
Landlord is still trying to get me accepting 24 month deal (since “rents go up when economy recovers”) but I’ll take my chances with 12 month deal. It is difficult to see how Manhattan rents could increase substantially, once all the new condos are in the market.
From the Record:
Local attorney accused in mortgage scam
A couple from Monmouth County allegedly conspired with a Teaneck real estate attorney to pocket nearly $400,000 after selling their house rather than use the money to pay off their mortgage, authorities said today.
Attorney Laura Scott, who has been temporarily suspended from practicing law, and William Jeter and Annette Sepulveda-Jeter were charged today with theft by deception and conspiracy, according to John L. Molinelli, the Bergen County prosecutor.
Scott, who lives in Clifton, also was charged with failure to make required disposition of property received, Molinelli said.
He said the Jeters sold their house in Millstone Township on Sept. 15, 2006, traveling to Scott’s Teaneck Road office for the closing. Immediately prior to the closing, the buyer’s lending institution wired money into a trust account that Scott maintained, Molinelli said.
He said that after the closing, Scott allegedly conspired with the Jeters to split the proceeds rather than paying off the balance of the Jeters’ mortgage on their house, which they had arranged though US Bank N.A.
…
Molinelli said authorities believe the Jeters have “significant financial issues” that might have motivated them to steal the money. He said it was not clear how the Jeters and Scott expected to get away with the alleged scheme.
“I think they thought that no one would realize it for a while,” Molinelli said. “But you know, sooner or later, a bank is going to be looking for its money.”
“MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Calif. — California’s mortgage crisis hit this master-planned community particularly hard last year, and eventually 90% of mortgage holders here owed more than their homes were worth.
But residents are allowing themselves the first twinges of optimism amid the gloom. The 2,600 existing homes in this development 60 miles east of San Francisco are selling at nearly three times last year’s pace. One builder has sold about 30% more homes in 2009 than a year ago. And homeowners here are seeing the welcome return of another phenomenon: the bidding war.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123759847274601481.html
“With Prop 13, low property taxes that only can increase 3% a year”
Cindy,
It is the threat of runaway property taxes that has kept us from buying another property in NJ (or even NY) and prompted us to look to NC and PR.
While we may be willing to pay the current taxes and a “reasonable” increase in the out years, the fiscal mismanagement in NJ (and this region as a whole, it seems) persuades us that property taxes are either going to skyrocket or municipal services, highways, etc. will crumble (perhaps as a way of putting pressure on prioperty owners to demand higher taxes to restore services) and with it quality of life.
We looked at three different occasional use homes one in the Northeast. They were not all that large, maybe 2,200 sq. feet on average. The home in the Northeast was most expensive. PR and NC were neck and neck, about 3/4 the price. The Northeast home had taxes about 5-8 times as high as the others. Now, the lower priced homes are a real schlep and can be used less frequently, but the lower-priced homes provide greater oppportunity for rental income and a warm getaway (or warmer, anyway in NC) in winter.
Assuming for the moment that the three homes are about equally attractive to a buyer, notwithstanding travel issues, the NJ/NY/CT/MA taxes are a killer. Worse still, I read that our friends in NY have started using their capital improvement bonds to fund current year wage expenses for New York State employees. Huh! Are they crazy? Until the states and towns in this area get a grip on expenses and pay down their debt, taxes make this a very unattractive second/third home region.
Running the numbers on PA vs NJ. Between property taxes, car insurance, and state income taxes; we put about 7k a year more in our pocket with PA.
cindy and clot
a few years ago I read that the east coast housing market was a year behind California’s if this holds true we’re about to go off the cliff. what are your thoughts? where would we be on the timeline? is there any comparison to be had?
(37) Shore – Some tough choices there. Do any of those states offer a fixed increase per year of taxes?
The 3% increase a year means I can actually live in a house on a fixed income. Without that, how could I plan to do so?
CA suffers in other ways because our tax structure then depends on the fluctuations of sales and income tax – so it has its drawbacks – That said, at least I can own a home and plan on living here after I retire.
“It is the threat of runaway property taxes that has kept us from buying another property in NJ”
This is precisely the reason I’ll never buy in NJ. Until you see the state and municipalities standing up to the unions rather than just raising taxes you’d be a fool to buy.
Hoboken is a microcosm of NJ’s problems. You have a political machine consisting of municipal unions and people in public housing who outnumber the homeowners/condo owners. They can just live off your property taxes because they got the numbers.
Add to it the lack of any sort of property tax reassessment over 20 yrs and the property tax is essentially a soak the newcomers tax.
Essentially you’d be out of your mind to by in Hoboken until there’s 1)been a complete updated property tax reassessment and 2) the municipal leadership changes.
There’s a mayoral and council election coming up. If the old guard win this town is finished, kaput.
Crossroads (39) – I’d ask Clot that question. Are your banks willing and able to handle the foreclosures? Is the unemployment getting so bad (ours is at 12%) that newly unemployed start losing their homes?
Are your builders offering 3.99% and reducing their prices to compete with the foreclosures?
cindy
don’t no about the banks. the unemployment is just starting w/ wall st job losses mounting we should see a ripple effect. and we didn’t have the overbuilding that you had. so I don’t think the downturn will be as severe but should be pretty bad.
x-roads (39)-
I think we’re about to go into a big dive in NJ. Nothing scientific, but the non-stop job loss (and the jobs being lost are high-pay) and out-of-control taxation can’t be ignored.
Up in Smoke: The Deposit Vanishes
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/realestate/22cov.html?_r=1&ref=realestate
“SOME of the buyers who thought they would be moving into new condominiums in the region this year are finding that those plans are in ruins as they are being forced to walk away from the hefty down payments they made a year or more ago.”
“Initially people were walking away from deposits because they were spooked by the market, but now it’s for more pragmatic reasons — either job loss or difficulty getting financing,” Mr. Miller said. “It’s going to get worse before it gets better, because it will only start to ease when credit stabilizes.”
“If I had a crystal ball for this year’s situation back in December 2007, I would have definitely thought twice about buying this apartment,” she said. “But back then, nobody believed that this could happen to the market.”
Cindy (42)-
Nothing being done on the sell side of the market in NJ has been enough- or big enough- or ambitious enough- to slow the decline.
Therefore, I think the big plunge comes soon.
“Special thanks go out to what might just be the coolest donation I’ve ever received. Can’t wait for Tuesday!”
HMMM?
(47) BC – I’m thinkin HMMMM too. What’s up Grim? Come on…it’s just us. We won’t tell anyone.
“If I had a crystal ball for this year’s situation back in December 2007, I would have definitely thought twice about buying this apartment,” she said. “But back then, nobody believed that this could happen to the market.”
Anti,
Obviously, Mr Miller was not a visitor to this site at that time. It’s funny how all the pundits/experts claim that nobody saw this coming? Now the same buffoons that were caught in the wreck, claim that the bottom is in.
It’s gonna be a long walk home.
Clotpoll says:
March 21, 2009 at 7:22 am
Cindy (6)-
shantytown
Isn’t that the 70’s disco hit?
Similar to Condoshack from the B-52’s?
Oh, won’t you take me to……..
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/wan/1079396327.html
My idea of a cool donation.
I think I know what the donation was.
http://tinyurl.com/SecretDonation
Stu,
I thought you and Gator were using your NCL rewards to send him on a cruise to check out C.A. (not California) RE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdOJPmnaeuE
(50) Chicago – No – I’m thinking more 70’2…..
That should be 70’s -2.
” Do any of those states offer a fixed increase per year of taxes? ”
Yes. MORE! They all guarantee that we will pay MORE.
Now I may be wiling to pay what I pay in RE taxes on THIS house, with its schools and really top-notch services, but for the places we are looking at for additional purchases, gimme a break. Here in NJ and the rest of the Northeast, we have been deluded into thinking that what happes here is normal and the rest of the country is backward or crazy. Orwell himself could not have created a more upsidedown world. When it comes to paying for services, so many have been led around by the ring in their noses that we feel honored to do so.
No Pat’s got it – Those clothes – the song at 55 – Grim’s gunna rock the R/E scene this summer…
Chi [50],
Blast from the past;
Take at least 25% off 2005 peak prices says:
November 30, 2006 at 9:54 am
Getting a little WORRIED yet?
If not then you are toast!
The home equity is going POOOOFFFF…if you had any.
BOYCOTT Houses & Condoshacks
BOOOOOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAA
Bob
Morning Fellow BagHolders. Looks like Geithner is making a bigger bag for us to hold on Monday.
Toxic Asset Plan Foresees Big Subsidies for Investors
The plan is likely to offer generous subsidies, in the form of low-interest loans, to coax investors to form partnerships with the government to buy toxic assets from banks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/business/21bank.html?_r=1&hp
#49 BC BOB: Lots of people saw it coming back than, only they were ridiculed and scorned.
vic (60)-
Gubmint. Partner.
Two words that should never be used together.
I think we just got a taste this week of how adept gubmint will be at “partnering”.
Timmay’s plan is DOA. TALF is now DOA.
Who wants to partner with a psychotic mob…that represents a bigger psychotic mob?
I’d rather partner with the real mob.
I think it was BC Bob who said Obama was GWB on Steroids. I found that statement to be preposterous at that time. Sadly, I agree with him now, especially with respect to the way he is handling the economy.
PONZI SCHEMERS COULD BE HIDING IN THE HEDGES
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03212009/business/ponzi_schemers_could_be_hiding_in_the_he_160553.htm
3B: “Lots of people saw it coming back than, only they were ridiculed and scorned.”
I vividly remember all those comments at work about how renting is throwing money away. Since everybody seemed to agree I just nodded along. I almost want to tout now how great it is being a renter – but that would look pathetic and insulting. How the heck ridiculing renters was not that in 2007?
Anyway, I talked one co-worker out of buying a condo in downtown (“its value would only go up – it is next to WS”). Some of the smug co-workers bought there in 2008 (I think after 3% price reduction). I can’t feel sorry for them.
65 vic: You may enjoy this.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjFjZjE3YWY5NjI1YWNhNmZhMjZiNDU2MDNmNmU0NjU=
“PONZI SCHEMERS COULD BE HIDING IN THE HEDGES”
It is as good a place as any to string them up.
” I think it was BC Bob who said Obama was GWB on Steroids.”
He is turning into Herbert Hoover on steroids, and speed.
From Krugman –
The Geithner plan has now been leaked in detail. It’s exactly the plan that was widely analyzed — and found wanting — a couple of weeks ago. The zombie ideas have won.
The Obama administration is now completely wedded to the idea that there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the financial system — that what we’re facing is the equivalent of a run on an essentially sound bank. As Tim Duy put it, there are no bad assets, only misunderstood assets. And if we get investors to understand that toxic waste is really, truly worth much more than anyone is willing to pay for it, all our problems will be solved.
To this end the plan proposes to create funds in which private investors put in a small amount of their own money, and in return get large, non-recourse loans from the taxpayer, with which to buy bad — I mean misunderstood — assets. This is supposed to lead to fair prices because the funds will engage in competitive bidding.
But it’s immediately obvious, if you think about it, that these funds will have skewed incentives. In effect, Treasury will be creating — deliberately! — the functional equivalent of Texas S&Ls in the 1980s: financial operations with very little capital but lots of government-guaranteed liabilities. For the private investors, this is an open invitation to play heads I win, tails the taxpayers lose. So sure, these investors will be ready to pay high prices for toxic waste. After all, the stuff might be worth something; and if it isn’t, that’s someone else’s problem.
Or to put it another way, Treasury has decided that what we have is nothing but a confidence problem, which it proposes to cure by creating massive moral hazard.
This plan will produce big gains for banks that didn’t actually need any help; it will, however, do little to reassure the public about banks that are seriously undercapitalized. And I fear that when the plan fails, as it almost surely will, the administration will have shot its bolt: it won’t be able to come back to Congress for a plan that might actually work.
What an awful mess.
Check it out folks!!! Finally the wait is over!!! For those looking for the provebial POS cape in a blue ribbon train town to be less than 500K, your wait is over.
This “Jewel” in Denial listed below is now offered at an unbelieveable price of 469K!! Charm galore!! Better hurry!!
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2911566&id=999999
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-977
What ever happened to HR 977 – Sean was all over this – Feb/09.
3b…awesome….going to call my realtor this morning….
going to write up paperwork for the offer…
the wifey and i think we are going to start at $229,900
you think its a good start?
Hidden video of Timmay and Bergabe learning math
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIJ0CikId8E&feature=related
#67 jmail:I can’t feel sorry for them.
Neither do I. One newly wed couple I advised to wait back in Feb of 2008 said no, no, had to buy renting is a waste of money etc.
Well they closed in Feb of 2008, in Middletown NJ. I was talking to her a few weeks ago, and the exact same house as the one they purchased across the street from them with an additional bonus/bedroom is on the market now with an ASKING price of 100k less than what they paid a year ago!!! She is of course depressed.
Newly married, no kids, they could have waited, but no.
#74 CAIBC the wifey and i think we are going to start at $229,900
What!!! And insult the seller!! We are talking blue ribbon, Bergen Co, train town!!! And charm abounds!!! And did you not read the listing? Big driveway, can park lots of cars.
All this with property taxes of only around 10k. Hurry, hurry!!
Grim,
Poor Spooky! My dog also has ibs. Chicken is a huge problem for him as well as anything else but his food and special treats. We feed Natural Balance Venison and the same for treats. I even found differences in the same type of food but a different brand. Fortunately there are lots of options out there like duck, rabbit, venison, fish, etc. Petfooddirect is a good place and not all that expensive delivery fees to NJ. I also give him one acidophilus pearl a day which is a miracle supplement.
Good luck figuring it all out with Spooky.
Rachel
“It is the threat of runaway property taxes that has kept us from buying another property in NJ”
This is true for us as well. Getting rid of Corzine will be the first step to bringing some confidence back. Of course, we are not so naive to think the replacement will be much better, but maybe a Christie could at least put the brakes on this nonsense. Corzine seems to be perfectly content with the idea that the NJ private sector is shrinking dramatically why the public sector explodes.
If Corzine wins, it will be a ominous sign that the status quo is here forever, and the deterioration into a complete welfare state will be accelerated and that will be OK w/ a majority of the state. Homeowners will be the target of intense and increased robbery to feed the public sector, because that’s where the money is.
RE tax increases for primary residents here in FL are capped @ 3%. This is protected by a constitutional amendment. My residence started at 3500 when I first moved here from NJ in 2005. Annual taxes are now at 2100 due to market price changes. May drop further as market dropped by 30%. Great news for folks on fixed incomes. and… Fl has no income tax
“Homeowners will be the target of intense and increased robbery to feed the public sector, because thats where the money is”
Bingo! This holds for everything. The poor have nothing for government to take, except military service; the very wealthy can hid most of it or buy favorable treatment; whereas those at the upper middle have enough to take, and fear of living in places where taxes would be lower, so they pay what amounts to protection money in the hopes that things will get better if they just pay-up.
(80)n j escapee – Hmmm – You have capped (@ 3%) R/E taxes in Florida just like CA. I don’t know about Arizona or Nevada but that has me wondering….
Is there a correlation between over buying and low property tax states?
Folks in NJ really think hard about the purchase because the commitment to
taxes is huge. In both of our states, the buyers just went hog wild.
Just a thought..
But isn’t porkroll, egg and cheese worth paying 5 to 8 times in taxes?
“nj ecapee ”
This explains the cruddy schools down there. That said, our big spending has not always resulted in accordingly-high-performing schools either.
Stu,
Also Entenmens and decent pizza.
From #71:
” For the private investors, this is an open invitation to play heads I win, tails the taxpayers lose. So sure, these investors will be ready to pay high prices for toxic waste. After all, the stuff might be worth something; and if it isn’t, that’s someone else’s problem.”
The big bank version of a NINJA loan.
Cindy,
You may have something there. A purchase price happens once, taxes, like herpes (as they used to say in the 80’s contrasting it with love), are forever.
Don’t forget the bagels too.
Indeed. I cringe with horror at the thought of one from NC.
You really bought into the NJ Teachers unions’ nonsense. Ultra high taxes don’t make excellent schools. You ought to look at the last few US New and World Reports annual High School ratings. There are many excellent public schools in Florida, Texas and other low tax states.
My POS cape is worth $725,000. No really… it is. It is because I said it is, so buy it. Seriously… it is! I ain’t kidding! What the f*ck are you all waiting for? Buy my f*cking house!! I swear, I’m not f*cking around here! You people just don’t have any confidence. Buy… my…. f*cking…. house!!! Ok, I’ll sacrifice for $715,000 but that’s my best and final offer.
Is B.O. still talking about eliminating tax deductions for the J.P. Morgans of the world who are puling in over $250k a year? It seems just one more bit of downward pressure on housing prices at the same time they are trying to prop-up prices. B.0. stinks.
“You really bought into the NJ Teachers unions nonsense”
No, I have not. Carefully read what I said.
Gary,
I would have bought it but when you dropped the price you killed the image I had of housing in your towm I want a special overpriced place where I contend I wear $3,000 pants just like Bernie used to.
“The Big Takeover
The global economic crisis isn’t about money – it’s about power. How Wall Street insiders are using the bailout to stage a revolution”
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/26793903/the_big_takeover/
Shore Guy,
Well, I understand the economy may have “slowed” a bit in the last year therefore, I’m willing to go easy on a potential buyer. As you may or may not know, North Jersey is insulated, especially my town and I figure 12% appreciation YOY since I purchased in 2001 is about accurate. It’s very competitive here, you know.
re: property taxes
my reason for holding off also – this and the ever changing rules:
– will i get a mortgage deduction or will i lose it?
– am i considered one of the evil wealthy who needs to contribute my “fair share”
– is there a magic number that makes one wealthy? what is that number?
– if i hold off buying, will i get a better deal from the govt. down the road (i.e- bigger tax credit, subsidized mortgage?)
– also, property taxes – will i be able to write them off, or will i be ensnared by amt?
i’m old enough to acknowledge that there will always be unknowns in the world, but the govt. has created so many more unknowns by constant rule changes – that it’s hard to come up with a plan.
at this moment, renting is still cheaper – but even if it were not, the risk of being held hostage to the ever increasing burden of rising property taxes to support bloated govt. is not worth taking the plunge.
gary says:
March 21, 2009 at 10:55 am
“My POS cape is worth $725,000. No really… it is. It is because I said it is, so buy it. Seriously… it is! I ain’t kidding! What the f*ck are you all waiting for? Buy my f*cking house!! I swear, I’m not f*cking around here! You people just don’t have any confidence. Buy… my…. f*cking…. house!!! Ok, I’ll sacrifice for $715,000 but that’s my best and final offer.”
Don’t do it Gary. At $715,000 you’d be just giving it away. Think of little Graydon and Ellery, that is their school fund! Think of your poor neighbors and their property values, you need to stick together.
re 72,
That kitchen is a masterpiece. How often do you find a kitchen that NEVER was in style.
Meanwhile, Walter said the agency was also probing whether hedge funds that have blocked most investors from withdrawing money are in fact allowing exceptions for those deemed worthy.
________________________________________
Some one here once said that head funds that delay redemptions are in fact ponzi schemes. They were exactly correct. If the SEC has any teeth left in them, they will bust these scumbags and jailthem once and for all.
# 90
“You really bought into the NJ Teachers unions’ nonsense. Ultra high taxes don’t make excellent schools”
you should see the high school they’re building in Sparta for $80 mil.
“head funds”..LOL!!!
I meant hedge funds. Sorry about that.
New area of major litigation for law firms, class actions under ILSA, a little known and complied with 40 yr old federal law, by buyers to get out of their contracts:
http://ilsfdablog.blogspot.com/
All hype,
sounds like a fraudian, I mean freudian slip. :P
Those are some ugly stats.
Thanks grim.
“head fund”
An investment promoted by Bill Clinton?
Cindy, low taxes may have been a factor for the overbuilding and overheated market. I think there are other factors though, perhaps cheap money made people think they could afford the monthly payments on 500K. with ever higher expectations of profits i.e., the greater fool theory. That is why I left NJ. I saw what happened in the late 80s and thought 2005 was going to be a good time to get out of Dodge. I liked NJ, but not enough to stay and deal with the ever increasing taxes.
97: “at this moment, renting is still cheaper – but even if it were not, the risk of being held hostage to the ever increasing burden of rising property taxes to support bloated govt.”
Exactly. Even if you are labeled not rich before the election, you will be labeled as such soon afterward.
Remember how dems created AMT to target those 20 rich families in the US? Who could oppose that?
That’s why all new taxes must be opposed. It is just a starting point for the government. 90% bonus tax is similar.
Also, remember Zimbabwe. Violent mob (pledging allegiance to the Leader) will just show up at your home and take it – because it is fair. Today we have seen first examples of that in Connecticut. They will eventually “hunt you down too” (to paraphrase certain US congressman in AIG hearings on Thursday).
“Also Entenmens and decent pizza.”
Shore,
Pechter’s Rye.
We happen to have some excellent pizza in key west, but you got me on Pechter’s Russian Rye. :-).
What are the downsides to Key West? I can’t say Florida, since it bears little relationship to the rest of the state.
well, I was asked to give a talk to some Columbia MBA students this morning, as favor to a friend whom is a professor at the Univ.
The whole class almost lynched me and some walked out when I told them that in the years moving forward, your better off being a welder from a votech school than a Ivy League MBA grad.
lol.
I think if the professor didn’t introduce me with a little bio & background info about me (military opps), they would of for sure taken me to the woodshed.
ha ha ha!!!!
SAS
Local government corruption, occasional evacuations, kinda isolated nearest big box stores are 120 miles away but otherwise it’s pretty awesome. great weather and generally a nice place to live. ride bicycle all over, I rarely use my car put 1500 miles on it in the past yr.
#99 Come on, that kitchen screams charm galore!!!
The graphs next year will show the next 6 months as the bottom. A lot of people are getting off the fence and looking. Appointments have gone up in the last week or two dramatically. We have to see how many contracts can be written?
It is geting close.
If the first row of sideliners stay off the bench, the next 4 rows will jump.
SAS:
You should have titled your talk,
“The Columbia MBA, a Total Waste of Money”
#101 Yeah our schools are so great, that is whay the whole state cirriculum for the NJ’s HS will be dismantled and restructure over the next 5 years.
#115 Rich: Yeah, sure they are. Oh yeah 6 months is a bottom, yep with unemployment being at well over 9% or higher in 6 months, but yeah we will be at the bottom.
Appoitnemnts up, people looking, oh yeah, because evrryday the confidence levels are just increasing dramatically.
NJ real estate is still way over priced, and we are not at the bottom.
Rich (115):
You can join us for John’s Memorial Day/End of the Recession BBQ. It will be a good time had by all.
You can bring the Kudlow mustard seeds.
Oh yeah, stop being a shill for your own self interests.
Nice.
“Employees were warned not to wear any clothing with the AIG logo, to travel in pairs and park in well-lit places, and to phone security if they notice anyone ‘spending an inordinate amount of time near an AIG facility’.
The memo was leaked to American website Gawker.com. A spokesman for the company has confirmed it is legitimate.”
“A lot of people are getting off the fence and looking. Appointments have gone up in the last week or two dramatically.”
Is there some data to support this claim? Not saying you are wrong, but I am skeptical in the absence of data.
lisoosh [98],
I’m very impressed that you remembered the names of my darling children! ;)
Clot: Can you wear your ManU jersey (with big AIG logo) in the next GTG ?
I will invite couple of ACORN buddies there too.
I’m Reporting from Chicago where I’ll be working for a few weeks.
An aquaintance has been trying to sell a three bedroom loft for two years. She has told potential buyers that the place downstairs that sold for 100k less has no effect on her price since, after all, it was a foreclosure.
She hopes none of the others foreclose before hers sells. She is an accountant.
“AIG execs the new ‘enemy combatants’ ”
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/president-outraged-aig-2341488-don-bonuses
“Are you outraged by these AIG bonuses?
No, no. For Pete’s sake, you’re an A-list congressional big shot. Try to get a bit of feeling into “outraged.” The president’s teleprompter puts it in italics, bold, capitalized and underlined: OUTRAGED !
That’s better. Don’t forget to furrow your brow and fume. No, not like a camp waiter when you send back the arugula salad drizzled in an aubergine coulis. We’re looking for primal, righteous anger: You’re outraged, OUTRAGED that bonuses are being handed out at companies the American taxpayer is bailing out. Yes, to be sure, the bonuses were specifically provided for in the legislation, but, like all busy senators and congressmen, you don’t have time to read every footling trillion-dollar bill before you vote in favor of it. And yes, true, the specific passage addressing these particular bonuses was, in fact, added to the bill in your name, but that was nothing to do with you – you just did that because the White House asked you to, and just because their people called your people and some intern in your office drafted some boilerplate with your name on it is no reason for you to be denied 10 minutes of grandstanding on MSNBC.”
“A lot of people are getting off the fence and looking. Appointments have gone up in the last week or two dramatically.”
_______________________________________
Wow! More houses may be sold in the upcoming spring selling season!
In other news, there will be more sunlight every day over the next few months. Who could have known this?
here is some skinny for your thoughts, in talking to a friend of mine, CAF, we bounced a topic off eachother about Obama failure…..err…I mean bank failure Friday.
Its like this:
Most credit unions give alternative to banking with big banks.
They have a market share that the big boy banks would love to takeover community market share. Most credit unions that I know of, are not in huge dire straights. As compared to AIG, Citi, GS.
something smells rotten in Denmark.
Like we have been saying on the boards, this isn’t a market, there is an economical warfare brewing, this “may be” apart of such warfare.
Would love to know FDIC definitions and decision processes by being a fly on the wall.
There is more to this Obama failure Friday…..err….I mean bank failure Friday than meets the eye.
Carry on.
SAS
“UPDATE 3-U.S. seizes top credit union clearinghouse”
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN2052552120090321
Grim,
Our Boston had a lot of problems as a pup. Coccidia as a pup and years of suffering from the runs. We tried vet food with little success. Then we started using the pro plan b/c it had no chicken, and also used Whole Foods venison wet food. That dialed the runs way back.
The pro plan started introducing chicken by-product in their beef flavor so we switched to salmon (sensitive stomach). LB doesn’t like it as much but he eats it (mixed with the aforesaid wet venison) and doesn’t seem to have too many problems. Still has the runs periodically but is otherwise in good health.
Good luck with Spooky.
Historical thought for the day, from an account of the post-French Revolution economy:
“New issues of paper were then clamored for as more drams are demanded by a drunkard. New issues only increased the evil; capitalists were all the more reluctant to embark their money on such a sea of doubt. Workmen of all sorts were more and more thrown out of employment. Issue after issue of currency came; but no relief resulted save a momentary stimulus which aggravated the disease.”
Andrew Dickson White, Fiat Money Inflation in France, (Irvington-on-Hudson, New York: The Foundation for Economic Education, Inc., 1959), p. 107.
I wonder what our modern day Robespierre and the rest of the Paris Commune has planned for us?
Grim,
Oradell Hospital for Animals is a great place.
High quality.
http://www.oradell.com/home.htm
SAS
[127] sas
You are aware, I gather, that the banks would LOVE nothing more than to put CUs out of business. The CUs have a tax advantage (gained in exchange for their limitation to groups) that the banks claim is unfair, and they constantly lobby for taxes on CUs and against expansion of CU powers.
Is that the warfare you are discussing?
[112] sas
I presume you mean metaphorically. I can’t see the average MBA student taking anyone to the woodshed literally unless they are under the age of 12.
Or, as I said to the Raiders fan who threatened to kill me on the E train, “you and what army?”
“Is that the warfare you are discussing?”
a factor, yes.
“I presume you mean metaphorically”
ha ha, yes.
sometimes these kiddies live in bubbles too…
SAS
Chinese Drywall hits MSM. As many as 50,000 homes may have been built with it.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/18/chinese.drywall/index.html
Amazing how stories we talk about show up in MSM days to months later. I really think some MSM people are reading this blog for ideas.
“I really think some MSM people are reading this blog for ideas”
you would be surprized of the eyes that read this blog.
I think Grim can speak to that and another reason why this is a “donation only” web blog.
SAS
“New Jersey-Pension Cuts Rise; So Do Concerns”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/new-jersey/22pensionnj.html?_r=1
-In a typical month, the pension funds pay out $300 million to $400 million more than they take in through contributions from employees and employers, William G. Clark, director of the state’s Division of Investments, told the funds’ oversight board.
“Criminal Case Ensnares Aides to Ex-New York Comptroller”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123746060219583103.html
-In an alleged pay-to-play scheme that drew in many hedge-fund and private-equity firms, two top aides to a former New York State comptroller extracted millions of dollars from investors seeking to manage money for the state’s pension fund, federal and state authorities charged Thursday
“New Jersey-He Who Dares to Mention Police Pay”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/nyregion/new-jersey/0322colnj.html?pagewanted=1
-“The public is unaware of how expensive this is,” said L. Mason Neely, the chief financial officer in this sprawling Middlesex County township for the last 34 years. “It may be time to rethink the whole structure of how we deal with public safety and what we pay, and how soon we retire people.”
““I really think some MSM people are reading this blog for ideas””
MSM can read? Heck, I thought they can only forward White House and ACORN press releases (so called “Journolist” echo chamber).
” I thought they can only forward White House and ACORN press releases”
lol, good one.
don’t forget Sidney Austin.
SAS
Ok, folks. It is over. Government takes over every company in this country, and regulates it to death. I suppose this will fit nicely with Jimmy Hoffa Jr’s “Employee Intimidation Act” which allows government regulator to force pay structures in private companies.
“Obama will call for increased oversight of ‘executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies’ as part of sweeping plan to ‘overhaul financial regulation’, NY TIMES reporting Sunday, newsroom sources tell DRUDGE… Developing…”
Grim #25: Try taking him to Dr. Ken Fischer at Hillsdale Animal Hospital. He’s a hybrid holistic/traditional vet and people I’ve talked to in the waiting room there with pets who have intractable problems have found he’s been able to help them.
Been going to him for over a decade.
back to RE wrt two tax cheating congresscritters (of unknown political affiliation).
“Bi-coastal Tax Chutzpah: CA & NY Congressmen Say They Live in Maryland to Claim Property Tax Break on Million Dollar Vacation Homes
A senior member of the House’s tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, Stark said he was unaware that he might not be eligible for the tax break. Asked whether it was questionable for him to receive it, he said, “I guess it is.”
Earlier this month, Congressmen Eliot Engel, a lifelong resident of the Bronx, was outed for claiming the Maryland real estate tax break on his Maryland home (formerly owned by ABC’s Ted Koppel and Wonder Woman Lynda Carter) assessed at $938,000.”
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/03/bicoastal-tax-chutzpah-.html
“George Stephanopoulos reports via Twitter that AIG’s top three financial-products executives and several other officials resigned yesterday, giving the reason “fear for safety.””
I’m thinking about applying for a job at AIG. I hear they give good bonuses.
check if sas has contacts for armed guards.
Oradell Animal Hospital is very crooked. They basically black mail you and play on your guilt telling you if you dont leave your animal overnight, you need to sign all these paper, and they seem to go the most expensive route first. thE HOSPITAL OVERNIGHT CHARGE IS UP TO 3k. Please read on the web all the terrible comments about this place. My cat went in for stomach, loose stool, they told me it would be an overnight stay and thousands, he might die. What happened to an anitbodic. The next day the cat was fine. He must have ate something or had bad stomach. They are crooks
Off the Fox News Web site. We were discussing this the other day:
bama Says He Wouldn’t Accept Geithner’s Resignation
Page 1 of 2 (44 mins ago) Full Article
President Obama told CBS in an interview for “60 Minutes” that he wouldn’t accept embattled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s resignation if Geithner were to offer it.
“heckuva job, timmy”
Grim, I posted 2 posts, both stuck by the East Germans, if you can just post the 2nd one, that would be good.
must have been a hiccup, so I wrote another post.
thx
SAS
#124 She is an accountant.
They can be the worst when it comes to financial common sense.
Just because they know which side of the ledger to put the entries, means nothing.
#149 Shore Guy
Is that because he’s run out of fools?
Mob rule and intimidation works..
“Busload of Crazies to Tour Homes of AIG Executives This Weekend”
“Right, they’re not fomenting rage, they’re just encouraging it. So if you happen to record someone’s address so you can return in the dead of night, it’s not like Working Families told you to! We know we sound paranoid and we really can’t believe we’re actually on the same side as Rush, but this is getting way out of hand.”
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/03/busload_of_crazies_to_tour_hom.html?imw=Y&f=most-emailed-24h5
I hate to pull a Frank here…please explain y’alls….
My Unlce put his house on the market Thursday night in Mountainside. I would say he priced it in the middle of the pack for the asks in the area. Probably the price is about 10% off peak. Honestly, I picked some people’s brains and my own opinion was that his price was maybe 10% too high.
Friday afternoon….full priced offer + $1,000. He is having an open house for realtors tomorrow.
Thoughts? Govt action has everyone drunk? A lark?
“Thoughts? Govt action has everyone drunk? A lark?”
maybe its a pretty nice pad?
always a sucker born every minute?
not everyone is in a slowdown.
we are in a recession, but it ain’t henny penny.
SAS
Another jewel in denial listed below, at 435K!!
Sad thing is, this “unique: house sold for 460K at the end of 2005.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2906997&id=999999
“460K”
holy crow!
SAS
gary; this treasure is for you!!
If you read the listing it tells you it is on a cul de sac.
Paula the realtor just leaves out the fact that it is at the start of the cul de sac,when in actually it is on the corner of Kinderkamack Rd.
NYC bus transportation is literally outside your living room window.
It is also across the street from an abandoned gas station.
However, it is across from Sanducci’s inexpensive good Italian food.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2903047&id=999999
Another POS Cape but again, under 500K in a blue ribbon Bergen Co train town.
Do not let the 1 bathroom disuade you from making this “gem” your own. You can probably put a second bath in the finshed basemnet, ah sorry I mean family room.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2853766&id=999999
Taibbi explains it all
these WFP/ACORN bus tours can get out of hand pretty quickly. I’m not surprised about the mass-resignation and escaping the area.
This is what happened last time when our community groups led by civil rights activist were involved. I hope AIG exes are not jews. That would get the liberal mob really excited.
1995: When the United House of Prayer, a large black landlord in Harlem, raises the rent on Freddy’s Fashion Mart, Freddy’s white Jewish owner is forced to raise the rent on his subtenant, a black-owned music store. A landlord-tenant dispute ensues; Sharpton uses it to incite racial hatred. “We will not stand by,” he warns malignantly, “and allow them to move this brother so that some white interloper can expand his business.” Sharpton’s National Action Network sets up picket lines; customers going into Freddy’s are spat on and cursed as “traitors” and “Uncle Toms.” Some protesters shout, “Burn down the Jew store!” and simulate striking a match. “We’re going to see that this cracker suffers,” says Sharpton’s colleague Morris Powell. On Dec. 8, one of the protesters bursts into Freddy’s, shoots four employees point-blank, then sets the store on fire. Seven employees die in the inferno.”
I would not want my children to be around when the mob arrives (not here or in Zimbabwe).
gary yet another one for you. The taxes on this magnificent home are only $11,600. (after this years property tax increase they will only $12,400.
Oh, I forgot it does not have a bakyard, just a little kind of slopey strip. But hey nobody needs a bakyard today!
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2909478&id=999999
This “classic” colonial is one of my personal favorites. I think the price and pictures say it all. No need for any commentary form me.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2906668&id=999999
And finally, does anyone have John’s e-mail. This McMansion would be perfect for him.
Words cannot describe this masterpiece of architeture.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2902891&id=999999
#158 sas: Yes sir it sold for 460k late 2005!!
“Words cannot describe this masterpiece of architeture.”
I’ve passed by that place before..
hasn’t that place been on the market for several years?
SAS
#155 chg: Lets see if it closes. Deals falling through everyday.
Some so called buyers do not even understand the reality has changed, until they actually go to get financing.
#167 sas: you may be confusing it with another one, this came on about 2 months ago. It take quite some time to build it, as I am sure you can see why.
Look at the attention to ugliness, ah sorry I mean detail.
“It take quite some time to build it”
maybe thats it.
taxes must be a killer.
ouch
SAS
#170 sas Oh, and no backyard, but hey I guess John could hold his BBQ on the expansive front lawn.
#170 sas: based on other new constructiob MC M’s I have seen in my town, I would reasonably guess the taxes are north of 20K.
3b, John needs a big yard because he pays people to come over and poo on the grass. I think they’re supposedly fertilizing his yard or something. Never got that one or the onion.
“Is that because hes run out of fools?”
It could be, as they can’t seem to be able to fill the policy-making positions at Treasury (I can’t imagine why anyone would want to put distance between their career and this train wreck) Or the Fool in Chief does not realize that Timmy is bad news for the survival of the republic.
#164 3b
That stove is awesome! Did it come from an antique store? My cast iron skillets would look awesome on it. So old school.
#173 Pat: Well maybe he could fence the front lawn in, and use that as th yard.
But seriously, the few examples I have posted, show just how great the denial, cluelessness, arrogance is out there.
After all that has happened in the last year, and now with this severe recession, potential depression, we still these kinds of cluless asking prices.
I have always maintained that the level of denial now vs. the housing bust recession of the early 90’s is far greater now.
And now is far worse than than. Do these sellers just think we are just going to bounce back?
Well we are not, it is as simple as that.
With these kind of asking prices still common place, why bother? I am going to Bermuda.
#175 safe: That stove is awesome! Did it come from an antique store?
I am sure that stove is original, notice how it is prominently displayed in the picture.
It is all the more reason for you to run, not walk with your checkbook, and offer full price. Hurry, hurry!!
#155,
“I hate to pull a Frank here”
Don’t be shy, admit it, there’s not recession.
#178 frank: No frank, no recession, 8.1 unemployment and rapidly rising, wall st is dead, and on and on. But no, no recession here.
You see what I am saying about denial??
This bungalow in Westfield looks nice
http://www.weichert.com/search/realestate/PropertyListing.aspx?P=22673915&cityid=4068%2c36038%2c49894%2c56828&mls=9%2c13%2c17%2c21&maxpr=500&minbr=3&pg=6
I don’t know where in Westfield it is, but I do know pos capes/ranches were going for 500k in the area 2 years ago.
#180
My bad, it’s in Summit
Breaking news. To ensure that executives on Wall Street and at other financial companies feel the country’s pain, the Obama Administration is roumered to require a public Brazilian Wax for anyone who earns over $250,000 and gets a bonus or whose salary plus bonus comes to $300,000 or more. C-SPAN will cover all waxing.
Party is over..
newsroom sources tell DRUDGE
Obama will call for increased oversight of ‘executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies’ as part of sweeping plan to ‘overhaul financial regulation’, NY TIMES reporting Sunday,
Start preparing people. My entire street just had their cars burgularized. I live in the “safest city” in America. Arm yourselves to the teeth. I know I am.
Please proceed with the flaming ie (waterworld scenario et al.)
I for one, will not be caught with my head in Disneyland, a jack boot on my neck, and a gaping wound in my ass.
what could go wrong when the competent administration, supervised by the wise men and women in congress, start micro-managing private companies in the US.
After all, it did work well for Hugo Chavez.
Definitely great news for NY/NJ RE market, too.
Any thoughts on Nutley? It seems quite nice in comparison to neighboring towns; Bloomfield, Belleville, Clifton and Lyndhurst. Nice parks, good schools, walkable downtown area, decent restaraunts, low crime, etc.
But on the downside, Hoffman LaRoche probably won’t be there in ten years, and perhaps their departure would hurt the area. Also, property taxes are quite high, though I suppose not any worse than the aforementioned towns.
More Breaking News!!!
No recession here, my wife just came back from the Bergen Mall, Grand Opening for TARGET and Whole Foods, also home of the NIKE store.
She tolad me the place was mobbed.
Yay!!! Yay!!, the recession is over!!!
“It is geting close.”
Rich [115],
If you jumped out of the window, on the 100th floor, you would also say the same as you approached the 5th floor.
“A lot of people are getting off the fence and looking.”
Anyboby have any cabbage in their pocket?
I’m not looking. Casually, I glance at the mls, but mostly, I’m watching pre-foreclosure rental prices on cl.
I saw a house in a DC commuting town for a third of its market rent. It was marketed as a bargain in pre-foreclosure.
I guess you take your chances on the LL coming in and ripping things out, as well as the date you come home from work and find a padlock on the door. But hey, if your mobile and adventurous, you could save enough in six months to replace anything you lose, and take a nice vacation.
“I am going to Bermuda.”
3b,
Where/when? I’m thinking of going next weekend. What’s better than the Elite 8, in the Rum Swizzle Inn?
Im going for a refi next week.
Looks like points will be in the 1.8 range for the best rate. No money out, but
I want a lower payment to free up some monthly for a new car. Are the lock-ins still 30 days? Been 8 years since I’ve done this.
#190 BC Bob: I should have clarified I am going to Bermuda in July. On a cruise, 25 years married (hey we did it young).
I will however upon arrival be going to Flanagans ( 5 days on the island, 2 at sea) right on Front St, excellent Guinness and Chowder I am told.
Open to all suggestions as to where to go (Elite 8 Rum Swizzle Inn as you mentioned).
We plan to really stimulate Bermuda’s economy!!
Pravda is confirming this. Government is going to micro-manage all private companies in the US. It looks even worse than I thought. Tell me again that this is not Venezuela?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/politics/22regulate.html?_r=1
“WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said.
..
Beyond the pay rules, officials said the regulatory plan is expected to call for a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies,
That proposal would, for instance, make it easier for the government to cancel bonus contracts like those given to executives at the American International Group, which have stoked a political furor. Under the proposal, the Treasury secretary would have the authority to seize and wind down a struggling institution after consulting with the president and upon the recommendation of two-thirds of the Federal Reserve board.”
President can seize private companies in the US?
Yeah, baby, stock market is going to love this.
Say good buy to NY/NJ RE market.
#194 But what about the 4th row of fence sitters? (post #115)? Surely they will help the NY/NJ real estate market.
This one is in Westfield at 459k. Much nicer then anything I saw for 10% 2 years ago.
http://www.weichert.com/search/realestate/PropertyListing.aspx?P=23875884&cityid=4068%2c36038%2c49894%2c56828%2c55495&mls=9%2c13%2c17%2c21&maxpr=500&minbr=3&pg=5
There are now 35 3brm or larger houses for sale in Westfield below 500k.
Maybe I’ll be able to buy something next spring, if we still have jobs and banks are still lending.
#196,
Are you on drugs? This house will be selling for $159,000 in the fall.
#197 Frank,
I meant Spring of 2010. A house like that would have sold for over 500k 2 years ago.
Speaking of the AIG house tour:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g4tUN7oGvfWYD1eN4daY7ZU01YCQD972LAIO0
[snip]
“You have a wonderful opportunity to help your neighbors in Connecticut,” the letters said. “We ask you to consider the experiences of families struggling in this economy.”
Afterward, the group protested at the office of AIG’s financial products division in Wilton, where they waved signs and chanted, “Money for the needy, not for the greedy!”
There were no arrests.
Mary Huguley, of Hartford, said AIG executives should share their wealth with people like her sister, who is facing foreclosure.
“You ought to share it, and God will bless you for doing it,” she said.
The protests came amid new questions about the retention bonuses. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Saturday that documents turned over to his office by AIG appear to show that the company paid $53 million more in bonuses to its financial products division than previously reported.
Bonuses were “showered like confetti” on AIG employees, Blumenthal said.
An AIG spokesman declined to comment.
AIG had previously disclosed that the company was contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded retention pay to employees in the financial products unit by March 15. It said another $55 million in retention pay already had been distributed to about 400 AIG Financial Products employees. That total of $220 million is about $2 million more than the figure disclosed Friday to Blumenthal’s office, and Blumenthal said he’s seeking clarification from the company on whether the new papers differ from what was previously reported.
“Unless the number can be explained,” he said, “it will undercut any lingering rationale the company may have for these unjustified payments.”
Rut ro.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqoxOvvxmRMU&refer=home
March 21 (Bloomberg) — American International Group Inc., whose compensation policies before and after its U.S. bailout are being investigated, turned over information on its executive bonuses to Connecticut’s attorney general, who said the insurer paid out $218 million.
That amount is more than the $165 million in bonuses previously disclosed by the New York-based company. The insurer provided a list of bonus amounts and contract terms to Richard Blumenthal, who said the information supports his view that the basis for paying the bonuses is “completely unjustified,” according to a statement he issued yesterday.
“These contracts rip the rug from under AIG’s excuses — revealing no basis under Connecticut law for these mega taxpayer-funded bonuses,” Blumenthal said. “AIG’s own documents reveal that it turned an emergency bailout into a meritless handout, paying windfalls to employees as reward for financial failure.”
[snip]
Put on a happy face everyone:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Economy/story?id=7136461&page=1
200: “the information supports his view that the basis for paying the bonuses is “completely unjustified”
Let me guess: It is not “fair” so it should be redistributed?
I thought it is not the business of Connecticut state to micro-manage how private companies pay bonuses (even though AIG’s biggest shareholder may be federal government).
Jamil,
I don’t want the government involved in comp decisions at American companies. That said, when those companies are still in business only because they have received a capital infusion from the public fisc they have to accept government control over compensation that may have political ramifications. It is a bigger version of, “As long as you live under my roof, you will follow my rules.” If they want full freedom to set compensation, DON’T TAKE OUR MONEY.
One other thing, the Con, AG is involved because AIG was claiming that Con. law mandated that they pay the bonuses.
Madoff employee breaks silence
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-19/madoff-employee-breaks-silence/full/
205: Sounds like NJ state government.
“But behind the façade, these businesses were a shambles. They were excessively staffed with grossly overpaid people, and run with marked inefficiency, he said…
They mostly socialized, read the news. They would have been unemployable on the outside.””
Where’s the recession on Wall St???
Dealers, Conduits Join Investor Gold Rush
“An ever-widening variety of investors are seeking to participate in the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility.
Among the latest to emerge as prospective buyers of bonds that qualify for the government-lending program are big Wall Street dealers, including Barclays, Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan. At the same time, commercial-paper conduit operators are talking to lawyers about purchasing TALF-eligible securities.”
http://www.securitization.net/article.asp?id=1&aid=8867
Some would say congress too.
What WOULD
most of Congress do?
And now for getting a leg-up on the recession:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/20/fashion/20090322-street-feature/index.html?ref=fashion#
In case this has not been posted before, it comports with what many here say. Of course, there are likely about 42 homes in NJ that would allow the median wage earner to follow these rules:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/your-money/mortgages/21thirty.html?em
At the height of the housing boom, many borrowers had to stretch to afford a house, in some cases agreeing to spend half their monthly earnings on their home. We all know how that turned out.
Now, President Obama’s housing plan will help many borrowers reduce those monthly payments to 31 percent.
But is that a reasonable goal? And where did that number come from?
Its roots may go back more than a century to company towns, where employers would collect a week’s wages for a month’s rent. In the 1920s, as homeownership became an option for more middle-class families, lenders adopted a similar standard: spend a quarter of a month’s income on housing. And during the New Deal, governmental housing agencies also adopted that as a reasonable amount to spend on a mortgage. Though the number has inched up through the years, that general rule of thumb has stuck.
[snip]
“What WOULD”
this, from above:
“would have been unemployable on the outside.””
From the Times article on returning to basics:
“If you can’t afford to save 20 percent, you can’t afford to buy a home,” said Francine Duke, owner of Aqua Financial Planning in Vernon Hills, Ill.
”
To that, I say amen.
And….
“Ideally, homeowners should have six months of net pay in the bank. But if you halve that figure and save three months of your take-home pay, that generally translates into eight months of payments. That does not account for food and other necessities, but it does provide some cushion. Two-income households can get away with just a few months of savings put aside, but single-breadwinner households should have at least six months.
You also need to account for unforeseen costs. “If you can’t afford a new roof or a water heater, then you can’t afford the house,” Ms. Hartman said.”
My question is this, which one of you is Tara (the author).
#216 Shore Guy
Tara sounds like a bitter renter to me
/off sarcasm
Shore 212-215
Excellent. Thanks for posting. Now I wonder how many will read that and blow it off.
No Return to Normal
(by James Galbraith)
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2009/0903.galbraith.html
Postal Service to cut 150K jobs. How is it possible to cut 150,000 jobs in any company, unless the majority had no meaningful purpose?
Grim..I e mailed you earlier in the week about a house here in the hood that was on the mkt for 975k when most of the houses for sale close by are around 1.1-1.3 million. i asked if there was something really wrong with the house because it was priced low but is really beautiful..well, that house went under contract in 3 days…if priced right it sells…again we’ll see if it closes but it’s set a new comp in the neighborhood and let me tell you the agents don’t like it one bit…
About the AIG bus tour by WFP’s brownshirts. Hardly a surprise that WFP turns out to be another George Soros funded, and O-linked ACORN front. These people are conducting the 2010 census. Good grief.
washington times:
“In an startling partisan shift, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. on Thursday proposed holding hearings on claims the liberal activist group ACORN engaged in a pattern of crimes ranging from voter fraud to a mob-style “protection” racket.
Mr. Conyers, Michigan Democrat and fierce partisan, suggested a congressional probe after scathing testimony about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) during a hearing on various voting issues related to the 2008 presidential election.”
“Postal Service to cut 150K jobs. How is it possible to cut 150,000 jobs in any company, unless the majority had no meaningful purpose?”
It is an interesting organization, one I have seen upclose, albeit from the outside. They are faced with a HUGE loss of volume because much of what used to be mailed, think routine greetings, photos, business documents, is now done by e-mail. Also, they had been bringing in lots of revenue from “flats,” catalogues and whatnot, that is now going away due to the recession/depression-to-be/whatever we are calling it. To be in one of the P&DCs during the Christmas rush is amazing. It makes one think that $1 for a stamp is worth the price.
That said, with the declining volume, it would not surprise me if they end up reducing the number of “casual” employees. They have a thing called “lifetime job protection” for some employees and I wonder how that will play into the staff reductions.
I find my business mailing less and less and relying on electronic communication more.( Heck, even faxes are way down and I will likely ditch one of the fax lines soon too.) Even for personal things, we send and receive far less mail than just 2-3 years ago. If we went to online bill paying and receiving online brokerage forms….
I suspect that the USPS will be a far different organization in three or four years from now.
203#, shore,
after the money entered into uncle sam’s pocket, please don’t think it’s your money for a minute. you have zero say on how the money will be spent. you may argue that you have voting right. but your voting right is the same as the next person paying zero tax and getting rebate credit.
unless everyone pays tax or voting right is proportional to the tax ammount you paid (at least for money issues), it will become worse since 40% of people don’t pay any tax and their voting power is more than you. sorry.
> DON’T TAKE OUR MONEY.
bi,
If the USG forks over $ to keep a privat firm afloat, the private firm is no longer so private and the USG has earned, um purchased, the right to impose terms.
paulson’ original plan was great. he wanted every major banks participate TARP to prevent systematic break down no matter whether you need money or not at that time. but this congress and new administration don’t want they take credit for that. the net effect of current house or senate version of bonus tax bill is to create bad banks and good bands. if either bill got passed, GS, MS, JPM and WFC will pay back TARP money this year and people who can generate money will move to thse firms from C and BAC. C and BAC will need more money and sorry that’s what voters (not taxpayers) wnat.
There are already good (healthy) banks and bad (unhealthy banks). Let the bad banks fail. If we need to recapitalize banks in BK, fine, but let those who invested unwisely lose their investments. Investing is risky and we sem to have become overly risk averse in this country — “help rescue me, I lost money in the market.” Tough! If one wanted safety, one should have stuck their money in the bank. When one invests one gets better returns, but with risk.
#207 frank:Where’s the recession on Wall St???
I don’t know dud, but I can tell you wall st. is still laying off, with much more to follow this year.
“Nobody is going to give it back and then stay,” said one of the firm’s employees. “If they give back the money, then they will walk. And they will walk into the arms of AIG’s counterparties.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/18/AR2009031804104_2.html?sid=ST2009031801503
comrade nom deplume,
if you can, could you explain to me more the tax advantages the credit unions have over the big banks?
I am leaning towards yesterdays bank friday as a message to credit unions.
I believe we could possibly be looking at an economical hit.
Trying to gather data.
SAS
or if anyone could sound off on my above post, that would be swell.
thx
SAS
High/hyper Inflation And Possible Effect On House Prices :
With US and UK now starting to print huge quantities of money, many economists are fearfull of future high or even hyper inflation. So what would be effect be on house prices ? Would house prices rise and keep going lower ?
I know average wages can only go lower from here. To combat inflation and to pay for TARp, mortgage rates and taxes will go up. So the house prices will have to come down further which means more people will foreclose which means more firesales. Am i thinking right here or is it the vodka i am drinking now ?
another possible hit from March 17th that someone brought to my attentinon:
“EDITORIAL: Success is now an evil to FDIC”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/22/success-is-now-an-evil-to-fdic/
By week’s end, I was more depressed about the financial crisis than I’ve been since last September. Back then, the issue was the disintegration of the financial system, as the Lehman bankruptcy set off a terrible chain reaction. Now I’m worried that the political response is making the crisis worse. The Obama administration appears to have lost its grip on Congress, while the Treasury Department always seems caught off guard by bad news.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/business/21nocera.html?_r=1&ref=business
additional piece:
“FDIC Criticizes Massachusetts Bank With No Bad Loans for Being Too Cautious”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509584,00.html
I know, I am a little behind the 8 ball sometimes. I’m a little rusty with my skills.
SAS
“Obama”
that moron is too busy playing games with Leno.
I thought Bush was a piece of trash, but if he went on Leno, many of you blokes on the left would squeel like a pig stuck under a gate. But, if your lord and savior does it… its cool.
ha ha…
shatter the false left/right debate.
otherwise, you will be sleeping in a tent city.
SAS
grim #193 in Mod no idea why
possible GTG?
http://www.bailoutpeople.org/
SAS
re#233 bi – before you jump at least give us your over under on oil for May delivery.
Sean,
Grim’s out playing cards with the East Germans and smokin cigars. From what I hear, he will be sending them home in a barrel.
SAS
was blcoked here is my 2nd try
re#193
Administration is moving fast and furiously now to move supervision to the Fed? Sounds just like the king Henry plan from last year.
Quote//It will propose that many kinds of derivatives and other exotic financial instruments that contributed to the crisis be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses so they are more transparent and can be more tightly regulated.//UNQUOTE
Translation: Don’t ban Credit Default Swaps or other derivatives, like the current resolution HR 977 is attempting to do. We promise if you keep the game open we won’t cheat hard working main st.
Bait and switch folks, notice in the same breath they mention regulating companies and and Hedge Funds.
Quote// Officials said the proposal would seek a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies, including major hedge funds, whose problems could pose risks to the entire financial system. //UNQUOTE
How is our government planning on regulating overseas hedge funds? Are we going to invade the Caymans?
238#, oil will be over 50 or under. i don’t play that game that much.
last weekend, clot was asking if i could point out some opportunities so he could do a contrarian bet. i said utilities on this board (you could go back to dig out that post if interested).
i guess he was tired up all his money to srs. lucky for him
sas: looks like Bill Ayers in the video, along with ACORN cronies. Well, if Charlie Manson and Timothy McVeigh were unavailable for the “peace” march..
jamil – you only need to worry if the president for life legislation passes.
bi -long utilities? Seems with the coming Cap n Trade Tax on Carbon emission the existing public electrical utility companies with coal as their main source of generation are going to take a big hit in earnings. It will take them decades to implement alt-energy to replace exisiting coal plants.
Sean: Unfortunately, this is not only a joke.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=hj111-5
“Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.”
Tell me again that this is not Venezuela?
Bonusgate hearing start next tuesday?
President 0bama likes to remind voters that he inherited a mess, and that’s true, but this one is of his own making. And until he comes up with a satisfactory explanation of who did what when, and why, his credibility will suffer. Forty-eight hours ago, I didn’t think Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was in trouble, but if the transaction with Dodd turns out to have Geithner’s fingerprints on it, his job could be in jeopardy. The deadly chain of events may have started innocently enough, with Treasury Department lawyers raising questions about the government retroactively curtailing private-sector contracts, but did Dodd, who authored the restrictive language, capitulate to some Treasury flunky, or did someone more senior lean on him?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/190243
jamil – I am up on all legislation, I posted my comment to bait you, and like a fish you took it hook line and sinker.
bi – bonusgate? lol
Here is an except from my blocked comment.
Bait and switch folks, notice in the same breath they mention regulating companies and and Hedge Funds.
Quote// Officials said the proposal would seek a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies, including major hedge funds, whose problems could pose risks to the entire financial system. //UNQUOTE
How is our government planning on regulating overseas hedge funds? Are we going to invade the Caymans?
Rumor has it, Paulson is going to sue Geithner for plagiarism.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Administration-wants-to-buy-apf-14708817.html
“paulson’ original plan was great.”
Bi [225],
That depends on which plan you are addressing; A,B,C,…. or Z?
I do agree that that his first pitch to the plate box was pure smoke; absolute impunity.
Sean [248],
More cash for trash. Better yet, a subprime currency for subprime slime.
I don’t understand why the bonus fuss is limited to AIG. Most of the cash AIG got went to the counterparties, so the taxpayers money had been used to pay bonuses at Goldman Sachs, etc. already – and much more than $165M for that matter. To me, the whole idea that the salaried employees of the financial sector (and not just CEOs who supposedly scare the boards into paying them megabucks) are somehow entitled to the earnings tens, hundreds or thousands times greater than equally [or more] talented, educated and productive people working anywhere else is rotten to the core and is one of the root causes of the whole trouble. Methinks that a special very high marginal tax rate (90% federal + state?) should be slapped on employee earnings say above 20x median. It may change some priorities – if the talented traders start their own firms, they will at least be risking their own money. [ We could probably compensate performers and sportsmen by allowing them to spread the earnings from frequently short careers through the lifetime (for tax)].
Some good points today. Hopefully the government will start regulating how much the superstar NFL, NBA, & MLB players are making. Why should these people be making such money when the rest of us are eating oatmeal? If AIG started a firestorm just imagine how O will rally the public against Tiger Woods. Why should this guy be making the money he is for hitting a little ball around. They could also go after, I mean redistribute, the money these guys/gals are making from endorsement deals. Why should someone get $20 million from Nike to advertise sportsgear? There is a lot of money out there to be had and I hope O can get it all. If it is left to the free market to decide income levels, etc. it can only lead to disaster.
Jim,
Sports players make money for the team if they are good – but they can’t lose money for the team if they are bad, they just don’t get their next contract… My point is – if you want to make millions playing with other people’s money – start your own firm and don’t expect to be rewarded or bailed out if you fail. If you want to be an employee and not be financially responsible for consequences of your actions – great, but as a society we need to reduce the risks you are incentivised to take by your pay system; tax will work fine.
Jim,
Would you say the same thing if some State Employees get million dollar bonuses? You will probably protest if teachers in your township get a 2% raise.
S
Jim,
Sports players make money for the team if they are good – but they can’t lose money for the team if they are bad, they just don’t get their next contract… My point is – if you want to make millions playing with other people’s money – start your own firm and don’t expect to be rewarded or bailed out if you fail. If you want to be an employee and not be financially responsible for consequences of your actions – great, but as a society we need to reduce the risks you are incentivised to take by your pay system; tax will work fine.
James 184:
You in Brick? I didn’t hear about a whole block of cars being broken into… where abouts?
grim – Purina HA (hypoallergenic) is very effective; it is by prescription, but many vets carry it. it’s funny stuff; it works because the proteins in it are all already broken down (hydrolyzed), so the protein source is irrelevant. as it happens, it’s vegan, so I’ve tried it myself; it looks and tastes kind of like a greasy version of Captain Crunch.
our female dog (a golden retriever- german shepherd-huskie mix, we think) had IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) pretty much from the day we got her from the pound as a puppy, 17 years ago. she had a million other auto-immune issues too; we had to have her get shots for her bee-sting allergy! when the IBD got really bad, at about age 5, we brought her up to UC Davis, which is a teaching vet hospital. Dr. Stanley Marks, who is their gastroenterology prof, had just finished inventing HA for Purina; we got one of their first bags. it was amazing; she went from vomiting with flecks of blood in it, to gastric happiness, in one meal.
of course, Spooky might not *like* the stuff. our dog did, perhaps because she finally felt okay. she was on it for about 9 years, and then for the last year and a half of her life (she made it to a few weeks shy of 16) we had her on prednisone – two days on, one day off – in order to fatten her up. *then* we got to try to make up for her years of gustatory boredom, by giving her many bits of dead cooked sentient creatures.
they’re starting to think that IBD in humans is due to a lack of intestinal worms; for most of human history and beyond, we’ve had guts full of worms so our immune systems are used to being busy attacking them. but now, we’ve gotten rid of our parasites, and our immune systems are reduced to attacking our own guts. they’re actually curing people of IBD by giving them intestinal worms; gross but apparently worth it. I don’t know if anyone is trying it with dogs; you’d have to get the balance right; too many worms are not a good thing (and of course heartworms are totally deadly).
grim – Purina HA (hypoallergenic) is very effective; it is by prescription, but many vets carry it. it’s funny stuff; it works because the proteins in it are all already broken down (hydrolyzed), so the protein source is irrelevant. as it happens, it’s vegan, so I’ve tried it myself; it looks and tastes kind of like a greasy version of Captain Crunch.
our female dog (a golden retriever- german shepherd-huskie mix, we think) had IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) pretty much from the day we got her from the pound as a puppy, 17 years ago. she had a million other auto-immune issues too; we had to have her get shots for her bee-sting allergy! when the IBD got really bad, at about age 5, we brought her up to UC Davis, which is a teaching vet hospital. Dr. Stanley Marks, who is their gastroenterology prof, had just finished inventing HA for Purina; we got one of their first bags. it was amazing; she went from vomiting with flecks of blood in it, to gastric happiness, in one meal.
of course, Spooky might not *like* the stuff. our dog did, perhaps because she finally felt okay. she was on it for about 9 years, and then for the last year and a half of her life (she made it to a few weeks shy of 16) we had her on prednisone – two days on, one day off – in order to fatten her up. *then* we got to try to make up for her years of gustatory boredom, by giving her many bits of dead cooked sentient creatures.
they’re starting to think that IBD in humans is due to a lack of intestinal worms; for most of human history and beyond, we’ve had guts full of worms so our immune systems are used to being busy attacking them. but now, we’ve gotten rid of our parasites, and our immune systems are reduced to attacking our own guts. they’re actually curing people of IBD by giving them intestinal worms; gross but apparently worth it. I don’t know if anyone is trying it with dogs; you’d have to get the balance right; too many worms are not a good thing (and of course heartworms are totally deadly).
grim – Purina HA (hypoallergenic) is very effective; it is by prescription, but many vets carry it. it’s funny stuff; it works because the proteins in it are all already broken down (hydrolyzed), so the protein source is irrelevant. as it happens, it’s vegan, so I’ve tried it myself; it looks and tastes kind of like a greasy version of Captain Crunch.
our female dog (a golden retriever- german shepherd-huskie mix, we think) had IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) pretty much from the day we got her from the pound as a puppy, 17 years ago. she had a million other auto-immune issues too; we had to have her get shots for her bee-sting allergy! when the IBD got really bad, at about age 5, we brought her up to UC Davis, which is a teaching vet hospital. Dr. Stanley Marks, who is their gastroenterology prof, had just finished inventing HA for Purina; we got one of their first bags. it was amazing; she went from vomiting with flecks of blood in it, to gastric happiness, in one meal.
of course, Spooky might not *like* the stuff. our dog did, perhaps because she finally felt okay. she was on it for about 9 years, and then for the last year and a half of her life (she made it to a few weeks shy of 16) we had her on prednisone – two days on, one day off – in order to fatten her up. *then* we got to try to make up for her years of gustatory boredom, by giving her many bits of dead cooked sentient creatures.
they’re starting to think that IBD in humans is due to a lack of intestinal worms; for most of human history and beyond, we’ve had guts full of worms so our immune systems are used to being busy attacking them. but now, we’ve gotten rid of our parasites, and our immune systems are reduced to attacking our own guts. they’re actually curing people of IBD by giving them intestinal worms; gross but apparently worth it. I don’t know if anyone is trying it with dogs; you’d have to get the balance right; too many worms are not a good thing (and of course heartworms are totally deadly).
oops. triple post.
the food revolution!
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/22food.html?_r=1&ref=business
#247 jamil,
Cool. I can vote for Clinton again. With what Shrunb and B.O. have done, one day Clinton will be on Rushmore. Their actions and inactions are turning him into a top 10 pres.
Jim #254: “Some good points today. Hopefully the government will start regulating how much the superstar NFL, NBA, & MLB players are making.”
Yeah, baby.
“(2009-03-22) — With the debate over AIG executive bonuses nearly bringing official Washington to a standstill in the past three weeks, the Obama administration today expanded its plan to control Wall Street executive pay, adding provisions to limit compensation for star performers in the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB).
“Some of these sports stars, like AIG execs, have negotiated sweetheart deals paying them millions of dollars, and yet they lose games,” said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs. “The president shares the outrage of the American people at these obscene salaries and bonuses”
Obama to Limit Pay for Wall Street, NFL, NBA, MLB
It’s early, can someone tell me… how do i donate?
the dominican gov. would never tolerate
a cut for the american ballplayers
(267) Cooper –
“How do I donate?”
Cooper – You have to exit the comments section. At the top of each thread, on the right – there is a donate button. It is all done through “payPal.”
Quite easy – secure.
cooper, if you don’t want to hit the donate button on a blog (because your address will show on the payment), you can always lookup the blog (using the blog url) at whois dot org, then cut/paste the ‘for more info’ line into your browser, and then send a money order to the owner’s home address. I believe SAS was also worried about anonymity.
3B Re#165-
Classic Colonial for $579,000
that stove retails for about $18,000.00
in Williams & Sonoma – what a charmer!
271 Serenity
That’s not an “Aga” stove is it?
You’re not the only one thinking the same. I don’t really see anything that hurts NJ to make the majority of the people to do anything.
For example the Charlie Browns I pass by every day after work is always 100% packed. The parking lot is always full to the point I almost get into accidents from people pulling out to the streets in front of me to turn back into the parking lot. The Hoolihans that I passed this last Monday was the same deal…
Drop in SALES of Real Estate DOES NOT EQUAL to drop in PRICES in Real Estate.
People are just not buying now because of the uncertainty. Those that have homes are still paying their mortgages because they still have jobs. They’re still going to out to eat every night as well from what I can see. Someone I know just bought another boat for his LBI beach house.
In order to see a real drop in prices is when they are unable to pay for their houses anymore and need to sell it. That means NJ needs to lose more middle income jobs. That’s right you heard me, middle income jobs… all we’ve been losing right now are low income jobs that is in a group where they don’t own homes to begin with.
Otherwise no idiot is going to sell their house in this market and those that will sell their houses put up those 500k Cape Cods out there for you to whine about.
I don’t see what’s wrong with losing their houses anyways, it was a gamble to begin with and you lost. I see people complaining about losing their 401k and that’s the same thing. You gambled on trying to buy a house you couldn’t afford in the first place. So you lose your house, you go back to renting. It’s not as if you’re out on the streets. Unemployment gives you at least $500 a week. Most apartment rentals are around $1000. So you should be fine.
I’d say wait a couple more months and if you can say you can now count the number of people you know that lost their house then you will see some effect. Otherwise NJ real estate prices will still be unaffordable as usual.
#
Mike says:
March 20, 2009 at 11:23 pm
I used to follow this site religiously through the bubble (2003-2007) as I was a firm believer. Now I avoid it as it is just downright depressing. Everything article about how bad it is is linked… yet, reality is, that while it sucks for 10-20% of the people, it’s business as usual for the rest.
#
269…ty Cindy :)
49 BC Bob,
The majority of this mess has been called almost play for play since 2007 and earlier.
was in mitchell’s vaunted Charlotte this weekend. You can see the economic fall out in the lower economic brackets here, an increase in homelessness and beggars on the street at night.
So far, the middle and upper class seem to be somewhat isolated and are taking the approach of “it wont hit us”
To bad Charlotte is largely dependent on Banking.
A high rise office building is 3/4 completed and was supposed to be for Wachovia. DUke energy has stepped in and guarenteed 500,000 sqft, but if the cant fill the rest of the space they could be in trouble.
There is alos already one condo building in the center of town that has stopped construction and the builder has gone under. Everyone who put down deposits have lost them, as there was a clause that allowed the deposits to be used for construction costs.
There are several other condo buildings under construction in charlotte, its like they didnt get the message about the housing bubble.
The problem is that they are counting on the expansion of the banking industry and the young professionals with money to buy up all this RE. That trough has stopped growing already. Charlotte is going to get wacked. They already appear to have an obvious overcapacity of higher end housing that is dependent of above average incomes to purchase.
During recession, upscale restaurants try to adapt to keep customers
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/during_recession_upscale_resta.html
This story is soooo sad:
Up in Smoke: The Deposit Vanishes
SOME of the buyers who thought they would be moving into new condominiums in the region this year are finding that those plans are in ruins as they are being forced to walk away from the hefty down payments they made a year or more ago.
They can’t complete their deals because the mortgages they lined up before the credit crisis took hold have evaporated and they can no longer get financing.
Elizabeth and James Pham put all their savings into the deposit they made on a $956,990 two-bedroom apartment at Maxwell Place, a new development in Hoboken, N.J.
They signed an agreement for the apartment in 2005, put down $93,199 and were preapproved for a mortgage for the rest of the purchase price.
But when their closing date arrived last September, several banks told them that to get a mortgage, they would have to increase their 10 percent down payment by another 15 to 25 percentage points. With no way to come up with that much money, the Phams notified the developer, Toll Brothers, that they could not get financing for the apartment. Toll Brothers declared them in default and kept their deposit.
“It would take us another 15 years to save that money again,” Ms. Pham said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/realestate/22cov.html?sq=Hoboken&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/capitalism-and-moral-sent_b_177637.html
Via The Economist: “Capitalism and Moral Sentiments”
Sorry that’s “The Economist’s View”
(A site Stu clued me into.)
#275 kettle:The problem is that they are counting on the expansion of the banking industry
Well we know that wont be happening.
at what point will high property taxes effect house price?
in the great garden state it seems you can pay equal or even more per month for taxes then your mortgage.
The civil unrest in urban areas begins. I fear for what is next. You guys who bought firearms were smart….heaven helps us all….
http://www.nypost.com/seven/03222009/news/regionalnews/kosher_dog_fight_160790.htm
Aside from Gary, am I the only other person so incredibly frustrated and annoyed with the arrogance and ignorance of sellers? So many of them think “it’s different here”. I am at the point where I really think I have to stop paying attention to real estate for at least 6 months and hope that when I start paying attention again, there will be some movement. The lack of attention by so many to the housing and economic markets is only leading to what will be the worst economic crisis in history. It doesn’t matter what our president does, he cannot stop the inevitable.
As a side note, we had our taxes done Friday. Our accountant said that he spent $120K on his daughter’s tuition. She decided she wants to become a math teacher. I told him to tell her there’s no way he’d allow it, that she will not have a pension when she retires and that the job no longer has the stability nor respect it did many years ago. He looked at me like I was speaking Klingon.
Crossroads,
It has reached that point for us, with respect to occasional-use property. I resuse to pay $1,000/month in taxes for any such house. $12,000 a year is not HUGE in the grand scale but it is big enough that for a non-primary residence (and, frankly, for most primary residences) it is a waste of money; of greater concern to us, though, is the budget shortfalls and the debtload of the state and municipalities, which, we are persuaded will result in a huge increase in taxes in the short term. Once one owns the property, one can pay the taxes (lost money) or, if the tax increase drives down market value, sell to escape the tax increase,perhaps taking a loss.
There are so many reasonable alternatives to the towns in NJ that we have collectively decided are “the ones,” and telepresence will only increase that number, that there will come a day that we all realize that we have been a bunch of idiots for buying into this mentality.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123751980140092361.html
Did someone post this?
“Raters See Windfall in Bailout Program”
“They are still paid for their ratings by the companies whose bonds they rate, a potential conflict of interest. And much-anticipated competition for the three companies has failed to materialize so far.”
It will all be okay because…
“Officials at all three firms say they have taken steps to avoid a repeat of past mistakes in assigning ratings.”
A POTENTIAL conflict of interest?
Geeez – Give me a break…
Except, of course, in the towns that are different.
#283 lost: Agreed. See my posts from yesterday, with some wonderful examples of sellers who are still in complete denial. It is downright astounding.
I don’t get frustrated any more. Now I simplty think it is hysterical, and why even bother going out to look. Sellers let me know when you get a clue and I will be back.
I got this email from Coldwell Banker
(would be interesting to validate against Grim’s statistics):
March 20, 2009
Real Estate Market Insights
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Many people are wondering what will happen in the residential real estate market this year. Though no one has that exact answer, in light of the many conflicting reports and opinions circulating, I wanted to provide you with the most current factual information and a look at how the market works.
The enclosed Market Activity by Month graphs reveal trends over the past 12 months. Each month in 2008, you will find that more homes came on the market than were sold. When this happens, the supply of homes exceeds the demand and there is a downward pressure on home sale prices.
The opposite trend occurred in 2000 through 2005. Homes sold faster than they were listed and the demand for a limited supply of homes drove sale prices upward. Buyers made higher offers in hopes of securing the home they wanted.
In 2006, home inventory began to increase and as more properties came on the market than were sold, home prices began to depreciate. This trend continued as the mortgage and banking industry took a hard hit in 2007 and we entered an economic recession in 2008.
Click on any county of interest, to view the market trends. The first column represents new listings on the market, the second column shows homes under contract, and the third column shows the total inventory of homes. With more properties coming on market than properties being sold, inventory continues to rise. Home inventory did decrease in some markets because listings expired and came off the market without a sale as indicated in the fourth column.
Each month I will send you these graphs to keep you informed of the trends in the market. If you or anyone you know would like additional insights into our local market, please let me know.
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/bergen.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/essex.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/hudson.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/hunterdon.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/mercer.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/middlesex.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/monmouth.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/morris.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/ocean.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/orange.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/passaic.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/rockland.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/somerset.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/sussex.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/union.pdf
https://newjersey.everythingcoldwellbanker.com/public/marketwatch/warren.pdf
Oh and relators this one is for you. One of your compadres is quoted in an article in todays Record stating that buyers are too focused on price, and that the main reasons to purchase are shelter, raise a family, a sense of community, long term building of equity and of course the tax advantage.
So all of you silly would be buyers out there, stop focusing on price, it is not important.
comment 288 in moderation
#277 Almost a million dollars for a two bedroom apartment in Hoboken? And they thought that was a good thing? Still reeling….
Let the market work. 2004 was when RE prices peaked here in Key West. We have seen price declines of about 70% from that point. On the positive side I see new owners who actually can afford the carrying costs and are able to replace appliances windows, etc. Nice to see families with kids instead of rentals with 6 service workers sleeping in shifts. my 2 cents
outofstater: Keep in mind that the buyer was a realtor, ie. true expert who had the training and experience to fully understand the true market value.
#290 The husband is a realtor. I think that makes the story kind of iffy in my book. It could be just as likely that their plan was to flip it but now that things have tanked they changed their story.
If you walk around the RE offices in Hoboken you’ll see plenty of W residences on sale by flippers wo in all likelihood are agents. I wonder how big of a bath those folks are going to take;)
#291 njescape: I agree. Far better to have people in the homes who can comfortably afford them.
It will return to that situation here too, just taking an awful long time.
But I suspect the next leg down in prices this Spring/Summer in NJ will be a big one, and that should speed the process.
287 3b
I did see your posts. I think it’s fluid for me. I go through my phases- sometimes its funny and sometimes its annoying to me. Right now I’m in annoyed phase.
Another wondeful opportunity to own in a blue ribbon Bergen Co train town.
Do not let the 2 bedrooms stop you, at this wonderful asking price, you can simply do an addition.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2907102&id=999999
Your opportunity below to live on Rt.4 so close to Paramus shopping.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2910024&id=999999
If you cannot afford to live in a McMansion, here is a fabulous opportunity to live wedged in between not just 1, but 2 McMansions!! Hurry, hurry!!
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2902936&id=999999
Here is your opportunity to live on historic Kinderkamack Rd. Country charm with no sidewalks in a wondeful contempory home with all the flair.
No backyard, but your slope in the back overlooks the train tracks, and the storied Hackensack River.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2845258&id=999999
Do not miss this opportunity to live on the corner of Midland Avenue and Kinderkamack Rd.
The Bagel Store and dry cleaners are conveniently located in your backyard, and Dunkin Donuts is right across the street. Please be carful crossing.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2852096&id=999999
This wonderful new construction home, can be yours. Reduced from 1,025,000, to a wondeful new price of $995K. Make your dreams come true here.
http://www.njmls.com/cf/details.cfm?mls_number=2900835&id=999999
#295 lost: I posted some more today, I want to put you back in your funny mode, becasue it really is funny. Actually it is pathetic, but still funny.
About Key West, what are things like this going for:
A SFH with 3-4 BR, 2+ bath,
about 1,500-2,000 sq feet, nice outdoor space, easy walk to grocery store, drug store, easy walk to beach and with a water view (even if from deck space).
“Drop in SALES of Real Estate DOES NOT EQUAL to drop in PRICES in Real Estate.”
[273]
Pure genious. In other words, NNJ real estate is immune to the laws of supply and demand, a decimated financial sector, rising unemployment and record ratio’s of debt/income?
From the River Edge listing:
“…2 story marbled entrance foyer…”
This says it all for early 21st century housing. It doesn’t matter if the materials are poor, etc, it looks like a catering hall when you walk in — that or the Clampets.
“The majority of this mess has been called almost play for play since 2007 and earlier.”
kettle,
Yes, actually late 2005, early 2006. It was a slam dunk.
# 304 BC Bob:“Drop in SALES of Real Estate DOES NOT EQUAL to drop in PRICES in Real Estate.”
Yeah you cannot make this shite up. Truly amazing/scary thought process. Denial, denial, denial,far worse than the ealry 90’s.
And this recession is going to make that one look like a tiny blip on the screen.
#305 shore:2 story marbled entrance foyer…”
Fabulous for entertaining??
3b [307],
Hey, JDSU may also trade back over $1,000?
Anybody been to Punta Cana?
re: 277
A couple of salient points I take away from this cautionary tale.
1. They signed an agreement in 2005 and put down nearly $100K.
That’s four years lost opportunity cost for the buyers on their deposit. Why would anyone take that risk? Must want that condo awful bad.
2. The sales contract was non-contingent on financing. Whoa. I repeat question above.
Why is the opportunity to spend $1 million on a condo that will close in four years so urgent in buyer’s minds? Of course, the RE bubble was still in force in 2005, but is continuing to rent really that onerous, given the aforementioned risks of deals like these?
Twice,
Buy NOW or be shut out F-O-R-E-V-E-R, and religated to living in some dump like Rumson. If you don’t sign the deal with the terms WE want, someone else will. What’s the matter, can’t you really afford to live here?
So much for this Key West RE Agent’s ability to read the market:
“Owner is a licensed Florida Real Estate Salesperson. This is a potential short sale transaction subject to lender approval. A professional short sale negotiator has been retained to expedite the sale of this property.”
302 3b
I see. Thank you. I think it will pass. Maybe I just need to vent for a bit and then it will return to being funny to me.
“Pure genious. In other words, NNJ real estate is immune to the laws of supply and demand, a decimated financial sector, rising unemployment and record ratio’s of debt/income?”
Not immune, but sheltered. Why is it that this tri-state area still remains one of the least affected areas when other states are in worse shape?
And the above is a fact.
As long as people in NJ keeps their jobs it’s going to remain status quo. More people need to lose their jobs and then find out they are living so close to the borderline.
Taxes are higher than before and Corzine intends to keep his state spending the way it is. Most people in NJ are sheep, they just pay their taxes because they make enough money. Imagine what happens when the people lose their jobs. There’s going to be less taxes to collect and Corzine will realize that he can’t raise taxes any more.
Thus that’s why unless NJ starts gaining unemployment in the middle class, we won’t see any change in the state.
So again NJ is sheltered because we’re relying heavily on the close proximity to NYC. And the current administration is hell bent on saving that financial sector at all costs. So that’s the reason why housing hasn’t tanked like the rest of the country.
Shore,
That mantra sounds so dated now.
And another thing, how does a youngish couple, where the husband is a realtor! and the wife has a non-lucrative job, carry an $850k mortgage plus two young kids? Answer, they can’t, only this time the banks know it and want 30 – 40% down to essentially disqualify them.
So again NJ is sheltered because we’re relying heavily on the close proximity to NYC??
To NYC? Well my friend NYC employers are laying off all over the place, wall st, legal, pharma, publishing,fashion etc. So shelterd from what?
Oh and one more item as per the U.S Cenus information 2005 (latest info available) 70% of households in prestigious Bergen CO, have household incomes of 100k or less.
So who is going to buy all these over priced houses, and if we are sheltered and OK, than why are all of these over prices houses sitting?
Just think the process through. It ain’t rocket science.
“This story is soooo sad:
Up in Smoke: The Deposit Vanishes
Elizabeth and James Pham put all their savings into the deposit they made on a $956,990 two-bedroom apartment at Maxwell Place, a new development in Hoboken, N.J.
”
It’s so sad I’m laughing inside. Here’s a prime example of idiots living beyond their means. If it took them 10 years to accumulate 100k, does that mean they plan to spend the next 100 years to pay it off?
I don’t pity these people.
[310] BC Bob
There is probably 30 or 40 resorts over there (almost all all-inclusive). Beach, sea and service is amazingly different depending on where you go. Lots of first-hand (from the people who’ve been there a week or a month ago) resort-specific info on tripadvisor.com – check it out before you commit to anything.
“As long as people in NJ keeps their jobs it’s going to remain status quo.”
[315],
Have you missed the news?
“So again NJ is sheltered because we’re relying heavily on the close proximity to NYC.”
[315],
It doesn’t matter what this administration attempts. WS is in a depression, this cycle will take years. NNJ gets pummeled, 40-50% off peak, by 2011.
” only this time the banks know it and want 30 – 40% down to essentially disqualify them.”
With the cram-down provisions, banks would be foolish not to demand 30-40% as a matter of course
cobbler [319],
Thanks.
Egads!
http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=557&sid=1630292
http://www.geekologie.com/2009/03/ive_seen_it_all_now_extreme_le.php
Now here are some people with a lot of extra time on their hands….
Extreme sheep herder ART….
http://home.att.net/~hideaway_today/t133/noah.htm
And let me pass along a bit of Sunday humor from the in box….
#273 In order to see a real drop in prices is when they are unable to pay for their houses anymore and need to sell it. That means NJ needs to lose more middle income jobs. That’s right you heard me, middle income jobs… all we’ve been losing right now are low income jobs that is in a group where they don’t own homes to begin with.
I agree.Why would i sell if i really don’t have to.Just like Frank said;Why does it matter if my house is worth a dollar or a million.If my mortgage is less than rent,knowing in 20 years it’s mine.
Property tax going up,same as rent.There are services with property taxes that you can justify paying.I agree it is getting out of hand,but same as everything going up in prices.Wait till hyper inflation really kicks in.
We talk about “not everybody can afford to own a house”but we all want afordability for everybody.Double talk?
I know unemployment is up, but not enough! Look at Merrill Lynch for example. 696 employees had million+ bonuses. Over 3.6 billion dollars were paid out in bonuses. All this recent talk about 200 million in AIG bonuses doesn’t sound that bad after all right?? WRONG!!!!! Remember that AIG was bailed out 180 billion so far. Most of it went to bail out other institutions like Goldman Sachs. So AIG is responsible for giving out bonuses to other institutions as well! That means a lot of employees still get to ride the gravy train.
So yes NJ is definitely sheltered considering the amount of money involved has been pumped into the state by proxy.
And yes all these must have an effect since it hasn’t hit NJ yet where it hurts.
“#
3b says:
March 22, 2009 at 1:43 pm
So again NJ is sheltered because we’re relying heavily on the close proximity to NYC??
To NYC? Well my friend NYC employers are laying off all over the place, wall st, legal, pharma, publishing,fashion etc. So shelterd from what?”
jamil (123)-
I hate ManU. No AIG shirt.
I do, however, have a fake ManU shirt with an “IOU” logo.
This kills in my neighborhood (at least 2 AIG employees, to my knowledge).
Chi (156)-
See if it sticks. Also, see if the buyer really has financing, etc, lined up. Sometimes, a big offer is the buyer’s way of getting the seller to overlook shaky financials and/or give the buyer time to firm them up.
Also, he may have just gotten very lucky. There still lurks the occasional idiot out there.
Would this be considered taxable compensation if the 90% tax rates pass?
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2009/03/22/2009-03-22_madam_kristin_davis_dated_alex_rodriguez.html?page=0
“A former Manhattan madam who supplied Eliot Spitzer with hookers also counted Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez as a customer – and found him so charming she dated him herself for free, former employees of the call-girl agency tell the Daily News.”
Shore guy, Re:303 SFHs with water views are very expensive. look for yourself, here’s the mls. http://keywestmls.com
No big surprise there. Between e-mail and on-line bill pay, these guys will be going the way of the dodo bird. Look for the government to contract out regular mail delivery to Fedex at some point. Fedex already has their boxes in front of every post office and their contractors on all the routes, so this may be a natural move to make. Only problem is that e-mail is affecting that business also, but you can’t e-mail supplies and bulk packages and Fedex is far more convenient for that versus the post office.
grim says:
March 21, 2009 at 6:58 am
From the Star Ledger:
U.S. Postal Service to close Edison office, offer early retirement to quarter of workforce
Faced with staggering financial losses and a historic dropoff in the number of people sending mail, the U.S. Postal Service announced today it will offer early retirement to nearly a quarter of its workforce, shutter administrative offices and eliminate about 3,000 positions across the country.
Wow!!$240,000.00 for a 600 sq ft home?
You can get a brand new 2,000 sq ft home in Atlantic county 6 miles from the water for the same price.
#329 200K It is like beating a dead horse with you. But hey one last try. Who cares about AIG/Merill bonuses.
These people already I am sure have houses. What does their bonus money have to do with a 3 bed POS Cape etc?
How does their bonus money shelter house prices form declining in our area??
Like I said think it through, it ain’t rocket science.
#327 yome:If my mortgage is less than rent,knowing in 20 years it’s mine.
1. For many people their mtg is not less than their rent.
2. Many people do care about what their hosue is worth and it does matter psychologically. Knowing the same house across the street from you sold for 100K less than what you paid is a psychological killer.
3. Prices are dropping.
4. I would assume that some of these sellers do have to sell, or why bother listing it.
5. Rents are going down not up.
6. You get the same services from the town whether you rent or own.
7. If the town you live in starts to decline, and you rent, you can simply up and leave, not so easy if you own.
8. How much interest do you pay over 20 years on the house you own, how much additional interest will you have paid over the 20 years, if you overpaid by 50k, 100k or more?
9. You will never really own your house in 20 years. Many people I know are paying 10 to 12k a year now in property taxes!!
So I own my house, but I have to pay $1000 a month to keep it?
“3b says:
March 22, 2009 at 3:21 pm
#329 200K It is like beating a dead horse with you. But hey one last try. Who cares about AIG/Merill bonuses.”
That’s the whole thing. Look at it this way, 3.6 billion dollars were pumped into the surrounding states just by Merrill alone. So think it through, 180 billion was given to AIG. Those in turn were used to pump money into these surrounding states.
Ok let’s look at Merrill Lynch again. 3.6 billion was given to their employees. Considering 696 people were paid more than a million, so let’s give a conservative number at a total of 2 billion for their top people. That leaves 1.6 billion left for their regular employees.
Merrill Lynch had around 36,000 employees. So let’s say 30,000 are regular employees that received 1.6 billion dollars of bonuses. That equates to $53,333 per person.
I’m not sure where you’re from but $53,333 is still a lot of money and can get some people over for a while.
So that money landed into the hands of 30,000 employees.
Now Merrill CANNOT be the ONLY one doing this… it has to be happening throughout the entire financial sector.
It’s no wonder we’re not seeing worse numbers in housing because everyone can afford to be in it. No one’s saying, hey I can’t afford this house anymore, let’s sell it at a loss so we can move into a smaller house that is more in our affordable range.
So that’s one reason why we’re not seeing the foreclosures or more reasonable sale because the financial people that should have been flat on their asses were given this nice plump cushion to sit on.
#273
Excuse me but where in the world do you get your information from that so far that “all we have been losing so far are lower income jobs”. My field (the legal field) is dropping people like flies and most of us are not lower income. Most of us are college graduates and beyond. So, this is definitely affecting more than just lower income people. Maybe we are better positioned to find replacement jogs than are the lower income people but that is not really a sure bet these days.
#337 i agree with you on some points.Mortgages will get cheaper as years passes, as income goes up.I bought my house $126,000.00 14 years ago mortgage is $700.00 a month with rent at $1700.00 I’m making a thousand dollars i dont have to pay.”you get the same services if you are renting”try asking for a refund on your rent payment.At least i know i can get some of my mortgage payment when i sell.Interest payment was deductible.If inflation is at 5% and mortgage interest is at 5.6% im making about 2% after dedction.
Bonuses are going to save the real estate market?
Where have I heard that one before…
I claim relevancy.
From the AP:
More women needing cash go from jobless to topless
From jobless to topless: As economy worsens, more women give strip clubs, adult films a try
They say it cost the school system $8000.00 per child a year to educate them.i have two kids going in the system,so i am saving $4000.00 if my taxes is @ $12000.00 and they pick up my garbage clean my street plow snow with police protection.
grim (342)-
“Auditor Throat”
“The Devil in Miss Jones, from HR”
It will indeed be a red-letter day when John returns here.
I’m sure he’ll be ready to weigh in on women transitioning from the boardroom to skin flicks.
If I tap out in RE, maybe I can be in skin flicks.
I’ll have to start dyeing my chest hair again, though.
I lump the lower income jobs people making under $60,000 regardless of your level of education. $60,000 to me seems almost impossible to afford a $300k house and still have any money left over to buy toilet paper. So most likely the person doesn’t own a house yet or bought it at pre-2000 prices.
I guess I should call it ‘Un-affordable house income people’
” House Whine says:
March 22, 2009 at 3:48 pm
#273
Excuse me but where in the world do you get your information from that so far that “all we have been losing so far are lower income jobs”. My field (the legal field) is dropping people like flies and most of us are not lower income. Most of us are college graduates and beyond. So, this is definitely affecting more than just lower income people. Maybe we are better positioned to find replacement jogs than are the lower income people but that is not really a sure bet these days.”
343.yome says:
March 22, 2009 at 3:56 pm
They say it cost the school system $8000.00 per child a year to educate them.i have two kids going in the system,so i am saving $4000.00 if my taxes is @ $12000.00 and they pick up my garbage clean my street plow snow with police protection.
Actually your school tax is about 60% of your property tax, so the $16,000 school cost for your two children is costing you about $7,200 in school tax for a savings of $8,800, which someone else is paying for you. Assuming three years apart, you would realized savings for 15 years. This quickly disappears once your children are no longer in school, and you pay those taxes for the rest of your life. Let’s say conservatively 50 years, which if the tax never changed would be a school tax outlay of $360,000, plus the 15 years they were in school $108,000, for a total of $468,000. So, your contribution to the system was $468,000. Some would say this is too much. Naturally, school taxes only go up so in reality your cost will be in excess of $2.5M.
Makes one yearn for a Pay as you Go only System, especially after the Supreme Court ruled that we are responsible for the education of all illegal aliens worldwide, who cross our borders.
Nice day today. Weather is pretty.
#348
That is why i am planning to move or rent when i can not justify paying property tax.I get to keep some of my forced savings after the sale.Point is,if you can justify it,that’s all that make sense.
#338 Put a fork in me. I am done.
#31, Fat Tony,
Have not heard of any noise complaints. They have a new job stating in Hanover shortly.
http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/
“More Jumbo Financing Coming”
BofA $730,000 to $1.5million
“upper 5% range”
20% down
Does this help anyone?
Hi Cindy,
Thanks recently got 4.875 on a 30 from Wells, no fees. Much smaller loan but sets us up nicely going forward.
We are not cashing out, just refinancing out of a 5.75 and rolling the HELOC into it. End of the day should be about a 30% LTV.
(354) LordJohnWarfen – Sounds good. I’m with Wells too.
I figured the Jumbo might help with some of the higher priced properties there in New Jersey.
I wonder how many are refinancing just now with the lower rates? It does have the potential for easing some monthly budgets. Everyone can use a few extra hundred a month just now.
“Bonuses are going to save the real estate market?”
JB,
I thought it was the wealthy Europeans.
Up!
From Bucks, some anecdata…
listings are up significantly in the last two weeks or so. Went to several open houses today with lots of looker traffic. These homes were all in the 600k+ range. Don’t know whether traffic will actually translate into sales. Wish I had access to the bucks MLS. I am perplexed b/c we have lots of Merril and Pharma employees here. The market seems much more positive than one would expect.
Positive?? No. If the market was positive, than inventory would be low,houses would be selling, oh and prices would not be dropping.
re: bucks
One day I will finally get the bicycle in the car and log in some mileage in bucks county. I keep meaning to make a weekend of it.
I knew Pharma was there but did not know there was a fiannce campus nearby. Where is merril located?
By positive, I meant lookers and activity. And, I’m not sure the prices are dropping at any rapid rate – though I hope so. In fact, that is why I wish I had access to the MLS b/c I do want to see whether all the looking is translating to sales.
Merril’s Hopewell NJ, Campus, which looks like a College campus by the way, is only 10 minutes from Lower Makefield. Also, the financial companies on Route 1 in “Princeton” are an easy 20-25 minute commute.
#362 living: Merrill’s campus there is being slaughtered with layoffs.
#363 yup, about Merrill layoffs in Hopewell. I know some personally (neighbors). This is why I am perplexed that there seems to be a lot of traffic to the new open houses. You’re probably right, they won’t actually convert to sales. We shall see.