Monthly Archives: March 2009

State Assembly Passes Commission Rebate Legislation

Posted on March 17, 2009 by grim

From Inman News: New Jersey bill seeks to lift rebate ban New Jersey’s General Assembly on Monday voted 46-25 to pass a measure that allows real estate brokers in the state to give rebates to homebuyers — counterpart legislation has … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 184 Comments

State seeks to eliminate age-restriction on new development

Posted on March 16, 2009 by grim

From the Trenton Times: State may lift age-restrictions on some housing As developers across the state hesitate to break ground on projects that looked more profitable in better economic times, experts say housing reserved for residents “55 and older” is … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 275 Comments

Boomer Net Worth Sinking, Homes Underwater

Posted on March 15, 2009 by grim

From the NYT: Baby Boomers ‘Under Water’ A RECENT report suggests that the housing-market slump is hitting baby boomers particularly hard: many middle-aged homeowners had been so seduced by the rising prices of years past that they failed to save … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 121 Comments

Corzine: Wealthy towns to lose state aid

Posted on March 13, 2009 by grim

From the Record: Towns to lose more than $32M in state aid, Corzine says The Corzine administration was the bearer of bad news again today when it told towns they will lose more than $32 million in state aid next … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 177 Comments

Foreclosures Increase in NY

Posted on March 13, 2009 by grim

From the NY Daily News: Foreclosure crisis builds in New York While not nearly as bad as the rest of the country, foreclosures are through the roof in New York. More than 1,700 city homes were in some stage of … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 205 Comments

DOWTAX 7000!

Posted on March 12, 2009 by grim

From the Record: Property taxes by the numbers Residential property taxes in New Jersey rose by just 3.7 percent last year but topped $7,000 for the first time, a new state report says. The increase in property taxes is the … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 106 Comments

Foreclosures up 30% in February

Posted on March 12, 2009 by grim

From Bloomberg: Foreclosure Filings in U.S. Jump 30%, Thwart Prevention Effort Foreclosure filings in the U.S. climbed 30 percent in February from a year earlier as the worsening economy thwarted efforts by the government and lenders to prevent homeowners from … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 331 Comments

Taxzine contemplates eliminating property tax deductions

Posted on March 11, 2009 by grim

From the Record: Budget could deal middle-class homeowners a painful double whammy The budget Governor Corzine unveiled Tuesday calls for eliminating property tax deductions on state income taxes next year, raising about $420 million to help balance a painful spending … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 302 Comments

American Nightmare?

Posted on March 10, 2009 by grim

From MetLife: The 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream …The results show an American dream that has been revised, not reversed. Americans are resetting their priorities, and the dream is now buoyed by pragmatism rather than consumerism. While Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 42 Comments

Will he cut or will he borrow?

Posted on March 9, 2009 by grim

From the Record: Where will governor find $4B in cuts? Governor Corzine is preparing a new state budget that will reduce spending to below $30 billion for the first time since 2006. The budget, which Corzine will present Tuesday to … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 286 Comments

2009 Spring Market a Bust

Posted on March 6, 2009 by grim

Little early, but I’m making the call. The North Jersey 2009 Spring Market is a complete bust There has been absolutely no sign of increased sales, heck there isn’t even a sign of a bottom. Sorry folks, but this downturn … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 398 Comments

NJ Homeowners Falling Behind

Posted on March 5, 2009 by grim

From the Record: Home foreclosures and late payments reach new record highs Home loan delinquencies and foreclosures again reached record highs in the latest quarter as lingering defaults on loans made even to more credit-worthy borrowers rose sharply in many … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 372 Comments

Federal Reserve: Real Estate Conditions in the Second District

Posted on March 5, 2009 by grim

From the Federal Reserve: (Read that line again, from the Federal Reserve, not the Realtors, not the NJ Association of Realtors, not from the Builders, and not from the Mortgage Bankers. This is coming to us from Ben Bernanke’s FED.) … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 387 Comments

NJ Unemployment Continues To Skyrocket

Posted on March 4, 2009 by grim

From the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development: New Jersey’s January 2009 Unemployment Rate at 7.3 (Click to Enlarge) The New Jersey unemployment rate for January 2009 was 7.3 percent compared to the national rate of 7.6 percent for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 153 Comments

Want lower property taxes? Leave.

Posted on March 4, 2009 by grim

An opinion piece from the Hammonton News: 2006 property tax relief was only a mirage The state is between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, tax revenues are way down, and the state faces a $6 billion … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 225 Comments