Monthly Archives: April 2009

Brigadoon Mega-Comp-Killer

Many don’t know that Brigadoon is what Westfield-insiders refer to their town as when among locals. Really! Only outsiders call it Westfield and you’d stick out like a sore thumb if you called it that to someone familiar with the … Continue reading

Posted in Comp Killer, Housing Bubble, North Jersey Real Estate | 299 Comments

Prices UP in Mendham? Huh?

Matt Woolsey from Forbes is reporting on the performance of the Mendham real estate market (an affluent Northern NJ suburb for those not familiar) as part of the Forbes Luxury Housing Index. The index is based on zip code data … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, North Jersey Real Estate | 284 Comments

New Jersey Home Price Tracker – April

The New Jersey Home Price Index Tracker has been updated to include: * February S&P Case Shiller (Aggregate, Tiered, Condo) (click to enlarge) (click to enlarge) S&P Case Shiller NY Metro Commutable Area Home Price Index Low Tier (Under $300k) … Continue reading

Posted in General | 404 Comments

Case Shiller Day!

From the Record: Home prices in N.Y. region fell 10.2 percent in February Home prices declined 10.2 percent in the New York metropolitan area, which includes North Jersey, from February 2008 to February 2009, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 200 Comments

Ridgewood? Can’t be.

From Bloomberg: Boomer Bows Out in Shakeout That Led to Vermont Beard In early 2008, David Roberts’s morning routine at the Ridgewood, New Jersey, train station was as unchanged as the view from its platform, which overlooks a downtown anchored … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, North Jersey Real Estate | 141 Comments

Neighbors on the hook

From the Record: Complex fed up with delinquent fees “Love thy neighbor” is under fire at The Glens in Pompton Plains. Even before the economy nose-dived, Cathy Winterfield said neighbors were burdening neighbors with the cost of maintaining property they … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 194 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading

Posted in General | 423 Comments

Unprecedentedly Brutal

From the Record: N.J. builders feel the pain New Jersey builders used the words “brutal” and “unprecedented” repeatedly at a statewide trade show Tuesday to describe a housing market undermined by surging unemployment and tighter mortgage lending. Attendance at the … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 275 Comments

School budget time!

From Bloomberg: Tax-Weary New Jersey Residents May Reject More School Budgets New Jersey residents may reject a greater percentage of school budgets than last year when they go to the polls today amid dissatisfaction with rising property taxes that are … Continue reading

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 359 Comments

Saving Paris Orange

From the NY Times: Dissecting the ‘Heart of Orange’ A GLOBAL economic crisis provides the perfect opportunity to rethink the design of an old city — be it Paris or Orange — said a French urbanist who has been engaged … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Development, North Jersey Real Estate | 365 Comments

Weekend Open Discussion

This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading

Posted in General | 317 Comments

Philly area home prices fall 7.4%, sales fall by more than a quarter

From Prudential Fox & Roach: Greater Philadelphia Housing Prices Decreased 7.4 Percent in the First Quarter of 2009; (no link) reater Philadelphia region* median home sale prices decreased 7.4 percent to $199,000 in the first quarter of 2009, according to … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, South Jersey Real Estate | 314 Comments

FRB Beige Book – NY Area Real Estate

From the Federal Reserve: The Beige Book – Second District – New York Construction and Real Estate Commercial real estate markets in the District were mixed in the first quarter. New York City’s office market continued to deteriorate, with vacancy … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 48 Comments

NJ Unemployment Rises to 8.3%

From the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development: New Jersey Unemployment Rate at 8.3 Percent in March; Employment Down by 17,200 Over the Month New Jersey’s labor market continued to tighten in March as employment fell for the 14th … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 182 Comments

So much for that decline in foreclosures

From the Wall Street Journal: Banks Ramp Up Foreclosures Increase Poses Threat to Home Prices; Delinquent Borrowers Face New Scrutiny Some of the nation’s largest mortgage companies are stepping up foreclosures on delinquent homeowners. That will likely lead to more … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 119 Comments