Monthly Archives: November 2010

Case Shiller Day! (September home prices)

Posted on November 30, 2010 by grim

From the WSJ: S&P Case-Shiller: US Home Prices Fall In September, 3Q U.S. home prices dropped in September from a month earlier and the rate of decline showed signs of accelerating, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home-price indexes. Third-quarter prices … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 162 Comments

From Bonnie & Clyde to Ozzie & Harriet

Posted on November 29, 2010 by grim

From BusinessWeek: The Next Home Buyers: Ozzie & Harriet It’s an unsettling time to be shopping for a home. Home values have yet to stabilize in three-quarters of U.S. metropolitan areas. Alarm about so-called robo-signing of foreclosure paperwork has raised … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 89 Comments

Rich Turn to Renting

Posted on November 28, 2010 by grim

From CNBC: Rich Americans Ditch Home Ownership For Renting Patrick Lee went from homeowner to home renter this year. It may sound like a downgrade, but the New Yorker didn’t make the switch because he couldn’t keep up with payments … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 63 Comments

How To Make Lose a Fortune

Posted on November 26, 2010 by grim

From Fortune (Hat tip Shore!): Why the housing bulls are wrong A number of notable investors presented thoughtful and well-researched ideas at the Value Investing Congress last month. The one idea that we would take the other side of, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 119 Comments

Thanksgiving Open Discussion

Posted on November 25, 2010 by grim

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! —————————– 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 … Continue reading →

Posted in General | 47 Comments

New Jersey Contract Sales Continue Decline

Posted on November 23, 2010 by grim

From the Otteau Valuation Group: MarketNEWS – November 2010 The New Jersey housing market continued to experience weak purchase demand in October due to the lingering effects of the economic recession. In October, home purchase contracts in New Jersey for … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 162 Comments

October Existing Home Sales

Posted on November 23, 2010 by grim

From Bloomberg: Existing Home Sales Decrease More Than Forecast Sales of existing homes fell more than forecast in October as foreclosure moratoriums and a lack of credit disrupted the U.S. housing market. Purchases decreased 2.2 percent to a 4.43 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 113 Comments

A “significant and growing shadow inventory that is likely to persist for some time”

Posted on November 22, 2010 by grim

From Inman: Report: 8 months of ‘shadow inventory’ The “shadow inventory” of homes likely to be repossessed by lenders or already in their real estate owned (REO) inventory but not yet on the market reached 2.1 million units in August, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 145 Comments

Weekend Trash: Oprah buying the Frick Mansion?

Posted on November 20, 2010 by grim

From Newsroom New Jersey: Oprah Winfrey says she’s not home shopping in New Jersey “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” may be gaining a new neighbor. Oprah Winfrey has been spotted looking at homes in the northern New Jersey area. … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Trash | 68 Comments

“We still have a long way to go”

Posted on November 18, 2010 by grim

From the Record: Third quarter saw record foreclosures in N.J. A record number of New Jersey mortgage holders were either in foreclosure or late on their monthly payments during the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. About 15.5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 208 Comments

NJ unemployment falls to 9.2!

Posted on November 18, 2010 by grim

From Bloomberg: New Jersey’s October Unemployment Rate Falls to 9.2% With Business Hires New Jersey’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage point to 9.2 percent last month, the lowest since May 2009, as businesses recruited workers, according to the state’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics | 184 Comments

Do tighter lending standards make sense, or not?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home Ownership Gets Harder for Americans as Lenders Restrict FHA Mortgages Home ownership may be falling out of reach for more Americans as lenders toughen their standards for Federal Housing Administration-insured loans beyond what the agency itself requires. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 129 Comments

Standard & Poors and Fiserv see additional home price declines on the horizon

Posted on November 15, 2010 by grim

From HousingWire: S&P predicts more home price declines through 2011 Standard & Poor’s analysts believe home prices will drop between 7% and 10% through 2011, erasing any improvements prices have recently made. Home sales, which plummeted after the homebuyer tax … Continue reading →

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

Tax credit expiration and negative sentiment weigh on Q3 home prices

Posted on November 15, 2010 by grim

From the WSJ: Home Prices Decline in Nearly Half of Metropolitan Areas Home prices fell in nearly half of U.S. metropolitan areas in the third quarter, indicating that the market is losing steam without government tax credits, according to an … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 92 Comments

Owning homes losing appeal for boomers? Uh oh.

Posted on November 14, 2010 by grim

From the NY Times: Demand Grows for Over-55 Rentals “IT used to be your home was your castle,” said Lisa Kelly, who manages several rental complexes for people 55 and over. “Nowadays nobody wants a castle, or a mortgage — … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 26 Comments