Monthly Archives: March 2011

Corelogic: Shadow inventory still very high, especially in NJ

Posted on March 31, 2011 by grim

From USA Today: 1.8M ‘distressed’ homes could weigh on home prices for years The U.S. had 1.8 million distressed homes in January that had yet to be listed for sale, a “shadow inventory” that is expected to weigh on home … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 169 Comments

Prices? Still falling…

Posted on March 29, 2011 by grim

From S&P: Home Prices Off to a Dismal Start in 2011 Data through January 2011, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller1 Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show further deceleration in the annual … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 204 Comments

February pending home sales down 11% in the Northeast

Posted on March 28, 2011 by grim

From the AP: More people signed contracts to buy homes in Feb. More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in February, but sales were uneven across the country and not enough to signal a rebound in the housing market. Sales … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 110 Comments

S&P slams new housing bailout scheme

Posted on March 28, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Principal forgiveness may not be the silver bullet for housing: S&P The attorneys general settlement proposal to major servicers includes a push for more principal forgiveness on delinquent mortgages. But it may be one of the initiatives cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble | 121 Comments

It was different this time

Posted on March 27, 2011 by grim

From the NY Times: A Housing Market Cycle Different From Others (Click the link for the accompanying charts) TO judge by the overall level of home sales in the United States, the housing market has stabilized at a level well … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 51 Comments

NJ unemployment up to 9.2 as discouraged return to labor force

Posted on March 25, 2011 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. unemployment rate rises as ‘discouraged workers’ resume job search New Jersey added 7,500 jobs in February, but the state’s unemployment rate actually edged up as formerly “discouraged workers” re-entered the workforce, according to data released … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 184 Comments

New home sales post record low (if you trust the numbers, or if it even matters)

Posted on March 24, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: U.S. New-Home Sales Unexpectedly Decline to Record-Low 250,000 Annual Pace Purchases of new U.S. homes unexpectedly declined in February to the slowest pace on record and prices dropped to the lowest level since December 2003, adding to evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Development | 222 Comments

Economists turn sour on home prices

Posted on March 23, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Housing double dip could be coming: MacroMarkets A double-dip in housing could arrive this year with national home prices only 1% away from a new “post-crash low,” MacroMarkets said in its March 2011 Home Price Expectation Survey. MacroMarkets … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 179 Comments

Realtors: “One cannot say that we are in a recovery right now”

Posted on March 21, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Sales of U.S. Existing Houses Fall, Prices Reach Nine-Year Low Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped more than forecast in February, sending prices to the lowest level since 2002 and indicating the market is struggling to recover. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 172 Comments

2010 wasn’t the bottom, will 2011 be?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Home prices dip 3.8% in 2010 RadarLogic index Home prices in 25 metro markets tracked by analytics firm RadarLogic in its RPX Composite index declined by 3.8% in 2010, the firm reported. Stability in home prices during the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 136 Comments

“If you have an hour, you can do this”

Posted on March 20, 2011 by grim

From the Courier News: Tax assessment appeals on rise Knowing how to get a property tax bill reduced has made Terri LaPoint one of the most popular people in town. In the past couple of years, the Brielle resident has … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 102 Comments

Tear it all down, start all over

Posted on March 18, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Christie’s Atlantic City Revival Seeks Halt to 30% Casino Plunge New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is bucking voter skepticism and pushing ahead with his plan to revive the Atlantic City gambling resort, where casino revenue has plunged the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 263 Comments

QE3… QE4… QE5… The bailouts aren’t going to fix the housing market.

Posted on March 17, 2011 by grim

From the International Business Times: Terrible housing data will spark talks of QE3: Borthwick Wednesday’s housing data was terrible. February housing starts dropped to an annual rate of 479,000 units and building permits fell to an annual rate of 517,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 248 Comments

Property taxes continue to skyrocket

Posted on March 16, 2011 by grim

From New Jersey Newsroom: 12 N.J. towns look to override Christie’s property tax cap Your property taxes were even worse than you thought last year. New Jersey’s taxpayers paid out nearly $1 billion more on their bills in 2010. The … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 203 Comments

“I wouldn’t be overly influenced by the idea that home prices are low, and they might suddenly take off”

Posted on March 15, 2011 by grim

From CNBC: Home Ownership May Be for the Few, Not the Many Homeownership has long been associated with investment savvy. Tax breaks, equity growth and the sanctity of the American dream — the real estate community has made a pretty … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 268 Comments