Monthly Archives: June 2011

Pending home sales surprise in May

Posted on June 30, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rise by 8.2%, Almost Triple Forecasts The number of contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose almost three times as much as forecast as falling prices made properties more affordable. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 200 Comments

Prices Up! No Down! No Up! More Declines! Recovery! Arrrrggghhh!

Posted on June 28, 2011 by grim

From CNBC: Home Price Headlines Hide the True Picture How do I loathe home price day? Let me count the ways. The rash generalizations, the seasonal vs. non-seasonal adjustment confusion, the month-to-month vs. year-over-year, the contention among all the varied … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 148 Comments

Incoming!

Posted on June 27, 2011 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Housing experts fear deluge when foreclosure filings start again In the past six months, an eerie feeling has settled in the offices of housing counselors and attorneys who confront the foreclosure crisis head-on and help distressed … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, Mortgages | 171 Comments

The Next Big Issue ™

Posted on June 27, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Suits allege Fannie, Freddie owe millions in real estate transfer taxes in Michigan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are using tax-exempt status to escape county fees levied during the recording of foreclosure property transfers, two Michigan county leaders … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Property Taxes | 159 Comments

Yearning for the days of easy money

Posted on June 25, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: Tighter Lending Crimps Housing The percentage of mortgage applications rejected by the nation’s largest lenders increased last year, spotlighting how banks’ cautious lending practices are hampering the nascent housing market recovery. In all, the nation’s 10 largest … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 80 Comments

Radar Logic: April price jump not large enough to trump yearly decline

Posted on June 24, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Home prices, sales still stagnant in April: RadarLogic Prospects in the housing market remain glum as the weaker then expected spring buying season pushes prices and transaction counts down. In April, home prices deteriorated 5.1% compared the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 114 Comments

Wealth Effect Ball and Chain Effect

Posted on June 23, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: American home equity cut by one-third The head of global securitized products research at Citi Global Markets said that home equity held by American households is down from 60% to 39%. Mary Kane, speaking at an American Securitization … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble | 133 Comments

2011 Spring Market = Bust!

Posted on June 22, 2011 by grim

From the NY Times: Sales of Existing Homes Hit Six-Month Low in May Sales of previously owned homes hit a six-month low in May and the supply rose, pointing to a housing market still struggling to regain its footing. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 228 Comments

Zandi: “We’re still in the housing crash”

Posted on June 21, 2011 by grim

From Reuters: Zandi sees earliest U.S. home price rise end: 2012 Economist Mark Zandi says the United States is “nowhere near” a housing market recovery, but he can nonetheless see a light at the end of the tunnel. Zandi, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 152 Comments

If Gen Xers are too risk averse to buy the Boomers homes, who will?

Posted on June 20, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: Come On Gen X, Take Some Chances Many of Andy Tilp’s Generation X and Y clients live for the adrenaline rush they get from outdoor sports like snowboarding and white-water rafting. When it comes to their money … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 153 Comments

Is there really a foreclosure problem if foreclosures aren’t happening?

Posted on June 19, 2011 by grim

From the NY Times: Backlog of Cases Gives a Reprieve on Foreclosures Millions of homeowners in distress are getting some unexpected breathing room — lots of it in some places. In New York State, it would take lenders 62 years … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 40 Comments

The Great Housing Depression

Posted on June 17, 2011 by grim

From CNBC: US Housing Crisis Is Now Worse Than Great Depression It’s official: The housing crisis that began in 2006 and has recently entered a double dip is now worse than the Great Depression. Prices have fallen some 33 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 208 Comments

Foreclosures at 42 month low – Good or Bad?

Posted on June 16, 2011 by grim

From CNBC: Foreclosure Activity Falls, But the Worst Isn’t Over Yet Delays in foreclosure proceedings and a new push by big banks and servicers to find foreclosure alternatives is drawing a new, albeit still troubling picture of the nation’s real … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 149 Comments

Sharga/RealtyTrac: No recovery before 2015

Posted on June 15, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: RealtyTrac’s Sharga sees no housing recovery before 2015 It will take at least another year to work through the glut of REO inventory in the market and yet to come to market, according to Rick Sharga, senior vice … Continue reading →

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

Grim’s Renovation – Major Project #1 – Fix Damp Basement

Posted on June 14, 2011 by grim

So I said I’d share some photos of the reno and let you folks comment on design choices and ideas, so here goes. We’re fully underway with the numerous smaller projects, demolition is complete, so we’re starting with the major … Continue reading →

Posted in Grim's House | 118 Comments