From Bloomberg:
Pending Sales of Previously Owned U.S. Homes Fell in July
The number of contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes fell in July for the first time in three months, a sign that lower prices and borrowing costs aren’t luring in buyers.
The 1.3 percent decrease in the index of pending home sales followed a 2.4 percent gain the previous month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. Economists forecast a 1 percent drop, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Unemployment at 9.1 percent and the prospect of more foreclosures in the pipeline mean it may take years to clear the oversupply of houses, a sign the market is struggling to stabilize. The prospect of contract cancellations due to stricter underwriting standards and low appraisals means some signings may not translate into closings.
“Housing is still on the ropes,” Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics in Valhalla, New York, said in a note to clients. Shepherdson said he was concerned that “the chaos in the stock markets might have persuaded a greater proportion of buyers to walk away after signing contracts,” leaving sales short of the level implied by the pending data.
From MarketWatch:
Pending Home Sales Slip in July but Up Strongly From One Year Ago
Pending home sales declined in July but remain well above year-ago levels, according to the National Association of Realtors(R). All regions show monthly declines except for the West, which continues to show the highest level of sales contract activity.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, slipped 1.3 percent to 89.7 in July from 90.9 in June but is 14.4 percent above the 78.4 index in July 2010. The data reflects contracts but not closings.
The PHSI in the Northeast declined 2.0 percent to 67.5 in July but is 9.7 percent above July 2010. In the Midwest the index slipped 0.8 percent to 79.1 in July but is 18.8 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales in the South fell 4.8 percent to an index of 94.4 but are 9.5 percent higher than July 2010. In the West the index rose 3.6 percent to 110.8 in July and is 20.6 percent above a year ago.
Sardines!
I’m not sure what is Portugeuse for Cat Food, but I have eat a lot of tins of sardine paste over the last two weeks that have the consistency of cat food.
Good Morning New Jersey
Pending home sales declined in again in July but there up some good news. Home sales were actually up 5000% if you compare it to the same time of the day on April 21st 2010. That time period being 12pm to 12:12pm. Love the way they skew the facts to give it a positive twist.
Sinkholes are beginning to appear on various roads.
I’ll take the year over year unadjusted stats any time.
The puppet governor of Vermont this A.M. could only say one thing, “things are better, we are resilent, and can’t thank “O” enough for his tremendous help”. When queried that the people interviewed don’t share his view, he kept repeating his mantra like a Stepford Wife of “O”. When queried about his helicopter assessment, he indicated total devastation followed once again by his “O” mantra. If they don’t out this turkey puppet next election, they are clueless.
Vermont is a collectivist state. It’s like Alabama with leftists and skiing.
We should give the whole stinking place to Canada.
In what other state could Bernie Sanders get elected to a skool board, much less the Senate?
Day three no.power and the herd begins to stir as the smell of rotting bacon and spoiled milk wafts through the darkened neighborhoods.
Comparing sales to last July is a waste of time. The #’s are distorted. The June expiration of the tax credit pulled sales forward. The great unwind continues.
My power is up!! The sun is shining, the BMWs are waxed and shining. It is a bull market baby!!!!! Wait, a bull market for everything except for housing and Elie Mannings arm.
I was wondering about the Soc Security statements we normally receive every August. Turns out the printing was suspended due to budget constraints.
Reuters) – Bill Gross, the manager of the world’s largest bond fund, feels like “crying in his beer” for having bet so heavily against U.S. government-related debt earlier this year, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Showing a more bearish view on the U.S. economy, Gross said PIMCO had initially dumped all of its U.S. debt holdings in March as he expected economic growth to be higher, resulting in inflation down the road.
That decision greatly undermined the performance of PIMCO’s Total Return Fund. As Treasuries prices rallied, the fund lost 0.97 percent in the past four weeks, while the benchmark Barclay’s U.S. Aggregated Bond Index rose 0.23 percent in the same period, according to Lipper data.
So far this year, the fund has returned 3.29 percent, less than the 4.55 percent recorded by the Barclay’s benchmark index.
“When you’re underperforming the index, you go home at night and cry in your beer,” the Financial Times, in its online edition, quoted Gross as saying. “It’s not fun, but who said this business should be fun. We’re too well paid to hang our heads and say boo hoo.”
Gross, who oversees $1.2 trillion at PIMCO, said it was “pretty obvious” he wishes he had more Treasuries in his portfolio right now.
“I get that it was my/our mistake in thinking that the U.S. economy can chug along at 2 per cent real growth rates. It doesn’t look like it can.”
When U.S. Treasuries yields fell to 60-year lows earlier this month, Gross said investors were pricing a higher probability of recession in the United States. In May, he had said the only way PIMCO would purchase Treasuries again was if the United States headed into another recession.
He told the Financial Times that his view on the U.S. economy significantly changed earlier this month after the Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates low for at least another two years earlier.
“Freezing rates for two years, that was a pretty significant statement in terms of the vulnerability of Treasuries to go down in price and up in yield,” Gross said.
Yo’me – Gross is a Billionare a few times over, he doesn’t even drink beer and his populist writings while front running the Fed are tiresome. He wants them to fire up the presses, full steam ahead and all of his bets are in that direction.
I’d like to share the information about tour to Chernobyl . They say Chernobyl, many remember or the atomic power station, or about the city of Pripyat in which there lived people working on the atomic power station. Meanwhile, the city of Chernobyl has the history. To know the history of Chernobyl book this tour here.
The Passaic River crested at Little Falls this morning at over 14 feet. Highest it’s ever been since 1903. Town had to close down Main Street for the first time ever. Many of the flood prone houses are taking on water into the 2nd floors of their homes this time around.
Fairfield police won’t let non-residents into town at all – there are multiple check points where police are checking ID.
NY Case Shiller
Month NSA YoY
Mar 2011, 162.23, -4.22%
Apr 2011, 163.96, -3.02%
May 2011, 165.18, -3.11%
Jun 2011, 166.59, -3.62%
NJGator – 17.50 ft on 10/10/1903 water is 14.19 ft now and should start dropping. Just called a co-worker who lives there, they cut power to allot of homes, so the basements will be at least flooded to the top.
http://water.weather.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=phi&gage=ltfn4
#8 your right…only in Vermont could a politician not be bought!
you’re
Juice (18) – And this is the second major flood this year.
Anyone now a stucco guy who will do a small job. Would you believe that we can’t refinance now without covering the plywood from our closed up kitchen window with stucco to match the rest of our exterior. Mind you, this in the back of our house and not even visible from other houses. I have till the 15th or our 3.875 rate lock expires. Since it’s a no-cost loan, the mortgage broker is kind of pissed at the appraiser. We went from needing nothing more than a pulse to get a loan, to virtually having to part with our first born. Just crazy. If I don’t get a call back from any of the 7 stucco people I tried by the end of the day tomorrow, I’m gonna do it myself. Anyone have any idea how to mix stucco? I don’t even have a clue as to the consistency it needs to be. Oy vey!
Know…not now. Still tired I suppose.
Amazingly when you but the mix at home depot it has something called instructions.
Libtard and the City says:
August 30, 2011 at 11:18 am
Anyone now a stucco guy who will do a small job. Would you believe that we can’t refinance now without covering the plywood from our closed up kitchen window with stucco to match the rest of our exterior. Mind you, this in the back of our house and not even visible from other houses. I have till the 15th or our 3.875 rate lock expires. Since it’s a no-cost loan, the mortgage broker is kind of pissed at the appraiser. We went from needing nothing more than a pulse to get a loan, to virtually having to part with our first born. Just crazy. If I don’t get a call back from any of the 7 stucco people I tried by the end of the day tomorrow, I’m gonna do it myself. Anyone have any idea how to mix stucco? I don’t even have a clue as to the consistency it needs to be. Oy vey!
Guys, today is my moving day and its turning into a fluster cluck. Electricity out at storage, moving guy can’t get here due to road closures…anyone know of a one stop place to get road and power info?
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (AP) — President Barack Obama’s uncle was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving, told police he planned to arrange bail through the White House and was being held without bail on an immigration detainer, authorities said Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/obama-uncle-held-mass-immigration-officials-003942147.html
[26] Uncle Omar – welcome to the American lexicon!
“President Obama’s accused drunken-driving uncle — who was busted after a near collision with a Framingham cop — has had a valid Social Security number for at least 19 years, despite being an illegal immigrant ordered to be deported back to Kenya, the Herald has learned. The president’s 67-year-old uncle, Obama Onyango, has had a valid Massachusetts driver’s license and Social Security number since at least 1992. . . .
Onyango . . . was wobbly legged, ‘slurring’ and had ‘red and glassy eyes’ when he was pulled over at 7 p.m. Wednesday on Waverly Street in Framingham.
A marked cruiser pulled him over just past the Chicken Bone saloon, about a mile from Onyango’s single-family home . . . . ‘Uncle Omar’ initially denied drinking but admitted having ‘two beers’ after police said they smelled booze on his breath, according to a police report . . . .
smooththima dkyugbwvfcn skennaWag
Gary – where
was his Secret Service detail? Still in the bar?
Barbara – Have you checked this site out for road issues? http://www.511nj.org/
Actually spoke to a real live person at PSE&G today with only a 1 minute wait. I called to make sure they were aware of the teetering tree limb in our yard that is currently being supported in the air solely by their power lines.
Was not surprised to be told that she had no idea how long it would take to get someone there to remove it, since so many people are still without power. Found it amusing that she suggested we take better care of our trees when the info on their website expressly forbids us to prune them ourselves since the power lines run through them.
#25 Barbara – good luck with your move!
Similar experiences here. Those that must, will lower the sales price or negotiate. One realtor told me their market is dead, the owner wants to move due to job relocation. Well, to makes things short, they didn’t budge more than 2% off of the asking price which left the property still 70k above the nearest comp. Home has since been taken off the market. So much for wanting to sell.
#27 Anon e moose (from yesterday) – Well, some consider my view on things naieve, but I (foolishly?) thought that if the owners wanted to keep the house then they wouldn’t have listed it for sale. That seems like a lot of trouble (though, as I noted, no real trouble to them, its all OPM, right?) if they didn’t want to follow through with the sale. They seem to be saying that they want some money more than they want to house.
Thanks Gator. Looks like rt 18 just reopened.
Gator,
Glen Ridge won’t do anything about that branch?
On the GSMLS today, excluding condos there are:
2 houses with s 2 handle LP and 9 houses with a 3 handle LP. Granted, I wouldn’t want to live in any, but buy now or be priced out forever.
Barbara (34) – Since so many other folks are actually without power or with water-filled basements, we are not a high priority. When the “river” ran under it, we were told that if it went down and put live electricity into the water that they would get someone to us immediately.
Surprise six-figure salaries
Teaches life skills to high school students
3 of 10
Teaches life skills to high school students
Name: John Williams
Job: Life coach
Salary: $108,000
Age: 31
Hometown: Portland, Ore.
I work as a life coach for high school students, so I’m basically a mix between a career coach and therapist.
After graduating from Brown University, I started out as a Latin teacher for a small high school. As a teacher, I realized there were lots of skills that I wished I had learned in high school but didn’t, so I started meeting with students on the side — helping them with everything from leadership, beliefs, communication and learning styles.
We would talk about what they wanted to get out of high school, and make goals. For example, I worked with a very, very shy 9th grader, who had really poor self esteem and incidents where he was bullied pretty badly. So I helped him to change his perspective and focus on his strengths, and a year later he started getting involved in a band and being a lot more confident in himself.
I worked with students like that on the side for four years, and then decided I wanted to do it as a full-time job instead. I now meet with three to four students a day, and I have quite a few clients in other states who I talk with over the phone or on Skype.
I save money by meeting them at coffee shops instead of paying rent for an office. Each 50-minute session costs $135, so it works out to be about $108,000 a year — compared to the $36,500
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/pf/1108/gallery.surprising_six_figure_salaries/3.html
Just a reminder as to how lucky most of us were with this storm…
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/frightening-hurricane-irene-destruction-photos
108K is like welfare in Bergen County. A family of five can’t survive on that.
joyce says:
August 30, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Surprise six-figure salaries
Teaches life skills to high school students
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/newark_gun_violence_claims_2_l.html
back to normal
39
and that person lives in Oregon
JJ,
You’ve obviously never mixed cement or mortar or stucco, which is supposedly the toughest to get the correct thickness down.
Re: the stucco
Slop it on just to get by, then let a pro scrape it off later . Two days before closing the underwriters demanded yet more documentation. This time they wanted our very latest mortgage statements so they could check and see if we paid them. Two people with credit in the 8s, never not paid a bill in our lives. I feel your pain.
Shopping, anyone?
http://www.northjersey.com/news/128600253_Willowbrook_mall_closed_tomorrow.html
gary #26: And Prescott Bush financed the Nazis. So nu?
Of course mixed it, usually that I do is get like a ten gallon bucket, throw in the head, hands and feet add the cement and throw in deep water, very important to get the consistancy down. Just kidding.
I grew up in a stucco house, hardest part is matching color so does not look like a patch job for 100 feet away, also matching design. Other issue is unless you powerwash first you don’t even know real color of stuco you are matching.
In fact I did not some cement grouting this morning, rather easy, I left the tools and mix with bucket on counter and told wife have it done before I get home.
NJGator says:
August 30, 2011 at 12:39 pm
JJ,
You’ve obviously never mixed cement or mortar or stucco, which is supposedly the toughest to get the correct thickness down.
#39 JJ Incomes in most Bergen Co towns are under 100K, in many well under 100k.
#37 Gee, and to think I used to think good parents were life coaches.
I watch reality TV and know for a fact 100K is the average per episode salary not annual salary. Plus all you mobbed up guys work off the books. And forget about all the crack dealers and car thieves in Newark, do you think they are reporting income?
I have been to NJ and the streets are paved with gold.
3b says:
August 30, 2011 at 2:12 pm
#39 JJ Incomes in most Bergen Co towns are under 100K, in many well under 100k.
We used to call grown men who like to meet with kids for private conversations pedophiles, now I guess they are life coaches
says:
August 30, 2011 at 2:13 pm
#37 Gee, and to think I used to think good parents were life coaches.
JJ – Tony Soprano and the crack dealers of Newark are all Essex County residents.
JJ “all you mobbed up guys work off the books”
The landscape/tree crowd are all going to be charging 5-10k to remove trees, using imported labor. There is not much of a garbage mafia anymore, the Wall St money bought them all out via Wayne Huzinga.
#49 JJ Alot of those reality shows pay 3 to 5k per episode. I have a family member in the business. FYI all you Jersey Shore fans, the whole current cast is being dumped and replaced next season.
Eurozone is in disarray. Germany is in a rage. Buckle up.
BC Bob – Germans have a long memory and are better educated investors. Here is an article from last year.
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/sep2010/gb20100929_689994.htm
3b [53];
Alot of those reality shows pay 3 to 5k per episode. I have a family member in the business. FYI all you Jersey Shore fans, the whole current cast is being dumped and replaced next season.
No shortage of stupid, easily manipulable people who think $5k is alot of money. To the producers, like illegal immigrants are to landscapers — a cheap and fungible commodity. Oh SAG, where art thou? Interesting bit from NPR this week on the reality behind “reality” shows. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/444/gossip (See Act 2, as the show wold say.)
Yo, Nom. A one stop shop.
http://www.renunciationguide.com/
stu –
i believe you mentioned a good parking place/service at newark airport a few weeks back.
if it was you, can you give the info again?
thanks
TCM…ABC Parking is very good, but I haven’t used them in their new location yet. EWR Parking, who took over ABC’s former location, was very good when we used them a few months ago. Make sure you make a reservation which creates the coupon which you hand them when you return from your trip. I recommend you leave the coupon in your car so you don’t forget about it when you are on your trip.
http://www.longtermparking.com/COUPONS/cpabcewr.htm
http://www.longtermparking.com/COUPONS/cpnewarkparking.htm
#59 –
stu –
thanks!!
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1362374
suprised he’s not living in New Jersey
..MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Katia continues to gain strength as it moves west-northwest across the Atlantic.
Katia (KAH’-tee-yah) has maximum sustained winds late Tuesday afternoon of 60 mph (97 kph), a 20 mph increase over Tuesday morning. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says continued strengthening is forecast and Katia could become a hurricane by Wednesday.
Katia is centered about 750 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and is moving at 20 mph (32 kph). Hurricane specialist Michael Brennan said Tuesday morning that Katia could affect the Caribbean, but that it was too early to tell if it would hit the U.S.
The storm’s name replaces Katrina in the rotating storm roster because of the catastrophic damage from the 2005 storm.
..
287 northbound won’t be open for a while
http://photos.nj.com/star-ledger/2011/08/part_of_287_north_collapses_af_10.html
Re :Katia angle is more north than Irene, could bypass outer banks this time, or just head out to sea. I am leaving town thursday of next week, I may push my departure up a bit.
http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tracking/at201112_5day.html%27%20rel=%27nofollow
Njescapee,
We are in the keys! Don’t have your email or phone on my blackberry.
Email grim for our contact info?
Maybe we can meet up in key west – we are a bit north of marathon.
sl
SL, sent you an email. Look forward to a possible njrer gtg in Key West.
SL, you guys might want to check out the Keys Fisheries in Marathon if you haven’t been there before. It’s on 35th street the bay side. Nothing fancy all outdoors awesome view with picnic tables and some pretty good food.
here’s the url http://www.keysfisheries.com/
Me real handy with caulk gun. Anybody here need cracks repaired?
I have a balance sheet stuffed with PIIGS paper that’s leaking a little. Is your caulk industrial grade?
No caulk on Earth can plug the holes in that piece of Swiss cheese, pal.
Escapee
Got it!
Just woke up…..
sl
Lib,
Regarding stucco-
I don’t want to offer up All-Hype’s landlord – but he seems to know a lot about tile, masonry, etc.
He is probably local – maybe ask AllHype?
sl
Your point is valueble for me. Thanks!
My site:
Rachat de credit http://www.rachatdecredit.net