Monthly Archives: May 2012

Pending home sales disappoint, but still up strongly over last year

Posted on May 31, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ: Behind the Numbers: Pending Sales Drop The number of U.S. home buyers who signed contracts to buy existing homes unexpectedly fell in April to the lowest level in four months. The news is a setback for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 199 Comments

When will Case Shiller turn positive?

Posted on May 30, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ: Behind the Numbers: Does Case-Shiller Show a Market Bottoming Out? Tuesday’s S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes show a market in which U.S. home prices are still falling, but not as dramatically as in previous months. This is good news … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 166 Comments

Hey Christie – Where are the jobs?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by grim

From the Record: NJ job rebound trails its neighbors New Jersey will trail neighboring states in the time it takes to recover the jobs lost since the recession, a study released by global economic research company IHS says. The study … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 158 Comments

Corzine Comp Killer

Posted on May 26, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Corzine’s Hoboken Penthouse Sells at a 14% Loss for $2.8 Million A Hoboken, New Jersey, penthouse belonging to Jon Corzine, the former chairman of bankrupt MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MFGLQ), sold for $2.8 million, 14 percent less than … Continue reading →

Posted in Comp Killer, New Jersey Real Estate | 117 Comments

Toll kills it on the Gold Coast

Posted on May 25, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Hoboken Homes Gone in 60 Minutes Signal Recovery For the latest sign of a U.S. housing rebound, Toll Brothers Inc. Chief Executive Officer Douglas Yearley points to Hoboken, New Jersey: A couple torn between two condos last month … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 182 Comments

FHFA: Home prices up in March

Posted on May 24, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home Prices Rose Most in Two Decades in March, FHFA Says U.S. home prices jumped 1.8 percent in March, the biggest monthly increase in at least two decades, as the housing recovery builds momentum, the Federal Housing Finance … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 160 Comments

April home sales make positive gains (but ignore the price data)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Rise as Market Stabilizes Sales of existing U.S. homes rose in April, driven by broad-based gains in demand that signal the market is stabilizing. Purchases, tabulated when a contract closes, increased 3.4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 119 Comments

The perks of campaign contribution

Posted on May 22, 2012 by grim

I’d be more surprised if this wasn’t going on everywhere. Will they be charging the contributors as well? Probably not, I’m sure they had no idea this was going on. Time for an investigation in NJ? From Bloomberg: L.A. Appraiser … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 134 Comments

Just a little bump in taxes

Posted on May 21, 2012 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: In Burlington County, a 458 percent tax hike with Christie’s blessing When two New Jersey towns asked voters to approve a property-tax hike last month, Gov. Christie scorned them. The state’s other 564 municipalities didn’t seek … Continue reading →

Posted in Property Taxes, South Jersey Real Estate | 150 Comments

Farmland Assessment Fix – Does it go far enough?

Posted on May 19, 2012 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Bill to stop ‘fake farmers’ from getting large property tax discounts passes N.J. Senate panel A Senate panel has approved a bill to make it tougher for property owners to qualify for large property tax discounts … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 64 Comments

April sees both jobs and unemployment grow

Posted on May 17, 2012 by grim

From the Record: NJ added 2,600 jobs in April New Jersey added 2,600 jobs in April, a slight rebound from the March’s job losses, but unemployment remained high. The state added 6,300 private sector jobs, and lost 3,700 government jobs, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 133 Comments

NJ moves closer to the top … 8.4% of mortgages in foreclosure

Posted on May 17, 2012 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: N.J. foreclosure inventoryspikes; 2nd most in nation New Jersey’s percentage of home mortgage loans in foreclosure continues to rise, even as rates nationally have fallen to the lowest level since 2008, a report released Wednesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 151 Comments

Tax cuts (income or property) not looking likely as NJ revenue misses

Posted on May 16, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Tax-Cut Pledge May Trap Christie as N.J. Revenue Misses Governor Chris Christie, a Republican who has spent the past four months promising New Jersey income- tax cuts, now confronts the challenge of selling his plan’s feasibility against a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 144 Comments

April Revenue #’s Gone Missing

Posted on May 15, 2012 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. Treasury delays release of April revenue figures without explanation A joint news conference between Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney wasn’t the only thing that didn’t go off as scheduled today in Trenton. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 112 Comments

Waiting for Godot the Bulldozer

Posted on May 14, 2012 by grim

From the Record: North Jersey foreclosures haunt neighbors Maywood homeowner Joe Leichtnam spent some time recently trimming the shrubs, mowing the lawn and fixing the siding. Not at his house; at the empty house next door. It’s a small effort … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 125 Comments