Monthly Archives: January 2013

Spring Fever!

Posted on January 31, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Trulia reveals best home-searching season Online real estate marketplace Trulia revealed its latest survey findings Wednesday, showing the seasonal patterns of home search activity based on its search traffic. The research, which was based on all home searches … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 59 Comments

HARP 4.0?

Posted on January 30, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Menendez, Boxer plan bill to help struggling homeowners Underwater homeowners may get additional federal assistance for refinancing government-backed loans under a proposal being revived in the U.S. Senate. Democratic Senators Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Barbara Boxer … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Politics | 133 Comments

November Case Shiller

Posted on January 29, 2013 by grim

From CNBC: Housing Prices Climb; Market ‘Clearly Recovering’ U.S. single-family home prices rose in November, building on a string of gains that points to a housing market that is on the mend, data from a closely watched survey showed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 133 Comments

Walking away about to get easier

Posted on January 28, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Fannie Adds Bailout For Underwaters Walkaways Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will let some borrowers who kept up payments as their homes lost value erase their debts by giving up the properties, helping Americans escape underwater loans while … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 113 Comments

Sellers holding firm on pricing?

Posted on January 26, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Buyers want to buy now, while sellers are inclined to wait Of the 895 respondents recently surveyed by online real estate broker Redfin, less than half, 49% to be exact, indicated that they were planning to sell their … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 62 Comments

Tailwind for housing? Or too optimistic?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by grim

From the NYT: Housing Offers Hope of Strength in the Economy A funny thing is happening to the United States housing market. It is getting better at an accelerating rate. And therein could lie hope for a surprisingly strong economy … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 91 Comments

Economic Recovery? Focus on housing, not stocks.

Posted on January 24, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Rising House Prices, Not Stocks, Make People Feel Wealthy As a key influence on households’ spending decisions, the health of the housing sector trumps stock-market moves, a paper released this week by the National Bureau for Economic Research … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 61 Comments

What’s the right timeframe to resolve a foreclosure? Fast or slow?

Posted on January 23, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: New York Protecting Defaulters Stalls Rebound: Mortgages New Yorkers Paul and Angelica Kashman, declared in default on their mortgage in July 2010 and foreclosed on by Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) in February 2011, say they aren’t deadbeats. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 88 Comments

December Existing Home Sales

Posted on January 22, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: December home sales probably highest in 3 years Sales of U.S. homes probably rose in December to the highest level in three years as the industry headed toward a more rooted recovery in 2013, economists said before reports … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 137 Comments

“No one told us about this basement thing.”

Posted on January 21, 2013 by grim

From the AP: Superstorm Challenges Basement Definition Irene Sobolov thinks the first floor of her house is just that. The federal government and her insurance company say it’s a basement. The semantics, Sobolov has learned, are very expensive. Sobolov and … Continue reading →

Posted in General, New Jersey Real Estate | 89 Comments

Movin’ Out

Posted on January 19, 2013 by grim

From the Huffington Post: More Young Americans Moving Out Of Mom’s House Americans are feeling increasingly confident in the future and more and more are striking out to set up their own homes, a move that is helping propel the … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 69 Comments

NJ adds 30,900 jobs in December, can it be sustained?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by grim

From the AP: NJ adds record 30,900 private jobs in December Private employers in New Jersey added 30,900 jobs in December, the largest one-month gain since the current system of employment tracking began in 1990, the state Labor Department reported … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 131 Comments

No end to the foreclosures? Does it matter?

Posted on January 17, 2013 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Foreclosure filings fell nationally in 2012, but not locally, research shows Foreclosure filings fell 3 percent nationally in 2012 from 2011’s levels and were 36 percent below their 2010 peak, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. Filings did increase … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 161 Comments

Setting the stage for a strong spring market?

Posted on January 16, 2013 by grim

From DowJones: Freddie Mac See Unemployment Lower in 2013 The unemployment rate is projected to edge lower this year and home sales are expected to rise at a rate similar to last year’s, while interest rates are projected to remain … Continue reading →

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

Sandy strikes again

Posted on January 15, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Mortgage Delinquencies Jump in Areas Hit Hard by Sandy Mortgage delinquencies have jumped about four times the U.S. average in areas of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy, according to Lender Processing … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Shore Real Estate | 135 Comments