Monthly Archives: July 2013

Home prices jump in May

Posted on July 31, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home Prices in U.S. Increased by Most Since 2006 in May Home prices rose in May by the most in more than seven years as the recovery in U.S. residential real estate gained momentum. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 58 Comments

Pending home sales slip, but still up big over last year

Posted on July 29, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Higher Mortgage Rates Pinch Pending Home Sales The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes slipped in June, a sign higher mortgage rates could slow housing-market momentum in coming months. The National Association of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 100 Comments

Feed the squirrels too

Posted on July 29, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ (Hat tip ChiFi): How to Win a Bidding War • When it comes to price, be realistic. Two years ago, when sales were still slow, buyers could sometimes get away with lowball offers. Now that things have … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 40 Comments

Contrarian call – Purchase market to kill the new rental market

Posted on July 26, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Moody’s analyst cites housing recovery as risk to rental market Moody’s Investors Service analyst and director of commercial-mortgage backed securitization research, Tad Philipp, sees a negative side to the housing recovery. In the latest cross-sector impact report, Philipp … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 59 Comments

It’s the end of the world Hoboken as we knew it

Posted on July 25, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Hoboken Moms Replace Maxwell’s Rock Fans in Housing Boom Jack Mello first came to Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early 1980s to see a then-little-known band called R.E.M. He since has attended hundreds of shows at … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 43 Comments

First timers missing out, or hiding out?

Posted on July 24, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Housing Recovery Increasingly Prices Out First-Time Buyers First-time home buyers, long a key underpinning of the housing market, are increasingly getting left behind in the real-estate recovery. Such buyers, typically couples in their late 20s or early … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 97 Comments

June home sales up 8.2% year over year, but annual pace cools

Posted on July 23, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Unexpectedly Decrease: Economy Previously owned home sales fell unexpectedly in June as tight supply and increasing rates for mortgages imperiled the real-estate market recovery in the U.S. Purchases (ETSLTOTL) fell 1.2 percent to … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 52 Comments

Rates rates rates rates rates rates rates

Posted on July 22, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Higher Rates Aren’t Enough to Stall Housing The U.S. housing recovery that began unfolding early last year faces its first serious test: In the span of just two months, mortgage rates have jumped by a full percentage … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages | 33 Comments

What year is this?

Posted on July 20, 2013 by grim

From the NYT: The ‘Shift the Goalpost’ Home Sale It’s a deal. Or is it? After apartment-hunting in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for months this spring, Dr. Ronald Nath finally lucked out with a two-bedroom duplex at the top of a condominium, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, NYC | 56 Comments

NJ unemployment rises as job seekers reenter the market

Posted on July 19, 2013 by grim

From the Star Ledger: New Jersey added 4,600 jobs in June, as unemployment rate edges up The state’s jobless rate inched up a notch in June as thousands of job seekers flooded the market and companies took a breather in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 58 Comments

July Beige Book

Posted on July 18, 2013 by grim

From the Federal Reserve: Beige Book – July 17, 2013 – Second District–New York Economic activity in the Second District has continued to expand moderately since the last report. Manufacturers indicate that input price pressures have abated further, whereas service … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 61 Comments

How I learned to stop worrying and love rising rates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Fannie Mae economist: Rates will not halt current housing recovery Interest rates on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage have risen from 3.35% at the beginning of May to 4.51% in mid-June. This 116 basis-point increase in nine weeks has … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 52 Comments

Rebound in household formation to drive demand

Posted on July 16, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Conditions are ripe for household formation A sharply positive turn in U.S. household formation has caused a rising demand for all types of housing over the last two years, including multifamily and single-family rental and ownership, according to … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 79 Comments

When will we see some decent inventory?

Posted on July 15, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Housing Listings Multiply in June Here comes the housing inventory. The number of homes listed for sale increased by 4.3% in June to 1.9 million homes, the highest level in the last year, according to data released … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 78 Comments

Housing probably won’t make you happy

Posted on July 14, 2013 by grim

From the NYT: Homeownership, the Key to Happiness? If trying to buy an apartment in New York City has been making you miserable, consider this: actually getting that home may not make you happy. A growing body of research suggests … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 32 Comments