Monthly Archives: September 2013

What is normal?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: Housing recovery rides through peaks, valleys The housing market is now two-thirds of the way back to normal, according to Trulia’s (TRLA) latest Housing Barometer report. While existing-home sales have finally found their way back to normal levels, … Continue reading →

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

Manhattan plays by its own rules

Posted on September 28, 2013 by grim

From NYU: Manhattan Sales Prices Surpass Pre-Recession Peak NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy finds foreclosures continue to rise citywide; New housing development signals a recovery in the market New York, NY— Manhattan sales prices have reached … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 41 Comments

Shaq rebuilding Newark

Posted on September 27, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Star Comes Home to Build in Newark Growing up here in the 1970s, Shaquille O’Neal’s family ushered him to two places to keep him off the streets: the local Boys and Girls Club and the nearby movie … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 54 Comments

Even the mortgage companies didn’t expect them to pay

Posted on September 26, 2013 by grim

From HousingWire: FHFA watchdog sounds alarm on $4.6B loss Mortgage giant Freddie Mac failed to refer nearly 58,000 foreclosed homeowners who owed $4.6 billion on their guaranteed loans, thereby neglecting its chance to seize properties from those who defaulted on … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 72 Comments

Up, up, and away!

Posted on September 25, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Prices Climb at Fastest Clip in 7 Years U.S. home prices rose by their fastest pace in more than seven years during July, according to an index released Tuesday, though more recent data suggest price … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 87 Comments

Case Shiller Day!

Posted on September 24, 2013 by grim

From MarketWatch: Spotlight on the economy: Can the good times in housing continue? The Federal Reserve was so spooked by the backup in mortgage rates that it postponed tapering its bond-buying program. But what about prospective home buyers? Data released … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 127 Comments

Property Taxes Under Christie? Not So Good

Posted on September 23, 2013 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Property tax burden up 13 percent under Christie, AP analysis shows The net household property tax burden in New Jersey rose 13 percent during Gov. Chris Christie’s first three years in office — a number that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 82 Comments

NJ loses jobs – Unemployment rate falls

Posted on September 20, 2013 by grim

From the APP: NJ unemployment rate falls to 8.5 percent; NJ loses 1,500 jobs New Jersey’s unemployment rate fell from 8.6 percent to 8.5 percent in August, but the state lost 1,500 jobs, led by a big drop in professional … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 106 Comments

August Existing Home Sales

Posted on September 19, 2013 by grim

From Bloomberg: Existing-Home Sales Probably Declined Purchases of previously-owned homes probably fell in August as mortgage rates at a two-year high began to slow the progress in U.S. residential real estate, economists said before a report this week. Contract closings … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 73 Comments

Finally an end to the MLS?

Posted on September 18, 2013 by grim

From Inman News: An innovative real estate business model, or threat to the MLS? For technology companies, multiple listing services are the holy grail of the real estate listing information that underlies many of their products. MLSs are also gatekeepers, … Continue reading →

Posted in General, National Real Estate | 40 Comments

Housing market taking a breather

Posted on September 16, 2013 by grim

From the WSJ: Home-Sales Frenzy Eases After a yearlong rally, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of cooling as higher prices and interest rates, a slowdown in investor purchases and shortages of homes for sale weigh on one of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 81 Comments

LI market showing strong gains

Posted on September 15, 2013 by grim

From Newsday: Long Island’s supply of homes for sale is at its lowest level in at least two years, by one measure. It would take just under five-and-a-half months to sell all 6,988 homes listed in Nassau County at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 25 Comments

“All else equal, higher mortgage rates do depress housing demand.”

Posted on September 13, 2013 by grim

From Forbes: When Will Rising Mortgage Rates Hurt The Housing Market? The Longer-Term Impact of Sustained Rate Increases Even if the immediate impact of mortgage rate spikes is small – aside from the huge effect on refinancing – shouldn’t sustained … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages | 101 Comments

Foreclosure crisis over?

Posted on September 12, 2013 by grim

From CNN/Money: Foreclosure crisis is drawing to a close Our long national foreclosure nightmare may be over. The number of new foreclosure filings in August hit its lowest level in nearly eight years, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketer of … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 95 Comments

Bye Bye Saarinen, Hello Starbucks

Posted on September 11, 2013 by grim

From the NY Times: Future Takes Shape for Bell Labs Site Decades before the first smartphone, researchers at Bell Labs in central New Jersey developed the technology that ushered in the digital age. Now, the building that is as magnificent … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 109 Comments