Monthly Archives: May 2014

Celebrity Deathmatch: City vs Suburb

Posted on May 31, 2014 by grim

From the Commercial Observer: The City vs. The Suburbs You can feel it when you walk around Manhattan these days. The city seems more vibrant, more active than ever before. In fact, this is more than a feeling; it’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate | 128 Comments

April foreclosure highlights

Posted on May 30, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ/Corelogic: CoreLogic Reports 46,000 Completed Foreclosures in April Highlights as of April 2014: — Every state, excluding New York and the District of Columbia, posted double-digit year-over-year declines in foreclosures. — Thirty-seven states show declines in year-over-year foreclosure … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 116 Comments

HARP falls short of hitting goals

Posted on May 29, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Did HARP fail 8 million homeowners? According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the volume of mortgage refinance under the Home Affordable Refinance Program is continuing to decline. And in an environment of rising mortgage rates, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Politics | 188 Comments

Home prices take a breather

Posted on May 28, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Home Prices Start Easing, to the Relief of Experts A steep gain in home prices in many markets that helped lift millions of Americans out of the red on their mortgages is now markedly slowing, with new … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 109 Comments

No quick end to NJ’s foreclosure crisis

Posted on May 27, 2014 by grim

From the Press of Atlantic City: New Jersey leads nation in foreclosures New Jersey now leads the nation with the highest percentage of loans in foreclosure, the Mortgage Bankers Association says. South Jersey is also mired in the problem. Sheriff’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, Mortgages, New Jersey Real Estate | 84 Comments

“Everything that I like is over my price range right now”

Posted on May 24, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ: Housing Recovery’s Missing Link: First-Time Buyers Economists, real-estate agents and many home builders expected first-time and entry-level buyers to begin returning to the market this year, jump-starting the sputtering housing recovery. So far, that hasn’t happened. Less … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery | 55 Comments

Spring Market Late? Or Last Hurrah?

Posted on May 23, 2014 by grim

From Bloomberg: Gain in Existing U.S. Home Sales Lifts Spring Prospects Previously owned U.S. home purchases increased in April as a bigger supply of properties lured buyers and raised prospects for a stronger spring buying season. The 1.3 percent gain, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 53 Comments

Christie Axes Property Tax Rebate

Posted on May 22, 2014 by grim

From the Record: Christie puts off property-tax rebates to ease budget problems Senior citizens, disabled residents and other homeowners who are among the more than a million people enrolled in New Jersey’s Homestead program will not get their property tax … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 106 Comments

Surprise! GSEs to stick around, and lend more.

Posted on May 21, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Fannie, and Freddie aren’t going away, Watt says One of the country’s biggest political footballs, housing finance reform, took some funny bounces over the past week. Most notable were the first public appearances by the government’s new point … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 92 Comments

The house you want? Sorry, underwater.

Posted on May 20, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: How does negative equity create a big obstacle for first-time buyers? First-time buyers know owning is a better investment than renting, but the type of homes first-time buyers are looking for are being kept off the market in … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 145 Comments

They’re moving back in with you ASAP, and they’re probably going to be there for a while

Posted on May 19, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Looking for a last minute graduation present? How about crushing debt? All over the country this weekend parents will wonder which button you push to make the camera work, grandparents will beam with pride and probably brag too, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment | 132 Comments

Where the underwater are

Posted on May 16, 2014 by grim

From NJ Spotlight: NJ STILL DROWNING IN ‘UNDERWATER’ MORTGAGES, NEW STUDY REVEALS Homeowners have it worse in New Jersey cities than almost anywhere in the nation, according to a new study of “underwater” mortgages, those with debt loads higher than … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 170 Comments

NJ REO increase isn’t high enough

Posted on May 15, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Foreclosure filings down 1%, bank repos up 4% Property foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 115,830 properties in April, a 1% decline from the previous month and down 20% from … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 188 Comments

Midweek Laugh (or Cry)

Posted on May 14, 2014 by grim

From AOL Money UK: Posh car ‘pushes up house prices’ Having a posh car in the driveway can push up property prices, according to a survey. As many as a third of people reckon having a luxury motor outside their … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 153 Comments

Deciphering the mortgage slowdown

Posted on May 13, 2014 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Reasons for fewer mortgages so far in 2014 Applications for mortgages to buy houses have been lagging so far this year – 16 percent below the pace for 2013. Yet, for the first time since 2009, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Foreclosures | 110 Comments