Monthly Archives: July 2014

I don’t usually talk about San Francisco, but when I do…

Posted on July 31, 2014 by grim

From Curbed SF: Bubble Watch: Top-Tier Home Prices Surge Past 2007 Levels Earlier this year, prices for the Bay Area’s most expensive homes hit and surpassed the previous highs of the 2007 housing bubble. Now, according to Standard & Poor’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble | 127 Comments

May home price gains continue to show signs of slowing

Posted on July 30, 2014 by grim

From Forbes: S&P/Case Shiller: May Home Prices Rise At Slowest Rate Since Feb. 2013 In yet another sign that the housing recovery is slowing down, the 14-month streak of double-digit, year-over-year jumps in home prices finally ended in May, data … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 122 Comments

You’ve got the shore, and you’ve got everything else

Posted on July 29, 2014 by grim

From the Press of Atlantic City: 2014 mixed bag so far for South Jersey real estate Some South Jersey real estate markets are dealing with plenty of distressed properties that affect sale prices. Others have been selling expensive vacation homes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate, Shore Real Estate | 93 Comments

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

Posted on July 28, 2014 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Snooki’s and JWoww’s Jersey City ‘Guidette Barbie house’ for sale Jersey City’s very own south Jersey Barbie dream house is now on the market. The one-time home of Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jenni “JWoww” Farley near … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, North Jersey Real Estate | 100 Comments

An economic analysis to start off your weekend

Posted on July 25, 2014 by grim

From NJ Spotlight: ANALYSIS: NEW JERSEY’S ECONOMIC WOES GO FAR BEYOND CASINO CLOSINGS While the United States is in the middle of a solid economic expansion that has restored all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession, New Jersey … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 125 Comments

Housing finance learns to swim

Posted on July 24, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: 1 in 6 homes still seriously underwater as home price growth slows In the second quarter some 9.1 million U.S. residential properties were seriously underwater — where the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery | 53 Comments

June Home Sales Hit Eight Month High

Posted on July 23, 2014 by grim

From Bloomberg: Previously Owned U.S. Home Sales Rise to Eight-Month High Sales of previously owned U.S. homes climbed in June to an eight-month high as more listings helped prices cool, luring buyers into the market. Sales increased 2.6 percent to … Continue reading →

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

Screw you FHA

Posted on July 22, 2014 by grim

From Housingwire: JPMorgan’s Dimon threatens to quit FHA loans JPMorgan Chase’s (JPM) CEO says his bank is considering getting out of the FHA mortgage origination business altogether. Notably, with the second quarter’s 66% year-over-year plunge in originations reported last week, … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, Politics, Risky Lending | 124 Comments

Won’t fix, won’t sell, why bother?

Posted on July 21, 2014 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: N.J. municipalities join forces to deal with vacant homes For Michael Miller and Allison Rupert, 58 Grove St. truly is the evil twin. A ramshackle residence that shares a wall with the Haddonfield couple’s well-kept home, … Continue reading →

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

Steindel gets the axe

Posted on July 19, 2014 by grim

From NJBIZ: Report: Amid overly optimistic revenue projections, Christie’s chief economist resigns Charles Steindel, chief economist of the New Jersey Department of Treasury, has resigned from his post to pursue a college teaching position, according to a report this morning … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 68 Comments

June Unemployment

Posted on July 18, 2014 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. unemployment rate falls in June as private sector adds 9,600 jobs New Jersey’s unemployment rate ticked down in June to 6.6 percent, adding nearly 10,000 more private sector jobs, according to preliminary data from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 70 Comments

Foreclosures nearly back to normal, but not everywhere.

Posted on July 17, 2014 by grim

From CNBC: Foreclosure activity hits lowest level in eight years Foreclosure activity has been falling steadily for the past few years as the housing market recovers, but the latest reading shows it has hit a new milestone. According to RealtyTrac, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Foreclosures, Politics | 60 Comments

Fed: No idea why housing slowed down

Posted on July 16, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ: Yellen, Fed Still Worried About Slowdown in Housing Recovery The Federal Reserve remains concerned about the U.S. housing recovery–which began to slow down last year when mortgage rates spiked–and has so far has failed to regain much … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 77 Comments

Stalemate

Posted on July 15, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Credit Suisse: Homebuyers discouraged by rising prices Homebuyers held off purchasing homes in June due to rising home prices, Credit Suisse reported in their monthly traffic survey of real estate agents. “Comments from agents in June suggest that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 43 Comments

How to kill Atlantic City (good riddance?)

Posted on July 14, 2014 by grim

From the Record: North Jersey casinos concept gets early support, but experts warn that competition is fierce Analysts are offering a tempered endorsement of the concept of two North Jersey casinos being championed by a number of state Democratic lawmakers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment | 97 Comments