From the Record:
Bergen, Passaic home sales cool off as prices rise
The number of single-family homes sold in Bergen and Passaic counties is running about 10 percent below last year’s rate — a sign that the real estate market still has a way to go before it fully recovers from the worst downturn since World War II.
At the same time, prices for single-family homes have risen this year, according to the New Jersey Association of Realtors. Through July, median prices for single-family homes are up 3.4 percent in Bergen and 1.7 percent in Passaic over the same period last year, NJAR says.
The slower pace of sales in North Jersey reflects a similar trend nationwide. U.S. existing home sales in July were 4.3 percent below last year’s rate.
Mortgage rates are still in the 4 percent range, which might be expected to boost home sales. But the pace of sales has slackened for a number of reasons, including this year’s harsh winter weather, flat incomes, tight mortgage standards, lower inventory and rising home values, which have priced many would-be buyers out of the market.
“Median family incomes are still lagging behind price gains,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, said recently. He warned that homes are likely to become less affordable in the years ahead, since the Federal Reserve has signaled that interest rates will rise in 2015.
Through July, there were 3,964 closed sales in Bergen County and 1,820 closed sales in Passaic, both down about 10 percent from the first seven months of 2013.
The year got off to a slow start with snowstorms that kept sellers and buyers out of the market. “Sellers didn’t want to put their houses on the market with 4 feet of snow around them,” said Dawn Cox, a Weichert agent in Wayne.
“Our spring market was very short,” agreed Robert Abbott of Abbott & Caserta Realtors in Ho-Ho-Kus.
…
Another reason buyers haven’t been purchasing homes: There’s not a lot of inventory out there. Homeowners are reluctant to list their homes, in many cases because they still owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth.Home inventories in July were down about 6 percent in Bergen County compared with a year earlier, at about 4,500 homes, and about 3 percent in Passaic County, at about 3,050 homes.
“Unsold inventory remains low, limiting choices for home buyers,” said Jeffrey Otteau, an East Brunswick appraiser who tracks the state housing market.
With the real estate market entering the traditionally slow fall season, it’s unlikely that the downward trend will turn around. Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance firm, recently downgraded its 2014 sales outlook.
Another reason buyers haven’t been purchasing homes: There’s not a lot of inventory out there. Homeowners are reluctant to list their homes, in many cases because they still owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth.
Any questions?
I didn’t think so… bitch.
Here you go, look at this dogsh1t for $600,000. It’s a p1ss-smelling wreck. Six hundred thousand f.ucking dollars:
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1431885&dayssince=&countysearch=false
Why is it empty? I thought there was no inventory? It should be gone today, right?
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1430369&dayssince=&countysearch=false
“Our spring market was very short,” agreed Robert Abbott of Abbott & Caserta Realtors in Ho-Ho-Kus.
Translation: There’s an ocean of weepy muppets that are financially f.ucked because they were oh so eager to be hoodwinked and swindled.
$650,000 and one block from Paterson with 14K plus taxes. I was riding through Fair Lawn the other day and it’s officially entered the Clifton/Elmwood Park/Garfield division. I bet if you look out the back door of this one, you’ll see either the dumpster behind a pizzeria or an auto body shop.
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1432400&dayssince=&countysearch=false
$22,000 per year in taxes. Sign here, please. Enjoy your
ball and chainhome.http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1432273&dayssince=&countysearch=false
Don’t you love the sign above the pool table, “Joe’s Pool Hall.” Hey, can you pass me another can of Schmidts and a Pall Mall?
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1430472&dayssince=&countysearch=false
I know the location isn’t the best but for a total renovation in Allendale at half a mil and 8.5K in taxes, one could do a lot worse:
http://www.njmls.com/listings/index.cfm?action=dsp.info&mlsnum=1424273&dayssince=&countysearch=false
8 – Pool Table Time Machine
From Otteau:
NJ Home Purchase Contracts Take Another Dive in July Compared to the Prior Year
Home purchase demand continues to be weaker in 2014 compared to last year as tighter mortgage lending standards resulting from the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rules that took effect in January. Purchase contracts in July declined by 5% compared to one year ago, and have fallen by 7% overall in 2014 YTD. The QRM rules are the result of the ‘Dodd-Frank’ legislation which was implemented following the collapse of the financial markets during the recession.
Shifting to the supply side of the equation, unsold inventory remains low, which limits choices for home buyers. Unsold inventory in the state has however been slowly rising for the past 4 months, increasing by 4,600 homes (9%) compared to one year ago. This is still about 16,000 (-22%) homes less than the peak in 2011. Today’s unsold inventory equates to 7.4 months of sales (non-seasonally adjusted), which is greater than one year ago when it was 6.4 months, but less than 8.9 months two years ago. At the county level, more than half of New Jersey’s 21 counties have less than 8.0 months of supply, which is a balance point for home prices. Essex County is presently experiencing the strongest market conditions in the state with fewer than 5 months of supply.
As a result of declining purchase demand and rising inventory, New Jersey home prices have stopped rising. As shown in the chart at right, the median home price in the state declined by 0.1% in the most recent quarter, after having risen for 6 consecutive quarters.
I can give you several reasons to say we are not in a normal market, artificially low interest rates, high rate of foreclosures, tight lending standards and a high percentage of under water homeowners. That aside, I believe we are in an extended period of price stability. No sign of any significant positive or negative market events on the horizon.
Home purchase demand continues to be weaker in 2014 compared to last year as tighter mortgage lending standards resulting from the Qualified Residential Mortgage (QRM) rules that took effect in January.
Thin out the herd and let the financially weak be consumed.
gary (7)-
That’s a classic cheese wedge. Authentic architecture like that should easily command 900K. ;)
grim (10)-
The pool table is hiding a chalk outline.
30 year (12)-
Except for the upcoming false-flag attack that we’ll pin on ISIS.
“I believe we are in an extended period of price stability. No sign of any significant positive or negative market events on the horizon.”
gary (13)-
…unless the financially-weak belong to the voting entitlement classes.
Meat [17],
How silly of me to overlook it.
30 year [12],
When one can look at houses for 600K without wearing a haz mat suit, then I’ll know we’re in a normal market.
I totally agree. Been saying this for about two years on this board. Prices will remain flat or have modest 1% gains till the end of this decade. Then wage inflation and a whole new set of buyers ( or muppets as fast Eddie likes to say) will take us back into a market with rising prices. We will do the same old dance that we have always done. Nothing really changes. Right now is a pretty got damn stable real estate market. Real estate markets most of the time have two characteristics, too many buyers or too many sellers. Right now, we have neither. You will rarely see the kind of market we are in too many tines in a lifetime. Maybe, 4 times if you are lucky. It’s hard to see, but right now is a great time to buy. The only problem, it’s hard to find something. You have to work very hard to find something. The last time you will be able to get a deal, is right before wage inflation hits and causes the chain reaction of causing prices to rise. The bag holders homes, who were holding out with their non-realistic pricing, will start to look like a deal with wage inflation. Only problem, as soon as they realize prices are starting to rise, it’s too late. They will raise their prices (that currently look unrealistic in 2014) as soon as they realize people have money and are now willing to pay more. They will see a house down the street selling fir a high price, and the lemmings will all do the same. Then the lemming buyers step up to be the next bag holders for a decade till the cycle repeats. This is all real estate is. That’s why to make real money in real estate, you can’t flip. You have to hold long term and continuously play the cycle. Buy low, sell high. At times it will look like real estate is a terrible investment, and at other times it will look like the best. It’s all a reflection of what part of the continuous cycle you are in.
30 year realtor says:
September 1, 2014 at 8:01 am
I can give you several reasons to say we are not in a normal market, artificially low interest rates, high rate of foreclosures, tight lending standards and a high percentage of under water homeowners. That aside, I believe we are in an extended period of price stability. No sign of any significant positive or negative market events on the horizon.
gary (18)-
Just keep in mind that banksters = welfare queens in that whole insane equation.
Meat [21],
The onset of the internet and social media has enabled the con men to swindle the masses over and over again at breakneck speeds. The hucksters of yore would be envious.
michael (20)-
Here’s a Labor Day project for you: Google “global wage arbitrage”, then come back here and tell us which hot tub time machine to catch back to 1957.
Michael [20],
This is what I feel when I read your posts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss2hULhXf04
gary (22)-
It’s “one-stop shopping”, except the object is to get you to sell yourself down the river.
Meat [25],
Muppets are easily swayed when shiny objects are dangled in front of their chubby cheeks.
Uzi and fast Eddie, has the ranks of millionaires gone down or up in the last 10 years?
Michael,
Has the Middle Class quality of life gone up or down in the last 10 years?
28- my point, exactly. Half of the middle class has gone down, that’s your clifton, fair lawn, and elmwood parks. Other half have moved up.
I believe this will change. If it does not, who will buy a product that is ever increasing in price? Can’t support a market on luxury goods alone. Something has to give and I’m sure it will. I will stand by my belief that wage inflation will come, otherwise prices will have to come down to meet the consumer’s needs on the budget provided. It’s either deflation or inflation, pick your poison. Obviously, the fed has picked inflation.
“Wage arbitrage
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on April 2, 2008 – 2:13am
Wage arbitrage is the practice of creating a reduction of wages. This generally occurs through increasing the number of workers to create a market glut, thereby reducing the value of skills in the open marketplace.
In professions of the highly skilled (requiring eductional training) this occurs through displacing US workers by increasing the number of workers available for these jobs via the visa process. In the US, the H1-B visa is the normal means for this practice. Most of these visas go to computer science professionals. The amount of experience and skill sets are not considered for this visa, and US workers are not considered before jobs are offered to foreign nationals. This is why Bill Gates and other members of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) which includes the major US tech companies and India outsourcing compancies, have made massive contributions to US senators and representatives to continually introduce H-1B attachments to “must-pass” legislation which try to stuff it through under the radar.
For professions of limited skills (requiring no educational training) this occurs through the importation or illegal entry of legal or illegal workers. This is why the US Chamber of Commerce supports amnesty — and why US senators and representatives who have received campaign contributions from entities profiting from reduced US citizen wages actively support illegal amnesty.
Follow the money.”
First, define middle class.
First, define middle class
For our area, an undergraduate degree or equivalent with household incomes ranging from the high 5 figure range to roughly above $100,000. That’s household income, as in two incomes with just enough to sustain current quality of life as wages continue to stall. So, the question remains: Has the Middle Class quality of life gone up or down in the last 10 years? I suppose if you want a definitive answer, you can go ask the ocean of unqualified muppet sellers.
Michael (30)-
Obviously, you have never been to Bogota, Asuncion, Montevideo or Buenos Aires.
“I believe this will change. If it does not, who will buy a product that is ever increasing in price? Can’t support a market on luxury goods alone.”
Please also do not attempt to argue that the Miami pied-a-terre of the wealthy Bogota businessman is a net positive for the US real estate market.
Happy labor day yo.
scotch is gone daughter is potty trained son is half way there. Thankfully I go back to work tomorrow. Nom no worries I’ll email you when I’m not up to my elbows in pee and poop. Luckily there has been no screaming for diapers.
If 50% are doing better, than I guess income concentration ain’t that bad.
Michael says:
September 1, 2014 at 9:23 am
28- my point, exactly. Half of the middle class has gone down, that’s your clifton, fair lawn, and elmwood parks. Other half have moved up.
@MMFlint:
25 years ago tonight, “Roger & Me” was screened for the very first time. Afterwards, we had pizza.
@thistlehillmedi: @MMFlint How Appropriate that this is Labor Day. Congrats on a great body of work
I love how MM still uses Flint. Like we are supposed to ignore the multimillion dollar mansion he owns in a gated lakeside community in exclusive Torch Lake, MI.
Of course, I’m sure it’s only to make his 1%er neighbors uncomfortable.
Wow thats a hell of a house, $5 million? Amazing that you can make so much money through capitalism to be able to just blow $5 million dollars on a vacation house, while people are starving and unemployed. To accumulate that much wealth, without actually making anything at all of value. I wonder how he does it , when they turn the camera on. It takes an extra special kind of hypocrite capitalist to pull that off. My Hero.
Anon yet again steps into a pile of poo, yet needs his nose rubbed in it to have any idea of what he’s done.
Pain should offer to potty train anon, except prolly it’s a losing fight when the subject has shit for brains.
Wage inflation? Bwahahahahaha!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/business/more-workers-are-claiming-wage-theft.html?_r=0
42
Until ten years ago when I used to run Lowes stores I was scheduled 50 hour weeks. All management was scheduled five tens. They got sued and changed it a few years ago.
Sixty plus were the norm, eighty was not unheard of. I think I was paid on a sliding scale of right around minimum wage for hours 40-80. The more hours I worked, the less I made per hour. It was some percentage of salary, total crap.
Worst job ever, but still better than the rip out and install of 280 sq ft of tile I did this weekend, on a concrete slab. Should have gone to Manasquan and hired a couple of Mexicans that would have pooped on my lawn.
43 – Did one of those a few months back, lucked out, they used some sort of mastic that looks like it almost completely deteriorated, if it wasn’t for the grout I bet tiles would be popping out. Planned for the worst, ended up being easier than flipping pancakes.
Clot there isn’t enough scotch in Scotland for that. My wife quit on me. So been going it alone, potty training Anon might break me
…and so concludes another day at NJRER.
Tune in tomorrow at 6 for the morning zoo!
Another mass killing of kids in China by bezerk individual.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/01/world/asia/china-school-attack/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
anon is currently looking for a tweet blaming the American Knife Manufacturers Assn (yes, there is such a group).