Monthly Archives: January 2015

New rule of real estate … Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks.

Posted on January 31, 2015 by grim

From Quartz: Confirmed: Starbucks knows the next hot neighborhood before everybody else does What fuels gentrification? The answer is the same thing that fuels the rest of us: coffee. But not just any old cup o’ joe. Starbucks, the iconic … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 51 Comments

Pending sales drop in December, but still top last year

Posted on January 30, 2015 by grim

From Bloomberg: Pending Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Drop by Most in a Year Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in December by the most in a year, a sign the industry’s recovery remains uneven. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Housing Recovery | 124 Comments

Spring Market!

Posted on January 29, 2015 by grim

From CNBC: Mixed signals for spring housing season The spring housing market is still about a month away, but industry experts are already arguing its outcome. New reports offer very different views on both headwinds and tail winds. Overall economic … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 154 Comments

November Case Shiller

Posted on January 28, 2015 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Increased 4.3% in November Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended in November, a sign the industry struggled to find momentum even amid low … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 165 Comments

SNOW MY GOD

Posted on January 27, 2015 by grim

Looks like a complete bust for NJ. From the Star Ledger: Blizzard likely a bust as snow projections cut in half, forecasters apologize The first major snow event 2015 will still have a substantial impact in New Jersey, but for … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 137 Comments

Blizzardastrophe Open Discussion

Posted on January 26, 2015 by grim

From the Record: With predictions of snow accumulations ranging up to 3 feet, people across North Jersey started preparing Sunday for The Big One, snatching snow shovels and ice-melting supplies from store shelves and forming long lines at supermarket checkout … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | 184 Comments

Mildly disappointing?

Posted on January 25, 2015 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home-Sales Winning Streak Ends, First-Time Buyers Go Missing  A three-year winning streak for sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. ended in 2014 as some investors stepped out of the market and first-time buyers failed to fill … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery | 49 Comments

Unemployment falls in December, but NJ still lags

Posted on January 23, 2015 by grim

From the Record: NJ’s annual job growth slow, with some bright spots Four years after New Jersey reached its post-recession employment low, figures released Thursday show the state’s economic recovery continues to be slow. The state added a modest 29,000 … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment | 104 Comments

Flight of the Millionaire

Posted on January 22, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Millionaire households fleeing N.J. by the thousands, study says New Jersey, consistently one of the most affluent states in the country, has slipped a bit in a new ranking of the rich. The Garden State fell … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 127 Comments

Sorry, couldn’t help myself…

Posted on January 21, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Snooki buys new $2.6M Florham Park home Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is expanding her real estate portfolio. The “Jersey Shore” alum purchased a $2.6 million home in Florham Park with her husband Jionni LaValle, property records show. … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 144 Comments

Zoning police coming to JC

Posted on January 20, 2015 by grim

From the Jersey Journal: Jersey City says new plan would crack down on code violators; real-estate agents aghast City officials are looking to embark on an aggressive new plan to ensure homes are compliant with local zoning rules. But the … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 77 Comments

Bulldoze it all, turn it into a nature preserve

Posted on January 19, 2015 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Casino closings have big impact on A.C. property-tax base The loss of 8,000 jobs in Atlantic City’s casino industry in the last 12 months has sent shock waves through the region’s economy, but an even more … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Politics, Property Taxes | 81 Comments

“New Jersey has been struggling.”

Posted on January 17, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. home prices, jobs struggling to rebound from recession A new report shows the economic recovery remains a struggle in many parts of the country, including New Jersey, where more than half of the state’s counties … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 39 Comments

71%? We need a 710% increase in foreclosures.

Posted on January 16, 2015 by grim

From the Record: Foreclosure activity up 71% in NJ, RealtyTrac says Foreclosure activity rose 71 percent in New Jersey last year, as lenders continued to deal with a backlog of troubled properties, according to a report released Thursday. At the … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 115 Comments

2015 – Will the big foreclosure clean out begin?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Foreclosures down nationwide, still increasing in Phila. region Foreclosure filings nationwide last year fell to their lowest level since 2006 and were down by more than a million properties from 2010’s recession-aftermath peak of roughly 2.87 … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 68 Comments