Monthly Archives: May 2015

“The concentration in the northeast quadrant of the state is striking”

Posted on May 30, 2015 by grim

From the Record: Homebuilding revs up in NJ, led by multifamily construction Home construction continues to heat up in New Jersey, especially in the multifamily sector, as builders obtained the largest number of monthly permits in April since the housing-boom … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 44 Comments

Smooth sailing for NJ real estate?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. home sale prices tick up as Realtors report strong housing market New Jersey homes are selling for more than they were a year ago, new data shows, as real estate professionals in the state report … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 94 Comments

How to improve the NJ economy? Remove building restrictions.

Posted on May 27, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: Housing in places like New York, San Francisco fail more than just the locals Significant restrictions on housing polices in three American cities significantly curtailed the economic growth of this country in the last half-century. That’s right, if … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, NYC, Politics | 165 Comments

Best April in 8 years

Posted on May 26, 2015 by grim

From the Courier News: After strong April, is NJ real estate heating up? Last month saw the highest number of home-sale contract signings — 9,700 — for New Jersey homes since April 2006, according to a real estate expert who … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 97 Comments

NJ REO Up 375% Year-Over-Year

Posted on May 23, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: The news about foreclosures in N.J. isn’t getting much better The number of homes entering the foreclosure process in New Jersey dipped in April as the pace of bank repossessions spiked, a new report shows, following … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 17 Comments

NJ gains 4,300 jobs in April, Unemployment unch. 6.5%

Posted on May 22, 2015 by grim

From the Record: NJ added 4,300 jobs, mainly government, in April New Jersey had its 10th consecutive month of job growth in April, with the addition of 4,300 jobs and a revision of the March figures. The state added 300 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 99 Comments

Foreclosure REOs jump in April

Posted on May 21, 2015 by grim

From Reuters: Rising bank repossessions push up U.S. foreclosure activity in April A surge in bank repossessions of properties last month pushed overall foreclosure activity across the United States to an 18-month high, according to a report by industry firm … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 114 Comments

Expensive to buy here, expensive to rent here – but it’s cheaper than NYC!

Posted on May 20, 2015 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. is one of the most expensive places to rent in the country, new study says The roughly one-third of New Jersey households comprised of tenants face rents that rank among the most costly in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate, NYC | 147 Comments

Price inelasticity of rentals

Posted on May 19, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: Freddie Mac: Rising rents aren’t pushing residents to homeownership Conventional wisdom holds that rising rents drive people to homeownership, but new research from Freddie Mac suggests the conventional wisdom is all wrong. Freddie Mac commissioned Harris Poll to … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 179 Comments

Who has recovered, and who hasn’t (or won’t?)

Posted on May 18, 2015 by grim

From the Washington Post: Are you not feeling the economic recovery? This could be why. William Gibson’s observation about the future was a reference to the idea that people have different access to new technology based on wealth and location. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 134 Comments

Buying your way in

Posted on May 16, 2015 by grim

From the NYT: Want a Green Card? Invest in Real Estate Like many of her fellow classmates at New York University, Yanchu Zhao has a busy schedule. A college junior, she has a double major in economics and journalism, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, NYC | 26 Comments

Not submitting cover letters? Maybe you should.

Posted on May 15, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: Here’s a sample cover letter to help secure your client’s dream home Cover letters are one example of how to put buyer offers above the competition, and looking at how tight inventory is in today’s market, buyers could … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 152 Comments

Shocking: Graduates with loans perform better than those without

Posted on May 14, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: TransUnion: Student loans do not impact housing Despite the level of student loan debt rising to well above $1 trillion, young buyers are not being inhibited from obtaining a mortgage due to their debt, according to a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages | 185 Comments

41st consecutive month of foreclosure inventory declines

Posted on May 13, 2015 by grim

From DSNews: Foreclosure Inventory, Completions Continue Decline Toward Pre-Crisis Levels Completed foreclosures experienced another substantial year-over-year decline in March, moving even further away from their peak from nearly five years ago, according to CoreLogic’s March 2015 National Foreclosure Report released … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 112 Comments

Access to credit holding back first time buyers? (Not student loans)

Posted on May 12, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: What’s holding back first-time homebuyers The rising burden of student debt doesn’t explain the weakness in home sales to first-time buyers, so the question arises what is holding this segment back? Capital Economics says that some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 187 Comments