Monthly Archives: October 2015

So much for the boom?

Posted on October 30, 2015 by grim

From CNBC: Pending home sales down 2.3% in September Signed contracts to buy existing homes dropped 2.3 percent in September from August and were just 3 percent higher than one year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 123 Comments

Scratchin’ and Surviving, Good Times!

Posted on October 29, 2015 by grim

From the Record: N.J. home sales activity at highest level since 2005 The number of home sales in New Jersey is up 17 percent from last year and is on track to hit the highest level since the housing-boom days … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 87 Comments

Home prices up 5.1% in August

Posted on October 28, 2015 by grim

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Price Growth Gains Strength in August, Case-Shiller Says Home prices rose in August, according to a report released Tuesday, suggesting the market has momentum heading into the final months of the year. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 119 Comments

New Home Sales Tank

Posted on October 27, 2015 by grim

From CNBC: US new home sales drop to near one-year low New U.S. single-family home sales fell to near a one-year low in September after two straight months of gains, suggesting a temporary cooling in the market for new houses. … Continue reading →

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

Home Prices continue to hit new highs

Posted on October 26, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: Home prices rise 0.3% in August, up 5.6% since January Home prices were up 0.3% for the month, rising 5.5% on a year-over- year basis, according to the August house price index from Black Knight Financial Services. This … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 70 Comments

Weekend Legal Discussion – Hospitals should pay property taxes

Posted on October 24, 2015 by grim

For the lawyers, from Lexology: Pretty sure that hospitals and doctors don’t need to have subsidized property taxes. New Jersey Tax Court decision may signal a troubling trend in challenges to non-profit entitie The New Jersey Tax Court’s decision in … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 39 Comments

September sales jump, second best level since 2007

Posted on October 23, 2015 by grim

From the WSJ: U.S. Existing Home Sales Surge in September Sales of previously owned homes swung to a big increase in September, putting the market back on track for its strongest year since 2007. Existing-home sales climbed 4.7% last month … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 96 Comments

Millennials to lead the housing charge?

Posted on October 22, 2015 by grim

From MarketWatch: Why millennials should buy a home today Sachita Kumar did something that few people her age appear to be doing in 2015: She bought a house. “We decided that we just didn’t want to pay someone rent, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 61 Comments

GSE Reform Dead

Posted on October 21, 2015 by grim

From HousingWire: GSE leadership no longer expecting reform The government-sponsored enterprises are getting back to their core mission, shaking the idea that a resolution to conservatorship is just around the corner and reshaping their business models to reduce risk to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Politics, Risky Lending | 84 Comments

Even power plants get foreclosed on in Jersey

Posted on October 20, 2015 by grim

Not residential real estate, but how can I not post this fiasco of epic proportions. From Philly.com: Bank begins foreclosure on power plant at Revel A bank is foreclosing on the power plant at the center of a dispute that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Humor, New Development, Unrest | 89 Comments

“I don’t know where it ends, but it doesn’t end in a good place.”

Posted on October 19, 2015 by grim

From the Daily Record: N.J. taxes report: Businesses say fix N.J. now Ralph Zucker walked into the Bell Labs building one day in 2007, looked around and saw the once-bustling site contained only a vast, eerie silence. The shell was … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 85 Comments

Prospective buyers don’t want to eat Friskies

Posted on October 18, 2015 by grim

From the APP: N.J. housing buyers resisting higher property taxes Weighed down by high property taxes and a sluggish economy, New Jersey’s housing market is recovering from the Great Recession much more slowly than the rest of the nation. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 16 Comments

NJ Jobs up 4700 in September

Posted on October 16, 2015 by grim

From the Record: N.J. added 4,700 jobs in September; jobless rate ticked down New Jersey added 4,700 jobs in September, putting the state’s job market back on the path of slower growth seen at the start of the year, after … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 110 Comments

Will NJ ever recover?

Posted on October 15, 2015 by grim

From the Record: NJ leads the nation in foreclosure activity New Jersey continued to lead the nation in foreclosure activity in the third quarter, as the mortgage industry deals with a backlog of distressed properties in the state, RealtyTrac reported … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 165 Comments

Foreclosures decline, NJ still in foreclosure logjam

Posted on October 14, 2015 by grim

From MarketWatch: CoreLogic Reports 36,000 Completed Foreclosures in August 2015 CoreLogic…today released its August 2015 National Foreclosure Report which shows the foreclosure inventory declined by 25.2 percent and completed foreclosures declined by 20.1 percent compared with August 2014. The number … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate | 110 Comments