Monthly Archives: December 2016

Yeah, this again.

From the WSJ: House Flipping Makes a Comeback as Home Prices Rise House flipping, a potent symbol of the real-estate market’s excess in the run-up to the financial crisis, is once again becoming hot, fueled by a combination of skyrocketing … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 82 Comments

So much for the bump

From Reuters: Pending home sales drop to 10-month low in November Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes fell in November to their lowest level in nearly a year, a sign rising interest rates could be weighing on the housing … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 32 Comments

New Record – New Bubble?

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Prices Climbed Sharply in October Home prices went up sharply in October, as the market showed no signs of slowing after setting a record a month earlier. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, which covers the … Continue reading

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 14 Comments

Millennial FTB? Buy a 2 family.

From MarketWatch: Buying your first home? Consider a duplex… The best first home may be a multi-unit home, because having tenants pays off. Duplexes — a single building with separate units and entrances — are among the least popular homes … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 41 Comments

Cost of regulation holding back new home sales/construction?

From Seeking Alpha: Trumponomics In The Housing Market With the market soaring high on Trumponomics (the belief that Trump’s business experience will fix the country), we should take a look at some of the “unnecessary regulation” that might seem ripe … Continue reading

Posted in National Real Estate, New Development, Politics | 17 Comments

Time to lube the mortgage market

From Business Insider: It hasn’t been this hard to buy a house in America since the financial crisis Housing affordability in the US is at an eight-year low, according to Attom Data Solutions. The parent company of RealtyTrac released its … Continue reading

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 102 Comments

Home sales strong in November

From HousingWire: Existing home sales continue to climb at highest pace since 2007 Existing home sales increased for the third consecutive month in November to the highest pace in almost 10 years, according to the most recent report from the … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 52 Comments

NJ Grows, NY/PA Shrink

From the Star Ledger: N.J.’s population rises, but New York and Pennsylvania lost residents New Jersey’s population has risen slightly as the Garden State is hanging on to its ranking as the 11th most populous state in the nation, according … Continue reading

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

Corelogic: Rates won’t stop appreciation

From HousingWire: CoreLogic predicts housing market growth in 2017 Economic growth will be the theme of the housing market in 2017, according to the forecast from Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic senior vice president and chief economist. … 1. Increase in mortgage … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 60 Comments

A Trump Housing Market

From the WSJ: Trump Win Makes It Tricky to Foresee Path of Housing Market Before the presidential election, economists anticipated the housing market would continue its steady recovery in 2017. Growth in home prices and sales likely would slow after … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate, Politics | 39 Comments

Now lending standards go the other way

From the WSJ: U.S. Home Prices Soar, But Minorities and Young People Miss Out U.S. home values have jumped to records over the past four years, but some demographic groups have participated more in the rally than others. A study … Continue reading

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 28 Comments

HAMP v2

From Bloomberg: Fannie and Freddie Outline New Respite for Troubled Borrowers Distressed mortgage borrowers will get a new lifeline from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after a critical foreclosure-prevention program expires this month. The mortgage-finance giants on Wednesday outlined a … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 90 Comments

Foreclosures rise in Bergen, fall in Passaic

From the Record: New Jersey leads nation in foreclosures New Jersey leads the nation in foreclosure activity, as the state continues to unwind the mortgages that went bad in the worst housing crash in decades. One in every 598 Garden … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate, North Jersey Real Estate | 63 Comments

Foreclosures continue five year decline

From 24/7 Wall Street: October Foreclosure Inventories Highest New York, New Jersey, Hawaii In the month of October, 30,000 U.S. home foreclosures were completed, down 3.6% month over month and down 24.9% from a total of 40,000 in October 2015, … Continue reading

Posted in Foreclosures, National Real Estate | 77 Comments

Has the refi window finally closed?

From HousingWire: Refinance well drying up? Rising interest rates shrink pool of eligible borrowers, again Recent reports from various analysts, including this one from Kroll Bond Rating Agency, suggest that 2017 will see smaller mortgage origination volume than 2016, thanks … Continue reading

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate | 108 Comments