Monthly Archives: February 2017

Pending home sales starting to show cracks?

Posted on February 28, 2017 by grim

From CNBC: Pending home sales drop unexpectedly to lowest in a year, down 2.8% in January Higher mortgage rates and near record low supply resulted in disappointing home sales to start the year. House hunters signed 2.8 percent fewer contracts … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate | 87 Comments

Has the time come for Newark’s revival?

Posted on February 27, 2017 by grim

From Bloomberg: In Shadow of Manhattan, a Long-Neglected City Is Having a Moment For years, downtown Newark’s Military Park, barren and surrounded by vacant buildings, was a symbol of the despair that set in after the 1967 riots. Now it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 67 Comments

Who to blame?

Posted on February 25, 2017 by grim

From National Mortgage News: Thank Landlords for the Home Price Recovery: Attom Small investors, not first-time homebuyers, are driving home prices to unaffordable highs, according to a new report from Attom Data Solutions and Clear Capital. Real estate investors drove … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 31 Comments

How high do rates need to be to slow home sales?

Posted on February 24, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: FHFA: Rising interest rates not slowing down home prices…yet Home prices increased during the fourth quarter and, despite rising interest rates, showed no sign of a slowdown, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index. Home … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 92 Comments

Should I stay or should I go?

Posted on February 23, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Here’s the inventory crisis smothering Millennial homebuying

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 79 Comments

Somebody believes in AC

Posted on February 22, 2017 by grim

From the AP: Showboat Owner Blatstein Buys Land Nearby in Atlantic City Bart Blatstein, the Philadelphia developer who’s been buying up distressed Atlantic City properties and re-opening them, has added three more Boardwalk parcels for about $6 million. Blatstein, who … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, New Jersey Real Estate, Shore Real Estate | 117 Comments

The other South Jersey market

Posted on February 21, 2017 by grim

From the Press of Atlantic City: South Jersey beach construction booming John Van Duyne heads into a house he recently finished building, a few doors off the beach in Ventnor. He points out the quartz shower seats and countertops in … Continue reading →

Posted in New Development, Shore Real Estate | 52 Comments

Montclair pretty much the most unequal place in NJ

Posted on February 19, 2017 by grim

Haven’t gotten a chance to post this one, but it needs to be posted. From the Star Ledger: How every town in N.J. rates on income inequality Despite what Montclair wants you to believe, outside of the typical wealth enclaves … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate | 69 Comments

So Close!

Posted on February 17, 2017 by grim

NY State on the verge of taking the #1 foreclosure spot:

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 177 Comments

Christie kicks the can

Posted on February 14, 2017 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Christie signs bill to give Sandy victims some protection against foreclosure New Jersey homeowners facing foreclosure while they’re still trying to rebuild from Hurricane Sandy now can be protected from losing their homes. A bill signed … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 413 Comments

Think warm thoughts – shore rentals already up 33% YOY.

Posted on February 12, 2017 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: The rush is already on for rentals at the Jersey Shore From the second-story deck of his aunt’s rental property near 20th and Central, real estate agent Bill Godfrey points out the ocean view a block … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Shore Real Estate | 55 Comments

How low can inventory go?

Posted on February 10, 2017 by grim

From HousingWire: Realtors: Majority of metros hit peak levels in 2016 The fourth quarter of 2016 saw the best quarterly sales pace of the year, but also pushed housing inventory to record lows, and many markets to home prices with … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 105 Comments

Annual home prices accelerating … with rates higher?

Posted on February 8, 2017 by grim

From MarketWatch: Home prices accelerating in the face of rising mortgage rates U.S. house prices rose at an accelerated pace in December, a sign that higher mortgage rates aren’t yet diminishing outsize demand for properties. Data provider CoreLogic said its … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 146 Comments

Up or Down or Up or Down or Up or Down

Posted on February 7, 2017 by grim

From Marketwatch: Housing demand may keep market afloat, even if rates rise How will the housing market handle rising rates? Ever since the November election, when the unexpected Trump victory sent bond yields flying and mortgage rates following closely behind, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Politics, Risky Lending | 65 Comments

Shut Up Gen X

Posted on February 6, 2017 by grim

From the NY Times: Generation X More Addicted to Social Media Than Millennials, Report Finds We all know the stereotype: silly millennials, tethered to their phones, unable to accomplish the simplest tasks without scrolling their Instagram feeds, snapping their friends … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Unrest | 33 Comments