Monthly Archives: March 2019

Pending Sales Dip

Posted on March 29, 2019 by grim

From CNBC: Pending sales fall in February Pending home sales drop 1% in February, despite lower mortgage rates Homebuyers signed 1 percent fewer contracts to buy existing homes in February compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 89 Comments

Spriiiiiiiiing Market!

Posted on March 27, 2019 by grim

From CNBC: Want to sell your home? Hurry up and list it next week Timing is everything, especially in a housing market that has been less than dependable lately. So if you want to get the best price for your … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate | 99 Comments

FHA getting a bit too risky

Posted on March 26, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: FHA says as many as 50,000 mortgages will be affected by new lending rules Two weeks ago, the Federal Housing Administration took steps to mitigate risks to its single-family portfolio, announcing updates to its TOTAL Mortgage Scorecard that will flag some loans … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 99 Comments

Where do the rich live?

Posted on March 24, 2019 by grim

From Bloomberg: These Are the Wealthiest Towns in the U.S.

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, NYC | 105 Comments

Home sales … skyrocket?

Posted on March 23, 2019 by grim

From CNBC: Home sales make record jump, proving how sensitive buyers are to mortgage rates Sales of existing homes skyrocketed a whopping 11.8 percent in February compared with January, according to the National Association of Realtors. That is the largest … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 19 Comments

In favor of which buyers?

Posted on March 22, 2019 by grim

From MarketWatch: Housing market is tipping in favor of buyers, real-estate agents say It’s been a long winter in the housing market. Economic unease, uncertainty about taxes, fluctuating mortgage rates, and rain and snow have kept buyers and sellers on … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 96 Comments

Expect the worst

Posted on March 21, 2019 by grim

From Bloomberg: Trump Tax Reform Hits Home in Wealthy New York Suburbs Nick Boniakowski’s clients bought a home in Northern New Jersey in 2016. Now they want to move again. They found a house they liked. It wasn’t the charm … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes, Unrest | 65 Comments

Facebook attempts to stop discrimination, after supporting it, and profiting from it, for years.

Posted on March 20, 2019 by grim

From HousingWire: Facebook making massive changes to ad platform after being accused of enabling housing discrimination Facebook is making significant changes to its advertising platform after the social media monolith was accused of enabling discrimination in housing, employment, and lending. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Mortgages, National Real Estate | 47 Comments

A new tax for property owners

Posted on March 19, 2019 by grim

From the Star Ledger: The controversial ’rain tax’ bill designed for N.J. flood defense has been signed into law  Local authorities in New Jersey now have a new tool to manage stormwaters and flooding. Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed into law … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes, Unrest | 78 Comments

NJ a bit more unequal

Posted on March 17, 2019 by grim

From the Star Ledger: The gap between rich and poor in N.J. keeps getting bigger. See how bad it is in your town. New Jersey is becoming a more unequal place to live. Over the past five years, the gap … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate | 89 Comments

Blame it on the parents

Posted on March 14, 2019 by grim

From CNBC: Here’s how many millennials got money from their parents to buy their homes Millennials aren’t buying homes like their parents and grandparents did. That’s largely because it’s harder to afford a house these days: high real estate prices, stagnant wages and student … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate | 172 Comments

Crisis officially over?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by grim

From Inman: Delinquency rates fall to pre-housing crisis levels: CoreLogic The number of homeowners failing to make mortgage payments has dipped to levels unseen since before the 2008 housing crisis. Nationwide, only 4.1 percent of homeowners were delinquent on their mortgage in December, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 61 Comments

Shore Uprising

Posted on March 12, 2019 by grim

From the NYT: ‘Airbnb Tax’ in N.J. Opens New Front in Battle Over Internet Economy The Jersey Shore, a storied summer vacation spot, has become the newest national battleground over regulating and taxing the internet economy. New Jersey is one … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Politics, Shore Real Estate | 78 Comments

Our own little Disney

Posted on March 11, 2019 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Inside the N.J. town where retail spending beats Hollywood and tourism rivals Disney Name any brand, and it probably has at least one location in Paramus — some have two or three. At a time when … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 50 Comments

Fiscal … Death … Spiral

Posted on March 9, 2019 by grim

From the Star Ledger: N.J. is in a ‘fiscal death spiral’ and Murphy call for new tax on millionaires isn’t the answer, top Democrat says  New Jersey’s Democratic state Senate president, who is steadfastly opposed to the Democratic governor’s call … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 17 Comments