Category Archives: Economics

Unemployment ticks up in NJ

Posted on May 19, 2025 by grim

From the NJBIA: NJ Unemployment Rate Rises to 4.8%  New Jersey employers added 4,800 jobs in April, but the unemployment rate inched up to 4.8%, the highest it’s been in over three years, according to preliminary federal data released Thursday … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 60 Comments

Pass the salt, please

Posted on May 17, 2025 by grim

From the Realtors: These High Tax States Could Benefit the Most From Higher SALT Deduction There’s a new bill in Washington that’s become the subject of some ugly debate. In a surprising twist, the fate of the current House Republican … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 76 Comments

Go West, but not too far west.

Posted on May 16, 2025 by grim

From CBS News: Here’s where it’s toughest for the middle class to find an affordable home Homeownership is considered a mainstay of the American dream, but a shortage of affordable homes is blocking that pathway for many middle-income families, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 121 Comments

Foreclosures ticking up (but still low)

Posted on May 15, 2025 by grim

From Realtor.com: 2 Southern States Lead the U.S. With the Highest Number of Foreclosures Foreclosures have continued to inch upward, signaling that homeowners are being squeezed by the high cost of homeownership. There were a total of 36,033 U.S. properties … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 92 Comments

Used houses get even more used

Posted on May 13, 2025 by grim

From Redfin: The Homes Americans are Buying are Older Than Ever The typical home bought in the U.S. hit a record age of 36 years in 2024. That’s nine years older than the median age of homes purchased in 2012, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Development | 66 Comments

High property taxes = high rents

Posted on May 12, 2025 by grim

From NorthJersey.com: AI didn’t break New Jersey’s housing market. Politicians did | Opinion On April 23, New Jersey’s Attorney General Matthew Platkin filed a lawsuit targeting AI-driven pricing software using in the housing market, alleging it enables landlords to collude and drive … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 82 Comments

Northeast wins the first quarter

Posted on May 9, 2025 by grim

From HousingWire: NAR: Home prices are up in 83% of metros Home prices rose in more than 80% of U.S. metro areas in the first quarter of 2025 — even as affordability remained stretched and fewer markets posted double-digit gains. According to … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 76 Comments

Nearly half of non-homeowners aren’t considering buying

Posted on May 8, 2025 by grim

From Gallup: Housing Market Perceptions Dampen Homebuying Intentions Homeownership appears to be further out of reach for non-homeowners in the U.S. Two-thirds of these Americans report being priced out of the market, and the smallest percentage recorded in years say … Continue reading →

Posted in Crisis, Demographics, Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 100 Comments

North Jersey market stats for April

Posted on May 7, 2025 by grim

From the Record: Is the housing market starting to rebalance? How NJ real estate performed in April Of New Jersey’s 21 counties, 13 had an increase in new listings compared with April 2024 and 15 counties had an increase in … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 84 Comments

Slowdown? Maybe not.

Posted on May 5, 2025 by grim

From the APP: NJ home prices: Here is what roiling stock market has done to spring 2025 home buying Home buyers continue to descend on the Jersey Shore, shrugging off high mortgage rates, a faltering stock market and economic uncertainty … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 56 Comments

March Pending Sales Down YOY

Posted on May 2, 2025 by grim

From HousingWire: Pending home sales post strong gain in March but lag behind 2024 pace Recent data hasn’t provided much optimism about the direction of the housing market, but one report suggests better conditions are on the way. The March reading … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 68 Comments

What NJ makes, the world takes

Posted on April 30, 2025 by grim

(or is this the prelude to a catastrophic collapse) From ROI-NJ: Report: N.J. led nation in total sales volume for industrial space in 1Q New Jersey topped the nation in total sales volume for industrial space during the first quarter … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Development, New Jersey Real Estate | 242 Comments

Looking Gloomy

Posted on April 29, 2025 by grim

From the Dallas Fed: Growth continues in Texas manufacturing sector, but outlooks worsen Texas factory activity continued to rise in April, according to business executives responding to the Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey. The production index, a key measure of state … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, National Real Estate | 136 Comments

Dear Mom & Dad…

Posted on April 27, 2025 by grim

From Business Insider: 5 years ago, only 85 US cities had starter homes that cost at least $1 million. Now there are 233. The typical price of a starter home was $1 million or higher in 233 US cities last month, a … Continue reading →

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

Tippy Top?

Posted on April 25, 2025 by grim

From CNBC: March home sales drop to their slowest pace since 2009 Higher mortgage rates and concern over the broader economy are making for a weak start to the all-important spring housing market. Sales of previously owned homes in March … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 189 Comments