Category Archives: Foreclosures

I ain’t afraid of no ghost

Posted on August 23, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ: Shadowboxing With the Recovery in Home Sales The salvo of distressed home sales that was supposed to sink the housing recovery hasn’t shown up yet. Perhaps it never will. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 130 Comments

Lenders really helping delinquent borrowers?

Posted on August 18, 2012 by grim

From the NY Times: Help for Distressed Homeowners LUIS CEREZO’s eyes welled up as he awaited the outcome of his latest attempt to resolve the 18-month backlog of mortgage payments he owes on the town house in Elizabeth where he … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 34 Comments

Fewer monsters lurking in the shadows

Posted on August 15, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ: Shadow Inventory: It’s Not as Scary as It Looks The housing market is improving because there are more buyers chasing fewer homes. Skeptics of a housing bottom, however, often point to a scary set of numbers: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 143 Comments

Legislators trying to grease the foreclosure machine

Posted on August 13, 2012 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Foreclosure bills advance from N.J. Senate Economic Growth Committee A pair of bills sponsored by Senate Economic Growth Committee Chairman Raymond J. Lesniak which would begin to address New Jersey’s foreclosure crisis by creating an expedited … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics | 114 Comments

Is this the big jump in foreclosures?

Posted on August 9, 2012 by grim

From the Record: Foreclosure activity picking up steam in NJ Foreclosure activity in New Jersey doubled last month compared with a year earlier, as lenders resumed their efforts to evict homeowners in default, RealtyTrac reported Wednesday. One in every 1,566 … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 139 Comments

Foreclosures continue to loom large

Posted on July 26, 2012 by grim

From CNBC: New Crop of Foreclosures Is Coming While fewer Americans are falling behind on their mortgage payments, the huge backlog of already delinquent mortgages is finally making its way through the banking system to foreclosure. Total foreclosure activity rose … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 131 Comments

Foreclosure 2.0 – Tsunami or Belly Flop?

Posted on July 23, 2012 by grim

From the Press of Atlantic City: Second wave of foreclosures starts to rise in New Jersey, region The long-expected second wave of foreclosures in states where courts delayed their processing appears to have begun in New Jersey and area counties, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 142 Comments

Foreclosure Friday

Posted on July 13, 2012 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Foreclosures drop in New Jersey The number of New Jersey homes in foreclosure dropped in the first six months of the year, according to a report from RealtyTrac, from 18,417 last June to 10,733 this year, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery | 180 Comments

Just pull the damn band-aid off already

Posted on July 11, 2012 by grim

From CNBC: As Foreclosures Ramp Up, New Roadblocks Ahead Fraudulent foreclosure practices, a.k.a. “robo-signing,” uncovered now nearly two years ago, opened a new wound in the foreclosure crisis that was in the process of healing. At big bank mortgage servicers … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery | 203 Comments

Friday Open Discussion and Legal Review

Posted on June 29, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Eminent Domain Is Bad Ploy for Underwater Mortgages Officials in San Bernardino County, California, believe they have figured out a clever way to solve the county’s, and possibly the nation’s, housing problems. Detailed by a Cornell University professor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Politics | 204 Comments

Shadows get a little brighter

Posted on June 15, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg: Shrinking ‘Shadow Inventory’ Eases Threat to U.S. Housing The overhang of pending foreclosures that threatened to flood the U.S. housing market and depress prices is dissipating as banks sell off distressed properties and let borrowers sell homes for … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 180 Comments

NJ moves closer to the top … 8.4% of mortgages in foreclosure

Posted on May 17, 2012 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: N.J. foreclosure inventoryspikes; 2nd most in nation New Jersey’s percentage of home mortgage loans in foreclosure continues to rise, even as rates nationally have fallen to the lowest level since 2008, a report released Wednesday … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 151 Comments

Waiting for Godot the Bulldozer

Posted on May 14, 2012 by grim

From the Record: North Jersey foreclosures haunt neighbors Maywood homeowner Joe Leichtnam spent some time recently trimming the shrubs, mowing the lawn and fixing the siding. Not at his house; at the empty house next door. It’s a small effort … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, New Jersey Real Estate | 125 Comments

Is distressed the new normal?

Posted on April 24, 2012 by grim

From CNBC: Short Sales Higher, Prices Lower Buyer traffic is strong, supply of homes for sale is low, and yet home prices continue to defy the usual formula, falling again in March. Prices usually rise as supply shrinks, but demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 133 Comments

Risky loans bite Jersey banks

Posted on April 14, 2012 by grim

From the Record: North Jersey banks repossessed more properties In banking, OREO is not a cookie, and there’s no sugary frosting in the middle. It’s an acronym for one of the industry’s most unpleasant statistics, Other Real Estate Owned, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Foreclosures, Risky Lending | 41 Comments