Category Archives: Housing Bubble

Will reduced loan limits kill the high-end?

Posted on June 2, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Lower loan limits deadline may not boost housing prices The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expected to reduce conforming loan limits on mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this October. The hopeful anticipation is that demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 128 Comments

Double Dip for New Jersey Home Prices

Posted on June 1, 2011 by grim

From the Record: Home-price index at lowest point since 2006 bust Home values have slid into a “double dip,” dropping more than 3 percent in March from a year earlier, the Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller index reported Tuesday. “Home prices … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 190 Comments

Happy days are here again!

Posted on May 27, 2011 by grim

From the Record: “Liar loans” still available, but not for everybody Stated-income mortgage loans, which do not require borrowers to verify their income, came to be known as “liar loans” during the subprime lending bust when many of the loans … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 147 Comments

Who said the high-end was immune?

Posted on May 25, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Greenwich’s Priciest Homes Languish With Four Years of Supply It’s been more than 500 days since Stanley Cheslock put his 26,000-square-foot Greenwich, Connecticut, “dream home” on the market for $17.95 million. The house and its surrounding estate — … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 168 Comments

Strategic defaults on the decline

Posted on May 17, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Signs show strategic default on the decline The trend of borrowers choosing to default on their mortgage when they otherwise might have been able to afford payments is on the decline, JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 42.88 0.00%) analysts said … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 145 Comments

“Not in this decade”

Posted on May 16, 2011 by grim

From the APP: Real estate rebound will require jobs, time New Jersey real estate pros are reading tea leaves, searching for positive signs — anything remotely positive, really — that point to a rebound in the state’s tortured housing market. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, General, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 202 Comments

North Jersey “Dancing along the bottom”, Central still dropping?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by grim

From the Record: Home prices stable in region Condo and co-op prices dropped more than 10 percent in the New York metropolitan area, including North Jersey, in the first quarter, but home values overall were flat from the same period … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 137 Comments

What evidence of stabilization?

Posted on May 9, 2011 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: NJ’s economy improves, but housing market still faces price declines Kristen Forma checks out real estate websites several times a day as she searches for a home for her family in Middletown. She does research, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 163 Comments

Will the pace of recovery be driven by shadow inventory?

Posted on May 4, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Shadow inventory will keep housing recovery at bay for three to four years A full housing recovery is three to four years off as the nation grapples with a shadow housing inventory of 4.5 million distressed properties, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 126 Comments

Mr Bednar Builds His Dream House

Posted on April 29, 2011 by grim

Open topic for discussion this weekend: Grim buys a house, closing is at 1. Has jb lost his mind? Jumped too soon? Timed the bottom? Screaming deal? What does it mean when the most hated person in NJ real estate … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate | 217 Comments

Homeownership back to pre-boom levels

Posted on April 27, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: Home Ownership Rate Drops to 1998 Level The housing market’s woes continue forcing people into rentals, further depressing the home ownership rate in a nation that now has fewer homeowners than were created during the housing boom. … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 39 Comments

“There is very little, if any, good news about housing”

Posted on April 26, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Home Prices in 20 U.S. Cities Drop Most in More Than Year on Foreclosures Residential real-estate prices dropped in the 12 months to February by the most in more than a year, putting the market on the verge … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 93 Comments

Just where the hell is this market going?

Posted on April 25, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: New Home Sales Up From Record Low Sales of new homes increased in March from a record low a month earlier, a small boost for a struggling part of the U.S. economy. Sales grew 11.1% on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Development | 108 Comments

“In this market it’s not even worth trying to sell…we won’t get our investment back”

Posted on April 22, 2011 by grim

From the NY Times: In a Slow Economy, Rentals Zoom THE uncertain economy, combined with a depressed housing market and tight credit standards, has fostered an increase in residential leasing in Westchester and nearby counties — a trend so pronounced … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 264 Comments

If you are a contrarian, is it time to buy?

Posted on April 19, 2011 by grim

From Bloomberg: Americans Shun Most Affordable Homes in Generation as Owning Loses Appeal Victoria Pauli signed a one-year lease last week to stay in her rental home in Fair Oaks, California. She had considered buying in the area, where property … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 222 Comments