Category Archives: Housing Recovery

Firming up, or temporary blip?

Posted on June 17, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: FNC Residential Price Index shows home prices are firming up Home prices are beginning to stabilize despite weaker-than-expected home sales in the recent months, according to FNC. The FNC Residential Price Index, which does not include distressed properties, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 55 Comments

Jersey Underperforms

Posted on June 16, 2014 by grim

From the Record: New Jersey’s economic recovery still wobbly The New Jersey economy has so far replaced just about 40 percent of the jobs it lost from the recession. In contrast, Connecticut has replaced 55 percent, Pennsylvania has replaced nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 99 Comments

Getting better?

Posted on June 11, 2014 by grim

From CNBC: Americans finally feel better about economy: Survey After seven long years of sharp recession and tepid recovery, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey found some key measures of U.S. public opinion finally regained their precrisis levels. Ninety-one percent of … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery | 102 Comments

Spring market a success or a bust?

Posted on June 9, 2014 by grim

From the Record: Spring housing market: Prices are up but number of sales is down Two weeks after the Vermeulen family put their Woodcliff Lake home on the market this spring, they had a signed contract. The Burghoffer family also … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 75 Comments

Ahh, to be young again

Posted on June 7, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Young and in Debt in New York City For young people, moving to New York City hasn’t made much mathematical sense for decades. The jobs don’t pay enough, the internships don’t pay at all, and the rents … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery | 30 Comments

Trulia: Asking prices begin to slow

Posted on June 6, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: The home price explosion has stopped Everyone loves it when home prices go up, right? Higher asking prices mean that homeowners will get more out of their existing homes, which makes them more likely to sell and upgrade … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 103 Comments

June Beige Book

Posted on June 5, 2014 by grim

From the Federal Reserve: Beige Book – June 4, 2014 – New York Economic activity in the Second District has continued to grow at a moderate pace since the last report. Prices of finished goods and services remained generally stable, … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, North Jersey Real Estate | 118 Comments

Housing recovery for the one percenters

Posted on June 3, 2014 by grim

From Forbes: Are The One Percent Making The Housing Recovery Look Stronger Than It Actually Is? (Click for Graphs) Like nearly every economist on the planet, I am reading Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century. I am still getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery | 123 Comments

HARP falls short of hitting goals

Posted on May 29, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: Did HARP fail 8 million homeowners? According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the volume of mortgage refinance under the Home Affordable Refinance Program is continuing to decline. And in an environment of rising mortgage rates, this is … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Politics | 188 Comments

Home prices take a breather

Posted on May 28, 2014 by grim

From the NYT: Home Prices Start Easing, to the Relief of Experts A steep gain in home prices in many markets that helped lift millions of Americans out of the red on their mortgages is now markedly slowing, with new … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 109 Comments

“Everything that I like is over my price range right now”

Posted on May 24, 2014 by grim

From the WSJ: Housing Recovery’s Missing Link: First-Time Buyers Economists, real-estate agents and many home builders expected first-time and entry-level buyers to begin returning to the market this year, jump-starting the sputtering housing recovery. So far, that hasn’t happened. Less … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery | 55 Comments

Spring Market Late? Or Last Hurrah?

Posted on May 23, 2014 by grim

From Bloomberg: Gain in Existing U.S. Home Sales Lifts Spring Prospects Previously owned U.S. home purchases increased in April as a bigger supply of properties lured buyers and raised prospects for a stronger spring buying season. The 1.3 percent gain, … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 53 Comments

Surprise! GSEs to stick around, and lend more.

Posted on May 21, 2014 by grim

From MarketWatch: Fannie, and Freddie aren’t going away, Watt says One of the country’s biggest political footballs, housing finance reform, took some funny bounces over the past week. Most notable were the first public appearances by the government’s new point … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Politics | 92 Comments

The house you want? Sorry, underwater.

Posted on May 20, 2014 by grim

From HousingWire: How does negative equity create a big obstacle for first-time buyers? First-time buyers know owning is a better investment than renting, but the type of homes first-time buyers are looking for are being kept off the market in … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 145 Comments

Bubble or not?

Posted on May 12, 2014 by grim

From the Washington Post: Why homes are hitting bubble-era prices without bubble-era headaches Home values in a few states have surpassed the price peaks reached during the housing boom, but that doesn’t mean a return to the days of frothy … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, Employment, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 117 Comments