Category Archives: Unrest

So much for NJ’s economy

Posted on September 30, 2024 by grim

From Reuters: US East Coast port strike looms Tuesday with no talks scheduled U.S. East and Gulf Coast port workers are set to go on strike at midnight on Monday with no talks currently scheduled to head off a stoppage … Continue reading →

Posted in Crisis, Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Unrest | 195 Comments

DOJ accuses RealPage of price fixing

Posted on August 25, 2024 by grim

From ProPublica: DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm The Department of Justice and eight states on Friday sued the maker of rent-setting software that critics blame for sending rents soaring in apartment buildings across the country. … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Unrest | 81 Comments

Yeah, but will it really change?

Posted on March 16, 2024 by grim

From CNN: The 6% commission on buying or selling a home is gone after Realtors association agrees to seismic settlement The 6% commission, a standard in home purchase transactions, is no more. In a sweeping move expected to dramatically reduce the cost … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Politics, Unrest | 24 Comments

Florida’s new “property tax”

Posted on February 17, 2024 by grim

From the NY Post: Florida home prices fall as surging insurance costs scare buyers Home prices along Florida’s southwest coast have plummeted as excess inventory soars due to the ongoing insurance crisis that has gripped the Sunshine State. Realtors said that … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Unrest | 43 Comments

Flooding kicks off new wave of Blue Acres buyouts

Posted on February 13, 2024 by grim

From ABC News: Flood-stricken New Jersey residents look into government-funded home buyout program The flooding in parts of New Jersey over the past few months left mounts of headaches for residents. Countless residents from those affected areas came out to … Continue reading →

Posted in Crisis, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Unrest | 77 Comments

Best geopolitical news in a decade

Posted on February 8, 2024 by grim

Has nothing to do with real estate, but our neighbors on this side of the world really should be our strongest trade partners. From Quartz: The US imported more from Mexico than China for the first time in decades For … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Unrest | 106 Comments

End of the Realtors?

Posted on November 6, 2023 by grim

From CNN: After a $1.8 billion verdict, the clock is ticking on the 6% real estate commission Using a travel agent to buy a plane ticket or a stockbroker to trade equities seem like relics of the past. And yet, every … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Unrest | 93 Comments

Stick it to ’em

Posted on October 18, 2023 by grim

From the New York Post: Broker commission system that charges up to 6% could face antitrust probe The moneymaking real estate-commission system where brokers pocket as much as 6% of a sale — and critics charge inflates home prices — … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, Unrest | 66 Comments

GenX poised to take the lead

Posted on September 28, 2023 by grim

From the NYT: The Greatest Wealth Transfer in History Is Here, With Familiar (Rich) Winners Trillions of dollars in family wealth are set to be passed down in the next few years — and the transfer will largely reinforce U.S. … Continue reading →

Posted in Demographics, Economics, National Real Estate, Unrest | 112 Comments

Peak Shore?

Posted on August 13, 2023 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: Did Shore house owners push their luck with high rents? Prices are dropping and weeks are open. Last summer, her Shore house in Avalon fully booked, Katie Leighton took the family on a vacation to Europe. … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Shore Real Estate, Unrest | 23 Comments

Inflation hits NJ colleges

Posted on July 11, 2023 by grim

From the Star Ledger: 6% tuition increase approved for Rutgers, more than twice last year’s hike Tuition and fees at Rutgers will increase by 6% in the next academic year under a budget the state university’s board of governors passed … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Unrest | 32 Comments

NJ last state in the nation to outlaw pumping gas

Posted on June 24, 2023 by grim

From Jalopnik: Drivers In Oregon Will Finally Be Allowed To Pump Their Own Gas For most of the country, the idea of pulling into a gas station and then waiting for someone to come over and pump your gas for … Continue reading →

Posted in Crisis, New Jersey Real Estate, Unrest | 51 Comments

Good thing we don’t need to commute anymore

Posted on June 18, 2022 by grim

From the Star Ledger: Canceled trains were due to an ‘illegal job action’ by engineers, NJ Transit says NJ Transit officials said an “illegal job action” triggered a rash of canceled trains throughout the day on Friday after locomotive engineers failed to … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Unrest | 90 Comments

Worth breaking something

Posted on June 15, 2022 by grim

From Bloomberg: Fed Mulls ‘Game Changer’ to Jolt Inflation: Decision Day Guide Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who’s carefully telegraphed interest rate hikes over four years, looks likely to abandon gradualism and move more forcefully to stamp out inflation along … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Politics, Unrest | 156 Comments

Step away for a minute and the world goes to shit

Posted on March 15, 2020 by grim

Seems I picked a fine time to stop blogging. Markets in turmoil, global pandemic, potential real estate catastrophe looming. Couple of folks reached out to me over the past few days about opening the blog back up again. Totally get … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Unrest | 227 Comments