NJ Schools – Worth Every Penny!

Posted on June 11, 2012 by grim

From the Daily Journal:

N.J. high school more expensive than Harvard

Kevin Kusion’s journey through high school was normal in almost every way, except for what taxpayers spent to educate him.

The cost for his last year of high school: $112,000 — more than double the tuition for Harvard’s medical school.

This small seaside resort town paid about $4.4 million to send 40 of its students to the Central Regional Intermediate and High schools this year.

That’s $112,000 per student, nearly 10 times the state average.

It is an expense borough leaders and residents see as excessive, but one they are locked into — at least for now, because of the state’s antiquated property tax system and school funding laws.
…
Seaside Park is one of several small municipalities in New Jersey that have what regional school districts want — high property values to tax — and few students.

If Seaside Park could pay tuition and send its students to the intermediate and high schools in the nearby Toms River Regional district, it would cost around $10,000 a year, or a total of about $400,000 — a tenth of what residents pay now through taxes.
…
“We could send our kids to Princeton in a limo and still save money,” said David Meyer, Seaside Park taxpayer and parent, noting the Ivy League university’s annual tuition is about $38,000.

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 228 Comments

North Jersey Contracts – May 2012

Posted on June 8, 2012 by grim

(Source GSMLS, except Bergen which is NJMLS)

Pending Home Sales (Contracts)
——————————-

Bergen County
May 2011 – 734
May 2012 – 877 (Up 19.5% YOY)

Essex County
May 2011 – 356
May 2012 – 470 (Up 32.0% YOY)

Hunterdon County
May 2011 – 109
May 2012 – 125 (Up 14.7% YOY)

Morris County
May 2011 – 441
May 2012 – 519 (Up 17.7% YOY)

Passaic County
May 2011 – 183
May 2012 – 297 (Up 62.3% YOY)

Somerset County
May 2011 – 269
May 2012 – 366 (Up 19.4% YOY)

Sussex County
May 2011 – 102
May 2012 – 181 (Up 77.5% YOY)

Union County
May 2011 – 351
May 2012 – 383 (Up 9.1% YOY)

Warren County
May 2011 – 78
May 2012 – 106 (Up 35.9% YOY)

Posted in Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 203 Comments

June Beige Book

Posted on June 6, 2012 by grim

From the Fed:

Beige Book – June 6, 2012

Second District–New York

The Second District’s economy has continued to expand at a moderate pace since the last report. Labor market conditions have generally improved, and, on balance, contacts indicate they plan to add workers in the months ahead. Business contacts in a number of industries note a slowing pace of cost increases and mostly stable selling prices. Manufacturers report a pickup in business conditions. Tourism activity has been strong since the last report, while retailers and auto dealers indicate steady sales activity in April and May. Home sales activity has continued to increase gradually since the last report, though prices have generally been steady to somewhat lower. Rental markets remain strong, with rents rising due to tight inventory levels. New York City’s commercial real estate market has tightened slightly. Finally, bankers report widespread increases in loan demand, no change in credit standards, and continued broad-based declines in delinquency rates.

Construction and Real Estate

Housing markets across much of the District have been mixed but, on balance, stable since the last report, while rental markets have continued to firm. The volume of apartment sales in New York City has been generally steady, with brisk activity at the top and bottom segments of the market but activity in the middle described as quiet. Home sales in northern New Jersey have continued to improve from a low level, but mainly due to a pickup in sales of distressed properties. Home prices in and around New York City are characterized as steady to declining slightly, in part because more distressed properties are coming to market. By contrast, real estate contacts in Western New York report robust sales activity and rising prices in recent months. Apartment rental markets in both New York City and northern New Jersey continue to firm, with tight inventories and rents continuing to rise. A major New York City appraisal firm notes that rising rents in the City continue to make buying more attractive, and credits this trend for the recent uptick in sales in the lower third of the market. Conditions in the outer boroughs have been somewhat softer than in Manhattan.

Posted in Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 133 Comments

8 house price indexes, no clear direction

Posted on June 5, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ:

Home-Price Scorecard: A Turning Market, But Which Way? (click for graphic)

Our latest price scorecard raises the question of whether a real or false spring is under way.

The March numbers, which show the percentage change in prices compared with March 2011, offer a rare “thumbs up” from an index: one from the Federal Housing Finance Agency following home purchases involving loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. An earlier Developments post explored how foreclosures might play less of a role in this index, but its upbeat result isn’t as much of an outlier as it might seem here.

Other indexes reported less-severe price drops, and the monthly changes from February to March looked better still. Zillow’s index, which measures home values and not just individual sales prices, reported a rise of 0.5% from February to March, the biggest on a monthly basis since May 2006, and another uptick from March to April. It’s worth remembering that these indexes often capture earlier activity, so prices could be stronger today than they seem.

Still, it’s hard to envision a recovery for the housing market while the jobs market is still ailing, and some say the housing market itself remains too troubled to bottom out. “In light of the oversupply we continue to see in the market, we disagree with the widespread view that home prices have reached a bottom or will do so in the near future,” Michael Feder, chief executive of data-provider Radar Logic, said when the firm released its market report last week. A change of mood in response to gloomy economic news could undermine housing demand, he said.

Radar Logic says the main concern is the “supply overhang” of homes “on the market, on their way to market or poised to enter the market the moment prices start to increase.” Housing prices won’t see a sustained recovery, the firm says, until the inventories of distressed homes are worked through the market. Absorbing this overhang, could take years at the current rate of sales.

The mild winter might have sent buyers out earlier in the season this year, shifting activity up from the usual selling season—and meaning the year-over-year comparisons that overstate the health of the housing market.

In the short-term, brokers and buyers are often talking about just the opposite problem: that there are too few quality listings, and the competition for the available homes is heating up.

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 290 Comments

No Borrower Left Behind

Posted on June 4, 2012 by grim

From American Banker:

HARP Refis Skyrocket in 1Q

HARP 2.0, the expanded GSE refinancing program unveiled late last year, kicked into full speed during the first quarter with volumes doubling to 180,000 units compared to the prior period.

The program is geared to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortgagors with LTVs north of 80% who are having difficulty refinancing because of a lack of home equity.

In March alone, servicers completed 80,000 refinancings of Fannie/Freddie loans under the expanded Home Affordable Refinancing Program. The key to the program’s success: totally removing the LTV cap, allowing for loans with LTVs north of 125% to refinance.

A Federal Housing Finance Agency report released Friday shows that 4,400 borrowers with loan-to-value ratios above 125% were refinanced in the first quarter, including 2,900 in March alone.

The HARP charges approved by the FHFA and implemented by Fannie and Freddie during the winter have also boosted refis of GSE loans with LTVs greater than 105% and up to 125%.

Refinancings of loans in the 105%-125% bracket jumped from 13,100 in the fourth quarter to 36,850 in the first quarter. In March 18,700 loans in that bracket were refinanced.

The FHFA attributed the refi surge to the unbridled LTV caps, and the elimination or reduction of certain loan fees.

From HousingWire:

HARP nearly doubles refinanced mortgages in first quarter

HARP launched in April 2009 to allow more borrowers who owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth to refinance. But few severely underwater borrowers could take advantage of historically low rates. The FHFA expanded the program last fall to remove the loan-to-value ceiling of 125% — the so-called HARP 2.0 — and to reduce upfront fees and eliminate repurchase risk if the original servicer on the loan completes the workout.

With the surge in the first quarter, total HARP refinancing now totals more than 1.2 million loans.

And more severely underwater borrowers are finally being included.
…
More than 4,400 borrowers with LTVs above 125% refinanced through HARP in the first quarter. More than half of them were located in California, Florida and Arizona, states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Borrowers in the 105% to 125% range were often shut out as well, but that changed under the expanded program as well. In the first quarter, nearly 37,000 of these underwater borrowers refinanced, nearly triple the 13,000 in the previous quarter.

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 121 Comments

How low can it go?

Posted on June 2, 2012 by grim

From CNN/Money:

Mortgage rates keep plunging: 15-year dips below 3%

Mortgage rates continued to plunge to new lows this week, with interest rates on the 15-year fixed rate mortgage dipping below 3% for the first time on record.

The 30-year fixed mortgage, the most popular mortgage product, fell by 0.03 percentage points to 3.75%, setting yet another record for the fifth week in a row, according to a weekly survey by Freddie Mac. Last year, 30-year loans averaged 4.55%. The new low can save borrowers about $47 a month for every $100,000 borrowed. Over a 30-year term, that comes to $16,756.

Rates on the 15-year fixed mortgage, which is popular among those looking to refinance, fell to 2.97% — the first time it has dropped below 3% since Freddie Mac began tracking the weekly data. Down from 3.74% a year ago, the new 15-year rate would lower borrowing costs to $689 a month for every $100,000 borrowed, a $37 savings compared to last year.

The continued slide in mortgage rates is, in part, due to ongoing economic turmoil in Europe, according to Freddie Mac’s chief economist, Frank Nothaft.

“Market concerns over tensions in the Eurozone led to a decline in long-term Treasury bond yields helping to bring fixed mortgage rates to new record lows this week,” he said.

Rates are almost half what they were at the peak of the housing bubble in mid-2006. At the time, the average interest rate was about 6.75% for a 30-year loan.

Posted in Economics, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 216 Comments

And so it begins…

Posted on June 1, 2012 by grim

Hat tip PGC

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, North Jersey Real Estate | 294 Comments

Pending home sales disappoint, but still up strongly over last year

Posted on May 31, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ:

Behind the Numbers: Pending Sales Drop

The number of U.S. home buyers who signed contracts to buy existing homes unexpectedly fell in April to the lowest level in four months. The news is a setback for the residential market, but not enough to raise alarms that the nascent housing recovery is stalling.

The National Association of Realtors, the sector’s main trade group, said Wednesday its seasonally adjusted index for pending sales of existing homes decreased 5.5% on a monthly basis to 95.5, the weakest showing since December. The results, however, were 14.4% above the same month a year earlier.

“Home contract activity has been above year-ago levels now for 12 consecutive months,” Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ ever-optimistic chief economist, said in the report. “The housing recovery momentum continues.”

Pending sales fell in three out four U.S. regions in April compared with a month earlier. They tumbled 12% in the West, 6.8% in the South and 0.3% in the Midwest. They inched up 0.9% in the Northeast.
…
Despite the decline, recent data show the housing market is starting to get back on track after a collapse in prices that began nearly six years ago, though the market remains under severe distress in some parts of the country. (Today, we detail how Atlanta remains in pain.)

Here’s what industry watchers had to say:

Peter Newland, economist, Barclays Research: “This likely reflects payback following three months of solid gains, in particular the 3.8% jump in March.”

Stephen East, builder analyst, ISI Homebuilding Research: “We believe shrinking inventory is responsible in large part for weakness in today’s … metric. Conversely, lower existing inventories are a positive for new home sales.”

Dan Oppenheim, builder analyst, Credit Suisse: “We think the tight supply of distress in some key markets is holding back sales (the West fell a sharp 12% and the South fell 6.8%, both of which have many foreclosure-heavy markets).”

From Bloomberg:

Pending Sales of U.S. Homes Decrease by Most in a Year

The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes fell in April by the most in a year, indicating the U.S. housing recovery remains uneven.

The index of pending home resales dropped 5.5 percent following a revised 3.8 percent gain the prior month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 42 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for no change in the measure.
…
“The pattern of demand is sluggish and volatile,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, a U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York, who projected a decline. “Until the supply issue is resolved, we could see further declines in prices and the housing market will continue to hover around the bottom. It’ll be a gradual improvement, we don’t expect anything stronger than that.”
…
Three of four regions saw a decrease, today’s report showed. That included a 12 percent slump in the West and a 6.8 percent decline in the South. Pending purchases rose in the Northeast.

Compared with a year earlier, the index climbed 14.7 percent after a 10.5 percent gain in the prior 12-month period.

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 199 Comments

When will Case Shiller turn positive?

Posted on May 30, 2012 by grim

From the WSJ:

Behind the Numbers: Does Case-Shiller Show a Market Bottoming Out?

Tuesday’s S&P/Case-Shiller home-price indexes show a market in which U.S. home prices are still falling, but not as dramatically as in previous months. This is good news for homeowners and home sellers since it indicates that the market is bottoming out. It’s also a sign that the housing downturn, now in its fifth year, may be approaching the end.

Nationally, the average sale price of a single-family home fell 1.9% from a year ago, which economists are calling effectively flat. Some markets, including Phoenix, showed major growth in prices, while five of them — Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Portland — fell to new post-financial crisis lows.

Analysts took the news that the Case-Shiller indices, which trail the market by three months, are finally coming around to the fact that the market, generally speaking, is at or near bottom. They remain divided, however, on whether we are likely to see continued improvement in the short term. Here’s what some of them have to say:

Stuart Hoffman, chief economist, PNC Financial Services Group: “The housing market is turning around. The big decline in house prices is now over, although prices could see small drops in the near term as more foreclosures hit the market following the agreement earlier this year between the big mortgage servicers, state attorneys general and the Obama administration. Better fundamentals are supporting the improving housing market. Affordability is very high given the price drops and extremely low mortgage rates. Although credit is still tight, it is loosening somewhat. Demand is strengthening with the better labor market and improving consumer confidence.”

Patrick Newport and Michelle Valverde, U.S. economists, IHS Global Insight: “Are home prices still looking for a bottom, as the Case-Shiller 10 and 20-city composite indices imply, or are they stabilizing, as the Federal Housing Finance Agency numbers indicate? It depends in where you are. Housing prices are still mainly driven by local forces such as job growth and the neighborhood foreclosure rate. Still, in most cities, home prices appear to be stabilizing…Our view is that foreclosures, excess supply, and weak demand will drive home prices as measured by the Case-Shiller indices down a bit further, but that a bottom is in sight.”
…
Tom Lawler, independent housing analyst: “As I’ve done before, in discussing the seasonally adjusted data I put ‘seasonally’ in quotes, as there have substantial changes in the purported ‘seasonal’ pattern of home prices since the housing market cratered. The reason, of course, is that there is a marked ‘seasonal’ in the distressed-sales share of home sales, which peaks in the late winter months and hits a trough in the summer months. Not coincidentally, the ‘shift’ in the ‘seasonal’ pattern of home prices has been one where home prices are ‘seasonally’ much weaker than they used to be in late winter, and ‘seasonally’ much stronger than they used to be in the summer.” Taking this into account, Mr. Lawler writes that there is a “better-than-even chance” that the Case-Shiller numbers will show an increase next quarter.

From Forbes:

Housing Double-Dip Worsens As Prices Fall To New Lows; Recovery Nears

The feared double-dip in housing markets continues to grow deeper, with the Case-Shiller indexes hitting new post-crisis lows, reversing back to levels not seen since mid-2002. The rate of decline appears to be slowing, though, leading to some “cautious optimism” by economists that believe prices have found, or are close to finding, a floor. Analysts at Nomura expect home prices to turn positive by the end of the year, despite the recovery’s loss of momentum and possible spill-over effects from Europe.

All three of S&P/Case-Shiller’s main composites fell to new post-crisis lows in the first quarter, a report released on Tuesday showed. The national composite slid 2% during the first three months of 2012, and is down 1.9% year-over-year. The narrower 10-city composite is now down 2.8% annually, while the 20-city recorded similar declines, down 2.6% from a year ago.

Both composites are about 35% off their 2006 peaks, while five cities (Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, and Portland) made fresh index lows in March. The tide could be beginning to turn, though, as the rate of decline has eased compared with the nine cities that hit fresh lows a month earlier. Only three cities, Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit, recorded annual declines.

On the flip side, seven cities (Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, and Phoenix) recorded prices above year-ago levels.

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 166 Comments

Hey Christie – Where are the jobs?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by grim

From the Record:

NJ job rebound trails its neighbors

New Jersey will trail neighboring states in the time it takes to recover the jobs lost since the recession, a study released by global economic research company IHS says.

The study concludes that it will take New Jersey until 2014-15 to return to the pre-recession peak of January 2008. Most other Northeastern states will recover them by 2012-13, except Connecticut — 2016-17 — and Rhode Island, which will not see full recovery until at least 2017, says IHS, of Englewood, Colo.

Four states — Alaska, North Dakota, Texas and Louisiana — have already recovered their jobs, mainly due to the energy boom. And New York is within one percent of recovering its lost jobs, the study says.

The research firm predicts that nearly half the 50 states will regain their lost jobs by 2013, earlier than New Jersey. The Garden State lost about 250,000 jobs during the recession, and is still about 177,000 off its pre-recession peak.

Jim Diffley, chief regional economist, said one reason for New Jersey’s struggling performance is the weakness of the pharmaceutical industry.

Another is the still “sluggish” housing market, he said.

“The real estate bubble in New Jersey is still not resolved yet,” he said.

Posted in Economics, Employment, New Jersey Real Estate | 158 Comments

Corzine Comp Killer

Posted on May 26, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg:

Corzine’s Hoboken Penthouse Sells at a 14% Loss for $2.8 Million

A Hoboken, New Jersey, penthouse belonging to Jon Corzine, the former chairman of bankrupt MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MFGLQ), sold for $2.8 million, 14 percent less than what he paid for it in 2008.

The buyer of the 2,400-square-foot (223-square-meter), two- bedroom apartment is listed as POJ Holdings LLC, which paid in cash, according to Kevin Dowd, a broker with Prudential Castle Point Realty in Hoboken, citing the multiple listing service. Dowd wasn’t involved in the deal, which was completed on May 7.

Corzine, a former governor of New Jersey and co-chairman of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), bought the apartment in November 2008 for $3.26 million, according to property records. He sought $2.9 million when he put it on the market in January. The penthouse, in Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL)’s Maxwell Place complex, has has floor-to- ceiling windows with views of the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline, according to the listing by Jessica O’Connor Williams, a broker with Prime Real Estate Group in Hoboken.

“At the time that Corzine purchased the property it was clearly the No. 1 luxury property in Hoboken,” Dowd said. “Top floor, direct, smack-you-in-the-face views of the city. You really can’t beat that.”

The apartment, which includes Viking kitchen appliances and a Jacuzzi in the master bathroom, has a $1,700 monthly maintenance fee. Property taxes in 2011 were $38,003, according to the listing. That bill made Corzine one of Hoboken’s top 10 taxpayers, Dowd said.

Posted in Comp Killer, New Jersey Real Estate | 117 Comments

Toll kills it on the Gold Coast

Posted on May 25, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg:

Hoboken Homes Gone in 60 Minutes Signal Recovery

For the latest sign of a U.S. housing rebound, Toll Brothers Inc. Chief Executive Officer Douglas Yearley points to Hoboken, New Jersey: A couple torn between two condos last month at the sales office for its Hudson Tea complex decided to think about it over lunch. When they returned an hour later, both units were gone.

“People feel like now is the time to buy and they aren’t isolated to one building in Hoboken,” Yearley said in a May 23 conference call with analysts after the Horsham, Pennsylvania- based luxury homebuilder reported that quarterly orders for new homes surged 47 percent. “Confidence is up. The interest rates are there and they’ve been waiting so long to move on with their lives that they came out this spring.”
…
While demand for existing homes has been on the rise in recent months, the improvement in new home sales signals that the growing appetite for residential real estate goes beyond foreclosures and other distressed sales targeted by investors. Traditional homebuyers, including those who have to sell another property to upgrade, are coming off the fence, Stan Humphries, Zillow Inc.’s chief economist said.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans fell to 3.78 percent in the week ended yesterday, the lowest in Freddie Mac records dating back to 1971. The Federal Reserve has pledged to hold interest rates near zero through the end of 2014 and has bought home-loan bonds to lower borrowing costs.

Rates for 30-year jumbo mortgages fell to 4.38 percent yesterday from 5.11 percent a year ago, according to data from Bankrate.com.

In Hoboken, Toll Brothers increased prices six times since it began selling apartments last spring in the 157-unit 1450 Washington at Hudson Tea, where prices now range from $450,000 to $1 million, said Todd Dumaresq, marketing manager for Toll’s City Living division. The company has sold 108 units in the building and is now selling about 12 homes a month, he said.

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, New Jersey Real Estate | 182 Comments

FHFA: Home prices up in March

Posted on May 24, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg:

Home Prices Rose Most in Two Decades in March, FHFA Says

U.S. home prices jumped 1.8 percent in March, the biggest monthly increase in at least two decades, as the housing recovery builds momentum, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said today.

The rise from February exceeded all analysts’ estimates, which ranged from a decline of 0.2 percent to a gain of 0.7 percent. Compared with a year earlier, prices surged 2.7 percent, the FHFA said in a statement.

Record-low mortgage rates, job gains and a dwindling inventory of properties available for sale have combined to strengthen demand for homes. Purchases of previously owned U.S. houses climbed 3.4 percent in April to a 4.62 million annual rate, the first increase in three months, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday.

“Increased affordability and a somewhat smaller inventory of homes for sale are positively impacting house prices,” Andrew Leventis, principal economist with the FHFA in Washington, said in the statement.

The FHFA report measures changes in real estate values using purchases of properties with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae (FNMA) or Freddie Mac. (FMCC) It doesn’t provide a specific price for homes. The monthly increase was the largest in records going back to 1991, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The average estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 0.3 percent monthly gain.
…
“Prices are hitting a bottom,” Patrick Newport, an economist for IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said yesterday in a telephone interview. “It’s good news because it means that consumer wealth that comes from a home is no longer dropping.”

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 160 Comments

April home sales make positive gains (but ignore the price data)

Posted on May 22, 2012 by grim

From Bloomberg:

Sales of Existing Homes in U.S. Rise as Market Stabilizes

Sales of existing U.S. homes rose in April, driven by broad-based gains in demand that signal the market is stabilizing.

Purchases, tabulated when a contract closes, increased 3.4 percent to a 4.62 million annual rate, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median price jumped by the most in six years.
…
“We are making incremental progress,” said Millan Mulraine, a senior U.S. strategist at TD Securities Inc. in New York, who correctly forecast the sales pace. “People are becoming more confident about job prospects and about taking on mortgages. This is all positive for the economy.”
…
The April sales pace was in line with the 4.61 million median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates of the 73 economists ranged from 4.47 million to 4.8 million. The prior month’s pace was revised to 4.47 million, from a previously reported 4.48 million. April’s total was just shy of the 4.63 million reached in January that was the highest in almost two years.
…
The median price of an existing home climbed 10 percent to $177,400 from $161,100 in April 2011, today’s report showed. It was the biggest year-to-year gain since January 2006 and reflected a seasonal mix in demand toward bigger houses and fewer distressed sales, Yun said.

Families return to the market at this time before the start of a new school year, pushing up demand, he said. Cash transactions, distressed properties and investors accounted for a smaller share of all purchases last month, he said.

Purchases improved in all four regions, led by a 5.1 percent gain in the Northeast.

From CNBC:

Huge Spike in Home Prices Is Not Real

The median price of an existing home that sold in April of this year was $177,400, an increase of just over ten percent from a year ago. That is the biggest price jump since January of 2006. The difference between now and then, though, is the 2006 price jump was real, this latest spike is not.
…
The share of home sales in the $0-250,000 price range made up over 73 percent of all sales in February; that has already dropped to 67 percent in April.

If you look at sales by price category, you see the most startling evidence of this shift in what’s selling on the low end out west. Sales of homes $0-100,000 dropped over 26 percent out west in April, but rose 21 percent in the $250-500,000 price range. The national numbers tell the same story.
…
So what does this say about where we really are in terms of home prices nationally? The Realtors still expect overall home prices to rise just 2-3 percent in 2012, which is one of the more bullish predictions. If the banks start releasing more properties onto the market or push more delinquent loans to foreclosure, overall home prices will come down again.

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, National Real Estate | 119 Comments

The perks of campaign contribution

Posted on May 22, 2012 by grim

I’d be more surprised if this wasn’t going on everywhere. Will they be charging the contributors as well? Probably not, I’m sure they had no idea this was going on. Time for an investigation in NJ?

From Bloomberg:

L.A. Appraiser Accused of Cutting Home Values $172 Million

A former Los Angeles appraiser was charged with lowering the property values of wealthy home and business owners by $172 million in return for campaign contributions to County Assessor John Noguez.

Scott Schenter, 49, was arrested today in Beaverton, Oregon, and is being held on $1.5 million bail, Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a statement. The arrest is part of an investigation into allegations that Noguez cut property values of wealthy clients of a tax consultant and campaign contributor, Cooley said.

“The magnitude of Schenter’s suspected betrayal of public trust is almost inconceivable,” Cooley said. “We believe his actions are not isolated.”

Schenter, who was an appraiser from 1988 to early last year, is accused of lowering the values of multimillion-dollar homes and businesses in Beverly Hills, Brentwood and Pacific Palisades. The unauthorized reductions were discovered by a supervisor in January of last year, according to the prosecutor.

The former appraiser faces 30 counts of falsifying accounts and 30 counts of falsifying records. If convicted, he faces as long as 33 years in state prison, Cooley said.

Posted in National Real Estate, Politics, Property Taxes | 134 Comments