Real estate trends, community events and other stuff happening in Branchburg.
Sometimes all the talk in the world leads us nowhere. Then, a statement of simple common sense reveals all. From Barry Ritholtz, Ritholtz Analytics, commenting in his blog, “The Big Pictureâ€, Friday, December 29, 2006:
I was chatting with the CEO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in the green room of Kudlow this week. …
More conflicting data; some good news, some not-so-good. From the AP:
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer 2 hours, 51 minutes ago WASHINGTON – Sales of existing homes managed to eke out a small increase in November but the price of homes sold fell for a record fourth consecutive month, a real estate trade group reported …
From The Associated Press:
Wednesday December 27, 10:14 AM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes rose in November while the backlog of unsold homes fell for a fourth straight month, providing hope that the serious slump in housing could be ending.
Sales of new single-family homes rose by 3.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted …
The following letter, from Dr. Julie Ann Juliano in Branchburg, tells the whole story. Please call me at (908) 334-2329 or chip.hughes@att.net if you would like more info, want to volunteer or wish to make a donation:
You are in a major auto accident and rushed to the hospital. You are having surgery. …
From the Wall St. Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB116597804852548551-lMyQjAxMDE2NjE1MzkxNzM4Wj.htmlÂ
By RUTH SIMON
December 13, 2006; Page D1
High home prices have helped drive many first-time buyers out of the housing market. Now, with prices falling in many areas, there are some signs that buyers are beginning to drift back.
The share of first-time home buyers dropped earlier this year to its lowest …
From Forbes:
Yes, But Bet The House
By a margin of almost 2-to-1, economists surveyed by WSJ.com last month judged that the worst of the residential real estate slump was history. House prices will soften in 2007, the sages predicted, but by only a little bit. In fact, 20 of the 49 respondents forecast a rise.
Ebenezer Scrooge …
The numbers:
January
Average Sales (2003-2005): 2000
2005 Sales: 2013
2006 Sales: 1705
(Down 15.3% Year Over Year)
February
Average Sales (2003-2005): 1583
2005 Sales: 1578
2006 Sales: 1395
(Down 11.6% Year Over Year)
March
Average Sales (2003-2005): 2193
2005 Sales: 2256
2006 Sales: 2033
(Down 9.9% Year Over Year)
April
Average Sales (2003-2005): 2322
2005 Sales: 2383
2006 Sales: 1817
(Down 23.8% Year Over Year)
May
Average Sales (2003-2005): 2615
2005 Sales: 2725
2006 Sales: 2298
(Down 15.7% Year …
There are so many crosscurrents in the market right now, it’s hard to get a good read on what the next move will be. On the one hand, inventory remains at high levels, sales velocity is down, prices have definitely come down and the local rate of withdrawn & expired listings is a gargantuan …