Archive for July, 2007

Has the Tipping Point Been Reached?

by chughes — published on July 12th, 2007

From the NY Post:

HEDGE HORROR
SUBPRIME MELTDOWN COULD WIPE OUT BILLION$

As home foreclosures ricochet through Main Street in rising junk mortgage meltdowns, Wall Street is facing a separate barrage that could swamp its first rich victims - hedge funds for the wealthy.

The financial industry yesterday got more unhinged following a shake-up a day earlier when two credit-rating agencies stripped away the fragile masks of shaky mortgage securities, exposing their worthless sides.

The stunning formal disclosures, which eventually could affect as much as $2 trillion in various mortgage securities, is expected to trigger widespread revaluation of the paper, which some analysts believe could wipe out 40 to 50 percent of their values.

For hedge funds, it would mean having to cover losses by giving back money to clients, even if it means selling off other good assets at a discount to raise money.

“The hedge funds are so over-leveraged, they’ll be the first to crack,” said Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital.

Even Wall Street banks such as Merrill Lynch are vulnerable, with analysts saying the crisis could wipe out $132 million, 1.6 percent, of its profits this year.
…
Alarms also were sounded yesterday for the nation’s banks when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. chief said it is looking “very carefully” at how many banks are holding junk mortgage paper, particularly a tainted and repackaged version of the risky junk bonds, known as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs.)
…
“Its going to get worse before it gets better. How much worse, I don’t know,” Bair said.

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categories: Real Estate

May-June, 2007 Branchburg Closed Sales Stats

by chughes — published on July 11th, 2007

The following table contains closed residential real estate transactions in Branchburg for May-June, 2007. However, unlike the inaccurate information promulgated by most agents and media sources, the “DOM” (Days on Market) column indicates the sum of days-on-market accrued through serial listings of the same home (it is a common agent “trick” to withdraw and re-list a home, in order to create the public impression of a “fresh” home that has seen fewer days on market). In addition, the “OLP” (Original List Price) column reflects the list price of each home at the time it was first offered for sale.

Sales statistics posted at Branchblog will always be cross-checked to provide the most accurate and unbiased housing market snapshot possible.

Please direct specific inquiries to Chip Hughes at (908) 334-2329 or chip.hughes@att.net. Better yet, leave a comment!

All information is deemed accurate, but not guaranteed, and is provided courtesy of Garden State Multiple Listing System:

Address OLP Sale Price % of OLP DOM
1612 Breckenridge 249,800 236,000 94 155
1715 Breckenridge 269,000 236,000 88 257
812 Breckenridge 245,000 225,000 92 21
1708 Breckenridge 258,900 247,000 95 22
1218 Magnolia 290,000 267,000 92 331
637 Magnolia 304,900 270,000 89 140
1604 Breckenridge 289,900 273,450 94 92
46 Kingswood 289,900 282,500 97 26
820 Breckenridge 304,900 282,500 93 68
1620 Breckenridge 319,900 315,000 98 30
1106 Breckenridge 369,900 323,000 87 60
512 Whiton 429,900 335,000 78 277
2025 South Branch 349,000 345,000 99 16
65 Preston 415,000 335,000 81 249
60 Vollers 389,900 400,000 103 12
8 Blackfoot 389,900 383,900 98 17
24 Susquehanna 469,900 393,900 84 338
615 Whiton 435,000 380,000 87 251
19 Seneca 407,500 410,000 101 55
23 Delaware 419,900 402,000 96 139
23 Apache 414,900 414,900 100 6
4 Cheyenne 419,900 405,000 96 38
1 Mohawk 419,900 420,000 100 2
20 Cheyenne 425,000 425,000 100 23
94 No. Branch River Rd. 464,900 443,000 95 179
20 Susquehanna 439,900 410,000 93 20
40 Huyler 484,900 444,900 91 246
80 Susquehanna 492,500 439,000 89 233
6 Windy Willow 504,000 467,000 93 148
796 Old York 514,900 490,000 95 137
2 Mulberry 569,900 525,000 92 218
307 Summer 599,777 532,000 89 229
118 Brandon 669,900 570,000 85 183
55 Ariel 824,900 635,000 77 230
13 Oak Hill 749,000 654,500 87 277
69 Blue Grass 839,000 735,000 88 298
38 Throughbred 824,000 738,000 90 210
26 Covered Bridge 834,900 750,000 90 247
17 Fieldpointe 869,900 765,000 88 173
63 Blue Grass 849,900 810,000 95 69
500 Barton 1,100,000 835,000 76 150
414 Michael 1,149,000 1,075,000 94 200

AVERAGES: 145 Days-on-Market; SALE PRICE 92% of original list price.

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categories: Real Estate, Branchburg Monthly Sales Stats