http://www.branchblog.com Real estate trends, community events and other stuff happening in Branchburg. Thu, 29 May 2008 15:58:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here's an interesting tidbit from Realtor Chris Fountain, of Greenwich, CT.  Up until last week, he also wrote a real estate column in the local Greenwich paper.  Seems as though some of that paper's real estate advertisers didn't cotton to his rather honest assessments of the difficult local market, so they ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/05/29/and-i-thought-people-were-gunning-for-me/ The following table contains closed residential real estate transactions in Branchburg for the first calendar quarter of 2008 (January 1 to March 31). 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 ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/05/09/january-march-2008-branchburg-closed-sales-stats/ Sorry for the scarcity of recent posts; I’ve been busy with a couple of charitable projects that should be finishing up later in May. Until then, I’ll try to excerpt the best of the real estate and financial press coverage of the accelerating decline in housing and mortgages. Following is ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/04/29/dont-take-my-word-for-it/ The following is not an endorsement of any party or specific Presidential candidate. Still, it's nice to see some candidate make a statement on the current housing mess that at least mentions basic personal and corporate responsibility. This issue has been- and will be- demagogued to death in the coming ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/03/26/common-sense-is-an-uncommon-thing/ From The Home News Tribune, Sunday, March 2. Talk about “voting with your feet”: JAMES W. HUGHES and JOSEPH J. SENECA Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, often scrutinized obscure data sources for insightful clues on the state of the U.S. economy. Translating this approach to New Jersey, ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/03/04/a-one-way-ticket-out-of-nj-on-the-penske-express/ The Kool-Aid Brigade wants you to know that prices have stabilized. They may have...but not in this universe. Check out the handful of truly scary graphs (courtesy of James Bednar, at the excellent NJ Real Estate Report) at this permalink (you may need to copy & paste in your address ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/02/06/prices-stabilized-look-at-this/ NAR, TMac and the Kool-Aid Brigade have sounded the "all clear".  "Prices have stabilized, mortgage rates are low...it's a great time to buy" is the mantra.  Too bad that all the mortgage lenders are bleeding out and would rather hold on to their cash than lend it: From The Wall Street ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/02/05/dont-remove-those-tinfoil-hats/ Nice of these guys to finally figure it out. Of course, they didn't come to this realization until they had almost bled themselves dry of cash. Better to learn late than never:From Market Watch, January 30, 2008:Executives at Centex Corp. Wednesday said the builder is lowering home prices ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/01/30/centex-has-got-religion/ Wonder how The King of Real Estate would spin this.  Even the hopeful statistic of December's inventory being 16% lower than in August is erroneous; inventory always declines from Labor Day through New Year's, and the 16% drop in 2007 is exactly the same percentage drop as in 2006!  From ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/01/26/2007-market-wrap-up/ Nice to start the New Year with some sunshiny optimism, courtesy of our local King of Real Estate:"Going into 2008 mine may not be the only optimistic voice you hear, the majority opinion is that we have passed the worst of it. The National Association of Realtors is predicting a ... http://www.branchblog.com/archives/2008/01/03/huh/