January 2010

Tweet Last week we reported that home sales had fallen nearly 17 percent in December – the worst decline in nearly 40 years. Why is that happening when the economy is supposed to be giving us “glimmers of hope,” turning around, beginning to recover, coming back and otherwise reminding us that things are getting better, [...]

Tweet Banks, which weathered tough times in 2008, have arguably faced the closest scrutiny on Capitol Hill since the Great Depression. All along, the Coachella Valley’s community banks closely watched their own state of affairs and the consumer psyche in an area ravaged by a high jobless rate and the housing downturn. Recently, four chief [...]

Tweet The number of new-housing permits issued statewide in 2009 did not even reach 12,000. The last year the tally was that low: 1945, when New Jersey was still mostly cow and corn country. Yet even in the face of these sobering numbers, several builders of multifamily projects have forged ahead – some actually building, [...]

Tweet The Super Bowl is a little more than a week away and in real estate circles, it’s not just about the big game but the kick-off to the spring home buying season. It’s a coin toss whether this year’s housing market will be appreciably different than last year; 2009′s sales were relatively flat compared [...]