From Bloomberg: Plunging Home Prices, Fleeing Companies: Austin’s Glow Is Fading Oracle Corp. is moving its headquarters out of the city. Tesla Inc. is pulling back after a rapid expansion. Almost a quarter of commercial office space is vacant, and nowhere in the country have residential real estate prices fallen further from their pandemic peak. Austin, the cosmic cowboy paradise that became a Covid-era economic superstar as it lured Elon Musk and a host of California refugees with its low taxes and sunny weather, had become accustomed to a steady drumbeat of good new ..read more

From the NY Post: Once the West Coast’s crown jewel, San Francisco’s real estate market is crashing San Francisco, once the crown jewel of the West Coast, is now teetering on the brink of collapse — and it seems like nobody is sounding the alarm.  The city’s housing market, in particular, has been hit hard over the past year, with prices plummeting and homeowners fleeing in droves. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon didn’t mince words when he compared San Francisco’s woes to those of New York City, calling the Bay Area “in far worse shape.” “I think every city, like every country, should be t ..read more

From Zillow: Zillow Home Value and Home Sales Forecast (March 2024) Zillow’s home value forecast calls for 1.9% growth over 2024 – slower than long-term norms but a welcome slowdown for first-time buyers compared to the rapid appreciation seen over the pandemic. This is an upward revision from last month’s outlook, which projected growth of 0.9%. With interest rates still elevated, the modest upward revision is mostly the result of a slowdown in the growth of new for-sale listings. After rising at an annual pace of 21% in February, the year-over-year increase in new listings eased in March to ..read more

From the Star Ledger: Homes in New Jersey sold the fastest in the nation. As the weather heats up so is New Jersey housing market, according to the latest data. Homes in New Jersey sold within a median of 36 days in March – three days faster than they sold in February. New Jersey tied with Maryland for second fastest selling homes in the nation, and Massachusetts was the only state that had homes that sold faster than in the Garden State. Homes selling faster could be because of two things: the season and low inventory, according to real estate experts. “It shows that properties are moving fas ..read more

From CNBC: March homes sales dropped despite a surge in supply. Here’s why. Sales of previously owned homes dropped 4.3% in March compared with February, to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.19 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 3.7% lower than in March 2023. This came after a big jump in sales in February. Rising mortgage rates are likely the cause of the slowdown. This sales count is based on closings from contracts likely signed in January and February. Mortgage rates stayed lower in January, in the mid 6% range on the popular 30-year fixed ..read more

From the Real Deal: Mortgage applications jump as buyers worry about rising rates Mortgage activity increased anyways, suggesting homebuyers and homeowners are concerned rates aren’t done rising. Applications for mortgage purchases and refinancings rose 3.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior period for the week ending on Apr. 12, according to the weekly Mortgage Bankers Association survey. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased too, from 7.01 percent to 7.13 percent. Purchase-loan applications increased 5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from ..read more

Hat Tip Chi – From the WSJ: Boomers Bought Up the Big Homes. Now They’re Not Budging. Baby boomers bought up many of the big homes across the U.S. when they were raising their families. Now they’re staying put, even though their kids are all grown up.  Boomers are on top in a housing market where tight inventory, higher interest rates and steep prices are making homeownership less affordable for the average family. Many of these older homeowners paid off their mortgages on properties that have appreciated tremendously in value.  Some are happy with their big houses. Others would like ..read more

From Patch: Home Prices Jumped 10 Percent This Year In These NJ Counties Atlantic Average home value (Feb. 2024): $335,918 Percent change: 9.8 percent Bergen Average home value (Feb. 2024): $661,301 Percent change: 7.1 percent Burlington Average home value (Feb. 2024): $372,100 Percent change: 10.1 percent Camden Average home value (Feb. 2024): $308,033 Percent change: 11.6 percent Cape May Average home value (Feb. 2024): $685,882 Percent change: 4.8 percent Cumberland Average home value (Feb. 2024): $235,671 Percent change: 7.5 percent Essex Average home value (Feb. 2024): $581,3 ..read more

From the Record: The Great Falls are essential to Paterson’s economic and cultural future There aren’t many urban centers in America that have a waterfall a stone’s throw away from their downtown district. Well, part of Paterson’s point of difference is the Great Falls and the tremendous potential that the mighty cataract possesses. When Alexander Hamilton saw the Falls, he saw the future. Therefore, in honor of our city’s founding father we are harnessing his vision to spark a renaissance in Paterson. The rebirth of Hinchliffe Stadium was a significant step in our revitali ..read more

From Patch: NJ Town’s Real Estate Market Named One Of The Hottest In U.S.: Report Montclair is not only the hottest town in New Jersey for real estate, but the fourth hottest in the entire country, according to Realtor.com data first reported by NJ.com. So how exactly is “hot” defined in a real estate market? Realtor.com based its hotness rank on supply and demand data on its site — in other words, the unique views on property listings averaged along with the number of days the property has been listed, a representative told NJ.com.  Other New Jersey towns that made the top 10 are Ba ..read more