From the category archives:

Economics

Why low interest rates have lost their impact on buyers

by Honeycrisp July 25, 2010

With all the talk of continued low interest rates, we’re asking the question: have low interest rates lost their impact on the housing market? Certainly in the first half of this year, even beginning in Q4 of last year, the name of the game was the low cost of financing.  At that time, everyone was [...]

Read the full article →

How low can interest rates go?

by Red Delicious June 28, 2010

Wherever you turn, you can’t help but hear that mortgage rates are at historical lows. Rates for 15- and 30-year loans are hovering around 4.4% and 4.9%, respectively.  At first, it was the Fed working to keep rates low via Mortgage Backed Securities purchases.  More recently, the Greek and then the broader European debt crisis [...]

Read the full article →

“The best time in our generation to buy” … ???

by Red Delicious May 25, 2010

So notes Moody’s chief economist, Mark Zandi.  More accurately put, the coming weeks or months may well offer lowest cost of financing the purchase of a home in close to 50 years.
For some time now, we have been noting that interest rates have a high probability of increasing due to many factors including the [...]

Read the full article →

My Big Fat Greek Crisis: what European troubles may mean for the NYC housing market

by Honeycrisp May 12, 2010

We couldn’t help but be hypnotized Thursday by the almost 1,000 point market drop, and whiplashed by its subsequent jump within 15 minutes.  The Greek situation is now believed to be far more than a liquidity crisis but rather an issue of solvency, and one that is not likely to be contained regardless of any short-term [...]

Read the full article →

When the housing stimulus fades away …

by Red Delicious March 26, 2010

One of the biggest near-term questions facing this housing market is what will happen when the current stimulus helping to add some stability in this market goes away. Two of these components are government-driven, with the last being more market driven. Together, they have the opportunity to influence the demand, cost and confidence [...]

Read the full article →

“A very strong recovery to mediocrity”

by Honeycrisp March 24, 2010

We recently attended the NAI Global Conference in NYC, and wanted to provide a few insights we took away from the keynote speaker:  Dr. Linneman, Chief Economist of NAI Global, Principal of Linneman Associates, and Real Estate professor at our alma mater, the Wharton School.  The following is a close paraphrasing of his thoughts.
A typical [...]

Read the full article →

How relevant is the Case-Shiller Index to Manhattan and NYC?

by Honeycrisp March 23, 2010

You’ve probably heard the words “Case-Shiller” mentioned hundreds of times by now … it’s not surprising.  The Case-Shiller Index (CSI) is now touted as one of the most respected and reliable means of tracking the health of the housing market.  Headlines are littered with references to this magical index, so we thought we would take [...]

Read the full article →

Reading Housing Data 101: Quarterly vs Annual Comparisons

by Honeycrisp March 7, 2010

We are continuing our 5 part series, Reading Housing Data 101, to help you better understand quoted housing statistics and avoid taking others’ conclusions at face value. We dealt with the distinction between local vs. national data, and seasonality, now let’s tackle the difference between quarterly and annual comparisons.
Quarterly or annual?
Please try to avoid placing [...]

Read the full article →

What will happen to interest rates when the Fed stops its MBS purchases in March?

by Honeycrisp February 22, 2010

As we count down to the end of March, many are eagerly waiting to see the market reaction to the Fed ceasing its purchases of $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities. Most believe it inevitable that rates have nowhere to go but up … it’s just a matter of when and the degree of influence that [...]

Read the full article →

Reading Housing Data 101: Seasonality

by Red Delicious February 21, 2010

We are continuing our 5 part series, Reading Housing Data 101, to help you better understand quoted housing statistics and avoid taking others’ conclusions at face value. We dealt with the distinction between local vs. national data, now let’s tackle the aspect of seasonality.
Seasonality
The real estate industry ebbs and flows in a similar pattern according [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries