From the category archives:

Economics

November survey results: Despite downturn, survey shows sellers are sitting pretty

by Honeycrisp December 13, 2010

As you know, we recently launched a periodic survey of potential buyers and sellers, to shed light on the ever-elusive thoughts of the other side, how they feel about the economy, the housing market, and their own personal buy / sell decisions. We figured there are enough backward-looking, lagging statistics to consider, but too few [...]

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Let the New Year Predictions Begin: the return of the first time home buyer

by Mitchel Askinas December 7, 2010

With winter fast approaching and the holiday season knocking on our door, it may seem premature to look beyond the first quarter of next year as we speak about NY real estate.    Yet I couldn’t help putting pen to paper as I let my thoughts wander to next year and what it might bring. The [...]

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Stuck on stocks: why the stock market should not dictate your purchase decision

by Red Delicious October 11, 2010

It doesn’t take a financial expert to take a quick look at the stock market and deduce that investors are on edge.  One economic report can create a 200+ point rally only to be eliminated two days later by a sour employment outlook by a noted economist.  The markets are clearly trying to find their [...]

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Bull vs. Bear: the NYC Real Estate Market, Fall 2010 … which camp are you in?

by Honeycrisp September 29, 2010

With the Fall sales season upon us, arguments around where the market is heading are heating up, awakening bulls and bears on both sides out of their summer slumber. Here is a brief overview of what we’re hearing from each: Bullish perspective: The worst of the housing downturn is clearly behind us, with clear signs [...]

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The purchasing power of today’s interest rates

by Honeycrisp September 22, 2010

Yes, interest rates are at historical lows … again.  And buyers are hearing talk of them having nowhere to go but up … again.  But seriously, now: we can’t foresee them going much lower (ergo the calls on Wall Street that the bond rally may be coming to an end), and apparently other sources would [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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“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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 levers driving [...]

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