Archive for September, 2006

Newark’s Revitalization – Can it Happen?

Newark has been an enigma in the metro New York – New Jersey region. The city is located right next to the largest urban region in the country, has a major international airport at its door, and a state that would love to see it rejuvinated.
But it languishes. Race riots decimated the city in [...]

28Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Why Are Homes Getting Bigger, It May Be Because It Is Where You Work

One of the questions that comes often is why do we need so much more room in our homes? The answer that has been out there but not considered is that home is where the business is. Over half of the businesses in the United States are home based. So whether it is intellectual capital [...]

27Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Is the new song, “Where have all the brokers gone?”

That is the question posed by Dan Dorfman in the New York Sun today.
In effect, the end of the current real estate boom is also signaling the end of the seemingly nonstop national flight into the real estate brokerage business by those folks who figured such an entry was practically a guarantee of a lucrative [...]

27Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Moody’s Projects Housing Will Be A Losing Proposition Over The Next Decade

I am not certain that these numbers have any merit whatsoever, but I came across them at the MSN Real Estate site and figured I would put them up for discussion. The chart has the projected 10 year increase in property values for 15 major metropolitan markets. It was done by Moody’s Economy.com and I [...]

26Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 5 comments | Continued

Trump Starts Work on Senior Community in Westchester, New York

In looking to the future, Donald Trump has started work on his first senior development. The 141 unit set to be built in Westchester County, New York will be an upscale community for those 55 years and older. With the baby boom starting to near the retirement age, Trump himself is now 60, the need [...]

26Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Residents Watch Out – Change is a Coming

MetLife has put out a prospective for potential buyers of it’s Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town community on the east side of Manhattan. And if you are a present tenant, I have one word of advice for what is coming.
DUCK!
Metlife is saying that with “With aggressive investigation of potential stabilization violations, the memo suggests, [...]

25Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 1 comment | Continued

Winter 2006 – 2007 Heating Forcast Mixed

The home heating forcast for 2006–2007 is looking like a mixed bag. The cost to heat a home with natural gas is expected to decrease by 10 percent if the usuage remains the same. Unfortunately, for homes that are heated with heating oil, prices are expected to be 9 percent higher.
The lack of storms [...]

25Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 2 comments | Continued

Home Sales Fall for 5th Straight Month – August 2006 Year over Year Lower Nationally

The national real estate picture is showing the result of the downturn that was to be expected. Sales are down and homeowners are lowering the price to soak up the excess inventory. There is a nationwide inventory of 3.92 million homes that experts are expecting to take 7.5 months to absorb.

The slowdown in sales [...]

25Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Federal Agencies Ride to the Rescue of Those Hurt By Bad Loans, After the Massacre Occurred

It looks like the first part of the 21st century may be thought of as the days of easy money. The combination of historically low interest rates and loans that only a mortgage broker could love created an unprecedented buying opportunity for homeowners.
Now as interest rates have climbed and some of the more esoteric [...]

25Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 0 comments | Continued

Psychic Cleans Homes of Unwanted Spirits, And Real Estate Agents Pay

Some people would say B.J. Wall is a psychic, but she calls herself a communicator. Wall says she sees and talks with spirits.
This is an interesting story on how a psychic, B.J. Wall, comes into homes that either are not selling or are percieved to have a “spirit” stuck in the home that is [...]

24Sep2006 | Tom Royce | 8 comments | Continued