NJHomesReport.com

A couple of days ago the President announced his plan to rescue homeowners in mortgage trouble.  Those who criticized him two weeks ago for not having a plan are now criticizing him for the plan he has.  As Kurt Vonnegut wrote in Slaughterhouse Five - "and so it goes."  However, I'm more concerne...

The other day I was in a training session where the discussion turned to the showing of homes.  I explained that when I show a home to a buyer-client, I let them go first into the home, lead me from room to room, basically allowing them to "discover" the home on their own.  Usually, I say nothing...

I have another blog at Real Town.  A comment was just posted on it that annoyed me.  The contributor did not mention the content of the posting, but instead wrote about his agent - by name, company and town - and how wonderful he is.  I imagine that the comment in some form has shown up on a lot ...

A major appraisal firm in New Jersey, one that puts on seminars for Realtors®, but does not want to be quoted without prior written permission is doing its best to worsen an improving market through logic worthy of a hedge-fund manager.  This appraiser (who shall remain nameless) reported (correc...

Does a bad market justify bad manners?  I am growing increasingly weary of Realtors® who don't recall calls in a timely manner, etc.  But now, it has gotten worse.  Appointments are made to show a home, sellers scurry around to put the home in showing shape, and then leave for an hour or two.And ...

On Monday apparently there will begin a trial of a Realtor® who is accused of being responsible for his buyers' "bad" decision in 2005.  The case, described by the New York Times on Monday of this week and discussed on the Today Show this morning, is a cautionary tale.  If you are unfamiliar with...

The National Association of Realtors® has finally started swinging back at the media in a meaningful way. After years of being beaten up in the print and broadcast press as nothing more than a self-interested spreader of non-truths, NAR has created a website that will be a valuable tool in counte...

Conventional wisdom for years has been that if you are having trouble paying your mortgage, get in touch with your mortgagee, explain your situation, and work to modify the terms of the mortgage.  That was fine when Bailey Building and Loan had the mortgage.A recent story on ABC News called atten...

Yesterday, December 10, the National Association of Realtors® released its existing-home sales report for October.  Keep in mind these are numbers of contracted sales, not closed sales.  There is about a two-month difference.  For example, a recent closed sales report in many cases was dismal, be...

It has become fashionable of late to see as the silver lining in the real estate market cloud the decrease in the number of Realtors®.  Don't hold your breath.  We may see at work a sort of professional Gresham's Law, where skilled, full-time agents toss in the towel after a bad year or two, whil...