Thursday, April 18, 2013

New Jersey in the Beige Book

The latest edition of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book - its periodic, somewhat anecdotal look at the economy in various areas of the country - came out yesterday. The reports come from the 12 Fed regional offices, and New Jersey is split evenly between the Philadelphia and New York City offices, so there's usually not much specifically about our area. But this time there was, as well as a lot of interesting reporting on the real estate market in the Northeast.

The Fed said that not only were home prices rising in the state, but that inventories were shrinking, especially as a result of fewer distressed properties on the market. On the other hand, the commercial real estate market in New Jersey remains very sluggish; the Fed report used the word "moribund." Office vacancy rates in New Jersey are still at multi-year highs.

The New York City office - which covers northern New Jersey as well - reported that residential real estate had started looking much stronger there. By contrast, the Philadelphia office - which covers southern New Jersey - was the only regional office to report a slowdown in residential construction. We shall see which outlook prevails here at home.


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