Jersey Shore May Be Shore No More By 2052

Inhabitat is sharing studies showing that the entire stretch of east coast beach is slowly sinking due to rising water levels, and global warming is the culprit.

The area’s Long Beach Island has been identified as the highest risk location, but some researchers say the whole shore could be underwater in just 40 years. Area residents and summer transplants have been busily adding height to sand dunes and trying to replenish shoreline sand in an effort not to lose their summer getaways, but if climate change continues steadily on the path its been traveling on, those efforts will all be in vain.

Read more: Scientists Say Entire Jersey Shore Could Be Underwater in 40 Years | Inhabitat New York City

Big Jump in August Existing Home Sales and New Starts

From DSNews: Existing home sales rose 7.8 percent to 4.82 million in August – the highest level since May 2010 – the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

The median price of an existing single-family home in August was $187,400, down $400 from July but up $16,200 or 9.5 percent from August 2011. The August increase was the strongest since January 2006 when the median price rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier.

NJ Defaults Still on the Rise

Bloomberg News is reporting via NJ.com that our state passed Nevada in the second quarter in the rate of homeowners with seriously delinquent loans -- those 90 days late or in foreclosure -- according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Only Florida had a higher rate of serious delinquencies, and that fell 1.2 percentage points from a year earlier to 17.5 percent of mortgages. In comparison, New Jersey’s rose 1.3 percentage points to 12.7 percent.

While home values increased in July from a year earlier in 42 states, New Jersey prices fell 0.8 percent, according to CoreLogic.

Higher-income markets, such as New Jersey’s Morris and Bergen counties, will probably avoid the worst pain because there’s a shortage of homes and when distressed properties are listed, “the housing market will swallow them whole,” according to Jeffrey G. Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group Inc.

Falling Into the Best Time of Year for Home Buyers

AOL Real Estate is reminding us that the real estate market supposedly shines in the spring and summer sun, but fall is where the deals are found.

 Existing home sales are up more than 10 percent since last year, while the price of those homes has risen 9.4% over the same span, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Meanwhile, the backlog of homes on the market has dwindled 31 percent from a more than nine-month supply of 3.15 million last July to a 6.4-month supply of 2.4 million this summer.

Options for Avoiding Foreclosure

If you have missed a payment or payments or feel that you will soon miss a payment because your mortgage is no longer affordable to you, you should call your mortgage servicer. The number should be on your monthly mortgage bill or coupon book. You may also contact a housing counseling agency in the county in which you live. See pages 3 and 4 of the Foreclosure Fast Fact sheet for a list of counseling agencies.
The counseling agencies listed here are non-profit, HUD certified and trained in foreclosure prevention. On top of the list, for struggling New Jersey homeowners, facing a quickening rate of foreclosures, are supposed to have a lifeline: the HomeKeeper program, run by the state and funded with $300 million from the federal bank bailout. But 15 months after the program was launched, the state says only 10 percent of that money has been spent, to help just 750 homeowners. According to a report from a U.S. special inspector general, New Jersey has drawn the lowest percentage of federal money available to the 18 "hardest-hit" states. Call Today, Do Not Delay! The sooner you call the more options you will have.