Posted inLetters to the Editor, Opinion

Cumston Hall restoration is almost complete

If you’ve never been to Cumston Hall, in downtown Monmouth, you’re missing out on a special experience. Built in 1900, Cumston Hall is an amazing structure that still houses the Cumston Library, The Theater at Monmouth, Monmouth Community Players and other various school and civic organizations. The Friends of Cumston Hall formed in the 1990s […]

Posted inUncategorized

Hidden menace to housing recovery

Officially, there are 3.5 million homes for sale nationwide. But there are millions more lurking in the shadows — hidden neatly away on banks’ balance sheets, stalled in foreclosure court proceedings or simply occupied by nonpaying owners as lenders wait months or years before taking action.

The housing market’s ballooning shadow inventory — buoyed by a yearlong foreclosure slowdown — stands as the most menacing obstacle to the recovery of the residential real estate market.