Originally published September 2021. Virtually no one in Washington even pretends to be concerned about federal spending and deficits anymore. The Biden administration is going wild as the US nears the debt-to-GDP record set after World War II. Under President George W Bush, he and Congress increased domestic outlays faster than during Lyndon Johnson’s ‘Great […]
From emptying out to filling back up, New York City is changing. New York’s real estate market has moved from epicentre to bellwether. In early 2020, the city was regarded as at the centre of the Covid pandemic sweeping America. About 18 months later, New York City is a case study for how the real […]
Sales of existing homes jumped 7.0% in September, to a 6.29 million seasonally adjusted annual rate. Sales are still down 2.3% from a year ago. Sales in the market for existing single-family homes, which account for about 89% of total existing-home sales, rose 7.7% in September, coming in at a 5.59 million seasonally adjusted annual […]
Total housing starts fell to a 1.555 million annual rate in September from a 1.580 million pace in August, a 1.6% decrease. From a year ago, total starts are up 7.4%. Total housing permits also fell in September, posting a 7.7% drop to 1.589 million in September from 1.721 million in August. Total permits are […]
I am an orphan, which is not so unusual for a man of 79, and like everyone else I know, I work out of my own home. At the moment I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a bowl of Cheerios beside the laptop and a cup of coffee (black). I have no office anymore. […]
A Property Chronicle regional series. The Northeastern US is the most densely populated region of the country, with more than 30 million people living in the roughly 250-mile expanse of near-continuous urbanisation that stretches from Philadelphia to Boston. This area encompasses New York City and its sprawling suburbs on Long Island, in New Jersey and […]
Sales of new single-family homes posted a small gain in August, increasing 1.5% to 740,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from a 729,000 pace in July. Despite the gain, sales are down 24.3% from the year-ago level and are 25.5% below the 993,000 pace in January (see top of first chart). The declining trend […]
Sales of new single-family homes posted a small gain in August, increasing 1.5% to 740,000 at a seasonally adjusted annual rate from a 729,000 pace in July. Despite the gain, sales are down 24.3% from the year-ago level and are 25.5% below the 993,000 pace in January (see top of first chart). The declining trend […]
“No wonder people f—–g hate landlords.” That was what comedian Andy Richter tweeted (since deleted). What caused that reaction? A landlord wanted six month’s advance rent on an apartment he was seeking for his son. However, that expletive reflects misunderstanding rather than justifiable derision, of a type I call greedy-bastard economics. In greedy-bastard economics, rather […]
The Biden administration may yet rue its tax and spend agenda. Writing a year ago, during the uncertain early days of the pandemic, we predicted that the US government would come to the rescue of the private sector in a manner that was likely to be transformative to the devastated economy. However, welcome and necessary […]
