Rebutting Paul Krugman on InflationIf you don’t know whether to worry more about inflation or deflation — economists seem to be evenly split at the moment — a good technique is to parse the arguments being made by the two camps. Here is the case made by Paul Krugman, a leading proponent of the “worry...Read More
“For Sale” Homes, Wine, & First-Run Movies Some things become richer and more valuable with time. Fine wine. Love. Collectibles like antique cars or rare paintings. A home for sale isn’t one of those things. Rather, a home on the market is like a newly released movie. The most fanfare accompanies the “premiere,” when the...Read More
New Home “Home Run?” Not Exactly You know you’re a Realtor when you notice a headline, like this one in today’s New York Times — ‘The House That Soared’ — and immediately think to yourself: ‘What developer is making a killing in such a tough market for new homes? What was their secret? Where’s the...Read More
Didn’t Lock? Wait, and Hope for the Best Nice piece exploring the potential fallout from this week’s dramatic spike in mortgage rates (Potential Consequences of 5.5% Mortgage Rates). Although I think it’s premature to entertain all the negative consequences — after all, it’s possible that rates may drop as quickly as they popped — the...Read More
WSJ: ‘Homes are Poor Long-Term Investments’ Today’s Wall Street Journal is running the latest in what has become a perennial real estate subject: how do homes fare as investments? (“Is Your Home a Good Investment?”). Its (non-groundbreaking) conclusion: long-term, homes barely beat inflation. In fact, depending on your starting point, statistics indicate that annual home...Read More
“Trickle Down” Economics to ‘Bubble Up’?Soft drink aficionado’s may recall “Bubble Up” as a long-ago rival to 7-Up. It may also be the best label for today’s, post-crash, post-Trickle Down economy. Notwithstanding the latest, dire Case-Shiller statistics, Realtors in many cities nationally are reporting more and more instances of multiple offers for deeply discounted, bank-owned...Read More
