Real Estate Pop Quiz Quick, which of the following items make housing more expensive? A. Higher interest rates; B. Limiting (or eliminating) the mortgage interest deduction; C. Less capital for funding mortgages, due to a shrinking role played by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the so-called Government-sponsored enterprises); D. Requiring Buyers to put down 20%....Read More
If you’re able, collections for Minneapolis tornado victims are being accepted at Central Ave. and Broadway on the city’s north side. Apparently, the items most in need are . . . . underwear, and kids’ shoes (sizes 4T – 5T). Without access to their (severely damaged) homes, people have been in the same clothes since...Read More
“Middle East is East, Middle West is West” What’s Middle East politics got to do with Middle West real estate? Very little. Which is why, if you’re interested in my views on the former, click here (my letter to the editor is the second one down). Please submit any comments — agree, disagree, don’t care — to the Strib,...Read More
Perverse Incentives See that bum on the sidewalk? He’s worth $500 million more than I am. I owe $500 million — and he’s just broke. –Donald Trump, in less heady times The first rule of holes: when you’re in one — stop digging. –Thomas L. Friedman What prompts the above anecdotes isn’t the lack of a coherent, intelligent...Read More
Macro Matters If you want an excuse to simply tune out the news altogether and remain (blissfully) ignorant, look no further than yesterday’s dueling headlines in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times: Focus on Obama as Tensions Soar Across Mideast —The New York Times (5/19/2011) Gas Prices Fall as Mideast Jitters Ease —The...Read More
Approaching: 2,000th Blog Post So, after 3 1/2 years, almost 2,000 posts, and two different blog platforms . . . am I? “Blogged out,” that is? Surprisingly, no — at least not for anything more than short intervals. Having your own, virtual soapbox is strangely addictive — and oddly enough, actually seems to stimulate (vs....Read More
