Overshadowed Sibling(s) No More You know a place is becoming (too) trendy when it becomes a cultural shorthand for hot locales threatening to eclipse their bigger, better-known neighbors. So, at least according to some accounts, Oakland is now the “Brooklyn of the Bay Area.” See, “Oakland: Brooklyn by the Bay.” Similarly, places like Westhampton and...Read More
Now, THAT’S What I Call ‘Burying the Lead’ “The mismatch between the anatomical and genetic evidence [from a recently discovered fossil] surprised scientists, who are now rethinking human evolution over the past few hundred thousand years.” –“Baffling 400,000 Clue to Human Origins“; The New York Times (Dec. 4, 2013) If you’ve been out of the loop...Read More
Comparing Housing — and Auto — “Apples & Oranges” Heard the one about the physicist, the chemist, and the economist stranded on a desert island? A can of soup washes ashore — but the three (hungry) professionals have no way to open it. The physicist says “We could drop it from the top of that...Read More
How Big a Premium for Higher Floors? If Eskimos supposedly have 38 words for snow, leave it to New Yorkers to coin the most and best words for anything relating to skyscrapers, views, and the like. Words like “view-break,” defined as: “The price-point at which views in a building clear the treetops or crest above...Read More
David Stockman: ‘Get Out of the Markets & Hide Out in Cash’ “The United States is broke ” fiscally, morally, intellectually. When the latest bubble pops, there will be nothing to stop the collapse.” –David Stockman, “State-Wrecked: the Corruption of Capitalism in America“; The New York Times (March 30, 2013) The scary prediction above comes...Read More
So, The New York Times has finally weighed in on the “Has Housing Bottomed?” debate, casting its vote on the side of the bulls. Its leading example? The Twin Cities housing market: Joe Niece, a real estate agent in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, said he recently concluded a streak of 13 consecutive bidding...Read More
