Millennial Subcategory: “Baby Boomerangers” One of the factors holding back the housing market is the (relative) dearth of first-time Buyers. Typically, such Buyers account for 40% of all residential real estate sales; the last few years, however, the percentage is closer to 33% (one-third). What accounts for the slippage? Three Theories Given that the average...Read More
Likely Culprit: Exploding Student Debt “Economists believe younger Americans now are much more likely to rent for longer periods than did earlier generations ” due not only to the rising home prices and high credit standards but also the high student debt levels and elevated levels of underemployment.” —Wall Street Journal (5/23/2014) With the caveat that...Read More
Older, More Cautious First-Time Buyers “Low interest rates and relatively low prices can take the housing market only so far. For the market to truly heal, the economy must also heal.” –“Who Wants to Buy a House“; The New York Times (9/28/2013) My clients know that I regard the housing market as a dependent variable,...Read More
They Know About Kindle, Right? One of the cheesier ads currently on display in New York subways — and it’s a crowded category, pun intended — is an ad that blares that there are “26,543 Reasons to Attend Our Community College.” So, what are 21,925 of them? The number of books in the College’s library. They do know about Kindle,...Read More
