Average Joes Giving Market a Heartbeat
Yesterday’s cover story in the NYT real estate section was downright encouraging, didn’t you think? The gist: There are a bunch of folks who have normal jobs with normal paychecks that have been patiently saving up in recent years as the real estate market zoomed beyond their reach who all of sudden are finding themselves…
Yesterday’s cover story in the NYT real estate section was downright encouraging, didn’t you think? The gist: There are a bunch of folks who have normal jobs with normal paychecks that have been patiently saving up in recent years as the real estate market zoomed beyond their reach who all of sudden are finding themselves in the position to buy sooner than they had imagined. And faced with the double-blessing of lower prices and lower interest rates, they are even able to afford bigger apartments than they thought. The meat-and-potatoes buyers are coming out right now, said Kristina Leonetti, a broker at the Corcoran Group. And you know what? They are out there actively looking (though maybe not in the Bronx). Confirming something that a senior member of a large brokerage firm told us last week, open houses have been well attended since the start of the new year. Any readers who fit this profile care to chime in?
For the Brave, the Moment Is Now [NY Times]
Photo by Amber Rhea on Flickr
Eh Benson.. I know you was born and raise here right? Let me give the retards a scenario. Obama will be the 44th POTUS. If something happens to him, how long do you think “race relations” will last?? Maybe an hour or two? You see retards you are living in interesting times and are so delusional that when that time happens, you will not know what to do.
The Blackout of ’77 destroyed Bushwick Ave in one night! It took 21 years for Bushwick Ave to come back. One night gone, twenty years to rebuild..
Ya’ll are a bunch of retards and when things happen, you can read all of my old posts to see where you went wrong…
The What
Someday this war is gonna end…
A few observations without taking sides in this debate…
Many sellers are more negotiable now than they were a year ago (or even a few months ago) and for those looking in the new conforming loan range of $625,500k or lower (NY, Kings, Queens, Bronx counties) if you find what you’re looking for, go for it! The rates and prices are in your favor. But for those seeking a townhouse in a historic district (or near one) the situation remains challenging — jumbo loan rates have not come down like the conforming and even for those lucky all-cash buyers there is still not much inventory available and may never be. As a three time home buyer (SF once, Bklyn twice) I’d recommend knowing your spending limits and if you see a house you love, get in the game and make an offer. I’ve always stayed put for 5 or more years and enjoy improving my residences — and not even in a “luxe mode”, but simply with smart improvements and steady maintenance, and thus far (knock wood) it has served me when I’ve resold. I’ve also never bought with the specific plan to resell for profit, but purchased with the goal of a comfortable and attractive residence while I’m there.
Again, cornerbodega shows his stupidity and will never be able to accumulate a downpayment making him very, very bitter.
Still engaging the loons!!!!
Mopar;
Well, I am not a criminoligist, But here’s just some of the factors that I believe contributed to the breakdown of those times:
-poor race relations and all its related items,such as “white flight”. The middle class had little interest in helping the city. They wanted out.
-a change in the structure of NYC’s economy. People today are frightened by the prospect of perhaps 200,000 being lost. In the 3 decades after WWII, NYC lost close to 800,000 jobs in its manufacturing sector, the sector that used to provide the livelihood for those on the bottom.
-incompetent political leadership. IMHO, there are few political leaders who have been as incompetent as Mayor John Lindsay. At the very time that the city’s economy was changing, this guy provided lavish new benefits to both city workers and welfare recepients that the city could not afford. His was the administration that actually sent out city workers to recruit people to join the welfare rolls, with no sense of accountability. Under his watch, in the short course of just a few years, the welfare budget increaed to a level that had previously been that of the entire city’s budget. How to accomplish this? Easy: he cut the city’s spending down to near-zero on infrastructure. There were no upgrades to the subways and roads during this period, and all maintenance was deferred. We are still trying to catch up from the negligence of that time. The deterioration of the city’s physical facilities led to an overall impression of a city trapped in a downward spiral, with no way out.
-finally, there was a more tolerant approach to crime during that time. Crime was believed to be a problem that could be solved by just increased spending on social problems, rather than putting thugs in jail.
Bloomberg and his possible competitors show no sign of repeating some of these mistakes. Race relations today are much,much better today than 30 years ago. I believe that NYC will pull through this tough spot.
FLH – but do they have higher crime rates than the “real” New York – you know, the one in the what’s head?
“Why do you waste your time trying to prove your “street creds” to The What? Do you think he’s actually going to consider what you say? I advise you and all the Brownstone community: the best way to deal with him is simply to ignore him.”
Whoa Benson! Where did we have beef? The thing that cracks me up is people say to ignore “The What” but they tell people to ignore me. Now if you want to ignore someone then why tell them to ignore that person??!!! Just ignore them!! See how that work Benson now go change your depends and get your enfamil ready,, it’s almost 2 o’clock…
The What (Why people make me hurt them??!!)
Someday these dumbasses will leave me alone…
CWB, you’re right. Cincinatti, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo all have much higher rates of violent crime than NYC. cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
“There is little, if any, correlation between crime and the economic cycle in NYC.”
Benson, what do you think is the factor? Policing?
Dave, hedging against inflation by buying real property is one factor in our desire to buy. Interesting re the 1.49 percent average annualized return. Though I suppose if you’d picked a slightly different ten-year spread, say ’97 to ’07, the rate of return would be very different!
benson – That’s a fine question, and you’re right. And I mostly do refrain from getting involved. I just think the obsession with Ohio is amusing. Like Cincinnati doesn’t have bad neighborhoods?