Elliman: Brownstones Kick Ass in Q1
Unlike the commercial numbers we saw yesterday, the residential real estate market in Brooklyn perked up in the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released today by Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. “The modest decline of inventory and a return to a higher level of sales activity helped stabilize prices across most markets,”…
Unlike the commercial numbers we saw yesterday, the residential real estate market in Brooklyn perked up in the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released today by Miller Samuel for Douglas Elliman. “The modest decline of inventory and a return to a higher level of sales activity helped stabilize prices across most markets,” said the report. “These trends combined with the sharp decline in days on market and listing discount suggests that the consumer is bypassing properties that are not priced close to market levels. The median and average sales prices across all property types ticked up 4.2% and 7.5% from the fourth quarter, but both were down slightly from the first quarter of 2009. The number of sales increased year-over-year from 1,186 to 1,861 and the days on market decreased from 142 to 114. House sales in Brownstone Brooklyn saw the most price improvement, with the median sales price rising 15% from $1,087,500 to $1,250,000. Bring it!
wasder,
getting in late tonight but I wanted to answer your question. I am not an economist but I base my opinion on extensive reading on the issues and an understanding of historical data.
The economic crisis that developed in 2008 was the result of greed and political posturing on both sides of the poltitical aisle. The TARP plan was necessary and worked to shore up the immediate crisis at hand which if left unchecked would have spread into a worldwide panic. The TARP plan was signed by Bush in Oct. of 2008 and was the result of conferencing with both Obama and McCain who signed off on the deal.
The Stimulus plan of 2009 was another matter as was the Cash for Klunkers plan. Both have been failures in my opinion. The Stimulus plan has failed for reasons already mentioned in my previous post, the Cash for Klunkers failed because it basically sent 60% of the funds to overseas manufacturers while placing the public in more debt by paying them to turn over vehicles they owned outright to get into more debt and with minimal benefit to the environment in the end.
President Obama could have followed the course of Kennedy and Reagan who cut marginal tax rates across the board to stimulate more tax revenues from business growth and investment.
As far as the Healthcare bill, again a bipartisan approach was called for with the following harsh medicine administered to both sides of the aisle;
-tort reform to stop defensive medicine which wastes billions upon billions yearly. (dems would have been hit by that one since the tort lawyers are big dem donors)
-insurance industry reform, both health insurance and malpractice to limit premiums increases (this one hits the republican donors)
-an accurate accounting of the true numbers of uninsured, this number varies from 10-37 million depending on your sources.
-competition across state lines to bring down premiums just like auto insurance.
-establishment of a national risk pool, funded with a tax on something like internet use for instance or perhaps a draw down on military deployment in Germany,South Korea, Phillipines, etc.,etc.
-credits for Health Savings Accounts.
none of these real solutions were included to a full extent in the current healthcare plan unfortunately.
there are good things in the bill but mostly increased burdens on the existing private plans and on already overburdened states, all with a 21% pay cut for doctors and hospitals. not good.
Like Johnny Rotten once sang with PIL:
I could be wrong…..I could be right.
“BHO–you are probably right that the government won’t have the funds to pull off another TARP or trouble loan purchase plan but I am not sure that these policies were the reason that we didn’t see panic selling in 09.”
wasder- That’s how they got TARP passed in round 2. Remember it was dinged the first time around when all of a sudden the PPT released a one-day, 6 or 7 hundred drop in the DOW that extorted all of the opposing constituent’s to “sign on” because their 401k’s were taking hits. That shit was legend. And, Bernanke himself said he wasn’t about to preside over the next Great Depression in justifying his monetary policies.
So, we got temporary relief. The problems have not gone away. The massive warehouse of miserably-peforming debt needs to be paid off (impossible given the lack of production and private GDP) or written off (inevitable as it is the only alternative to allow a real recovery driven by investment and production in the private sector). It’s an insolvency crisis.
Damn, Legion @ 4:21! That’s very deflationary!
***Bid half off peak comps***
legion–is there another way that could have been tried though. I mean, we can argue (and will I am sure) about health care legislation but besides that there weren’t too many great options facing the outgoing administration in fall 08 or the new administration starting in Jan 09.
m4l–you are right of course. It is insane. It has just always felt insane for me. Back in the 90’s I wasn’t making much more than 40 or 50 per year and it was definitely a stretch for me to make rent so for me personally the situation feels analogous now that I make more and my nut is more. but I hear you, the cost of housing must have risen well beyond earning capacity since the 90’s.
I looked at only one lis pendens property and it that was nice. 146 warren st. Sat for months and finally sold. I still wonder if I should have bought it.
wasder,
The “stimulus” plan was supposed to keep unemployment below 8% according to the President’s own forecasters.
We’re at 9.7% and it’s not budging.
Unemployment claims came in higher than expected this past week.
The Healthcare bill mandates will put huge pressures on small businesses to cover workers or pay fines for each worker not insured.
Add to this, the increasing taxes scheduled to start in 2011 and the Small Business sector is gonna be hit hard,
they create about 80% of new jobs across this nation.
There is now talk about a Value Added Tax (VAT) to cover the gaping trillion dollar deficits.
A federal consumption tax will surely decrease consumer spending in the long term and further erode jobs growth and small business growth which is the engine of our economy.
wasder, when someone making 100k cant save much at all in a regular house in a regular hood, it’s definitely a ton different from not long ago
M4L–I am sure you are right but as a generality this song seems to be familiar to me.
wasder, housing cost as a % of income for regular non-bankers has to be higher now then in a long long time. most folks’ income has not spiked anywhere close to the spike in housing.