This Month in Real Estate eNewsletter – November 2017
Affordability is a complex web. Home prices, incomes and mortgage rates all factor in. Land use limitations also play a role—but not as large and unchanging a role as location overall, according to a recent analysis by Freddie Mac.Home builders often cite compliance costs related to land use and zoning as a factor—expenditures that, over the last 30 years, have pushed home prices into unaffordable terrain. A rollback in regulations, however—which constituents and policymakers have suggested—could be ineffective in markets where home-building is physically impossible, Freddie Mac's latest Insight shows."A thought experiment can illustrate the impact of regulatory relief and...
The Secret Behind Family Wealth Part II
What You Need To KNOW The payment of income or capital gain tax on the sale of property can be voluntary thanks to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code which is one of the most underutilized sections of the tax code. Perhaps the problem lies with calling the procedure an exchange as this creates a lot of misunderstanding and would be better utilized if this was re-labeled as a 1031 rollover because that is precisely what happens. The gain is rolled over to a new property. There are an unlimited number of times an individual can successfully rollover gain...
The Secret Behind Family Wealth Part I
(Hint: think real estate, “they ain’t making anymore of it”)1st of a 3 Part Series Ok, so you know all the names, the Trumps, the Dursts, the Lefraks, the Rudins, the Rockerfellers & more… NYC Real Estate Family Dynasties………..How did they do it? How were they able build such incredible fortunes? And maybe even more important and difficult: How did they keep it? In September of 1916, the powers that be in the U.S. government (politicians) came to the conclusion that more revenue was needed, and so they enacted the Revenue Act of 1916. It initially set an estate tax rate...
The Case for Selling Sooner Rather Than Later: Is the Sun Setting on the NYC Seller’s Market?
This is the Special Report sent to our clients on December 1st 2015 ** UPDATE *** Urban Digs restates/upgrades their data. Urban Digs, from which we derive much of the data we analyze has found discrepancies in the data that the RLS puts out. They have applied corrections to the data which will result in some of their charts being changed, including the subject of our recent Special Report. This does not in any way invalidate our assumptions and assessments of the market. It simply produces the same effects with different numerics. Please see Noah's post from the Urban Digs...
The 5 Most Instagram Worthy Places Near You
From architecture to local art, Instagram is the best place to give your favorite spots in town some love. Whether you're an avid blogger or just starting out on the gram, these are spots you don't want to miss. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nat Geo WILD (@natgeowild) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Empire State Building (@empirestatebldg) View this post on Instagram A post shared by ExploreArizona (@explorearizona_) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Walt Disney World (@waltdisneyworld) View this post on Instagram A post shared by The best...
Storm Clouds on the Horizon?
Occasionally I still get the impulse to walk through the doors of 86 Trinity Place, pass through the members lounge and down the escalator, go to the coatroom and trade my suit jacket with Dave for my traders jacket, walk to the back and exchange pleasantries with Mike as he gets me my floor shoes, and head upstairs………… When I play this scenario in my head, I actually get butterflies in my stomach, something that rarely happened when those steps were routine, but were always there when times were turbulent. Today is one of those days for me…….. The markets...
NYC Storm Clouds Still in Sight
With all due respect to Lawrence Yung, PHD and Lead Economist at N.A.R., and his post in Forbes on 2/3/16 about a re-acceleration of home prices https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrenceyun/2016/02/03/re-accelerating-home-price/?sf20435189=1#5464d7af2149 Boots on the ground in NYC (which many consider to be a proxy for the nation) tell otherwise. His basis is that home prices rose 7.6% nationally over Dec.2014 #'s and a lack of supply. That's backward looking, reciting the past. The Manhattan numbers show a very different story, and my blog post from December points out the huge influx on new inventory hitting the NYC market (42,000 units + over the next...
Love It or List It?
Despite what real estate reality shows might have led you to believe, the decision to sell your home isn’t simple — and it definitely isn’t a decision that you can reach in 30 minutes. This is true even if you never really loved your property in the first place, or it’s become a daily cause of stress. Maybe the commute is awful, your neighbors live to find new ways to annoy you, or the “fixer upper” kitchen is still an avocado-colored nightmare. That’s because parting with a home falls into the “major life change” category. Cue the second-guessing, polling all...
Is Buying A Home Right Now A Mistake?
When you see all those “for sale” signs pop up in your neighborhood — and then see them change to “under contract” shortly afterward — it’s easy to feel like you’re missing out if you’re not buying a home this summer. So, you run the numbers, spend nights scrolling through listings, and start to imagine your new life in your dream home. There’s just one thing: you may not be ready to buy a home right now. While most real estate agents point to a hot market (and still low-interest rates) as a good reason to start making offers, there...
BREXIT
Brexit….. My take is that it is not necessarily an anti-Europe vote, it is an ANTI POLITICIAN vote. The British politicians have sold the people out in favor of globalism, and while great for the political ruling class, that's proven to be not what is best for the British people. The Brits standard of living has gone down in the effort to increase the standard of others (less productive European states). If 1 + 1 = 3, that would be fine, but as is usually the case with socialistic policies, 1 + 1 = 1.8. This is the people's way,...