real estate
« Previous EntriesAsia-Pacific Cities and Premium Home Prices
Thursday, September 24th, 2009During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries cities in the Atlantic region flourished. As key centers for “world trade” (or at least trade between Europe and the Americas, which to many was the world), great streets for commerce and neighbourhoods for families emerged, including highly exclusive addresses.
Many of these great Atlantic world cities still have pricey […]
Condo units in the downturn: vertical sprawl
Sunday, March 1st, 2009Well located, condominium units in Vancouver’s uber-chic Yaletown have become as challenging to sell these days as a generic single family home in the suburbs. As the residential real estate market has softened, it has hit some homes harder than others.
The economic principle of “scarcity” has been evident. Where there is “geographic constraint” or a […]
Home prices rising
Saturday, November 22nd, 2008In the majority of US cities, home prices continue to decline with some cities in California seeing declines of over 30% year on year.
However, in at least 28 US cities, median prices in Q3 2008 were up according to the National Association of Realtors. Here are the top 10:
Elmira, NY - 12.5%
Decatur, IL - […]
Think ahead: 3 bedroom condos needed
Friday, October 24th, 2008During the last real estate cycle, condominium living became popular in many cities. Most buyers were singles or either young couples without kids or empty-nesters. With perhaps Manhattan and Vancouver being notable exceptions, families with young children have generally not been among the new inner urban residents.
In part, this is because few new condominiums offer […]
Which cities are more recession proof?
Monday, October 6th, 2008Professionally and personally I’ve been devoting considerable time to understanding the current American economic crisis.
One interesting issue emerging from my readings — but that is being overlooked in the mainstream media and even in some of my favorite economic blogs — is that there is not really _one_ national economy. The US economy is comprised […]
Tougher home ownership credentials: better for cities?
Saturday, July 12th, 2008Over the past few years, home ownership became easier than it had been in decades in the United States and in many countries around the world. 40 year mortgages and buying with little or no downpayment made purchasing easier. A US practice of loaning 103% of the value of a house made it seem […]
Highest housing prices 1980 - 2006
Monday, June 30th, 2008The Calculated Risk blog offered a couple interesting posts last week on changes to the ratio of median house price to median income since 1980. The source data, from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, covers 106 metro areas.
Available for download is the data from 1980 to 2006, so before the collapse of […]
Should absentee owners be discouraged?
Sunday, June 1st, 2008In his recent Planetizen Interchange post Vancouver director of planning Brent Toderian discussed the problem of maintaining housing afford ability in a “world class city.” He asks:
is the corresponding increase in demand (and thus prices) from a global market a great thing to the teachers, the police officers, the nurses, the service sector […]
Crowding out the locals
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008In Honolulu this week. Amidst the sunshine and drier weather — a contrast from Vancouver of the past 18 months — I’ve noticed a remarkable similarity: Homeless people are everywhere.
From reading the local papers, guidebooks and chatting to residents it seems that a leading cause (or at least the believed leading cause) is tourism and […]
Stackable, affordable, fast — and green — housing
Monday, February 25th, 2008The first challenge in building higher density housing these days — or any housing, for that matter — it that it take so long to construct. If a city has a critical shortage of homes, faster solutions are needed.
A second challenge is that it’s becoming ever more expensive to build townhomes and condominiums. Concrete, […]