Archives: September 2005

Housing Numbers Continue to Surprise

Posted by: Amey Stone on September 27

This week has brought the latest monthly home sales data from the National Association of Realtors. Reading these releases is starting to be a bit of a yawn -- sales...

Goldman Sachs Economist on the Bubble

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 23

Just got off the phone with Jan Hatzius, a Goldman Sachs economist who has written extensively on the housing market. He gave me permission to post a research note that...

Housing Markets Are Stable ... Until They're Not

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 22

Three top economists made a splash on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page this past Monday with a piece headlined "Bubble Trouble? Not Likely." But the way I read the...

Apartments converting to condos/co-ops

Posted by: Amey Stone on September 20

One of the reasons why many people argue that high-priced city apartments are immune from housing bubbles is that there is often a lack of buildable land. The reasoning goes:...

Stuck in the Middle

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 16

Although much media attention has deservedly focused on New Orleans' poorest residents, the city's African-American middle class could take an even harder hit in Katrina's wake. Keith Butler, a financial...

Lower Manhattan's Market

Posted by: Amey Stone on September 16

Visit the barren landscape of Ground Zero and it’s hardly surprising that the neighborhood that once included the World Trade Centers hasn’t returned to its pre-9/11 vibrancy. Neither has the...

Architects in Exile

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 15

Allen Eskew is among a small group of New Orleans architects who have been wrestling for years with how to create hurricane-resistant homes in coastal communities. He sees Katrina as...

Ranking the homebuilders

Posted by: Dean Foust on September 15

Manufacturer reputation counts a lot in other categories--say, cars, where consumers will buy a sturdy Volvo or Mercedes knowing the danged thing will last for 15 years. Up to now,...

Up in the Air in New Orleans

Posted by: Chris Palmeri on September 14

Sean Cummings, a real estate developer and hotel operator in New Orleans, says the future of his storm-ravaged city is up in the air, not uncertain, mind you, literally, up...

Subprime Lenders Bear Scrutiny

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 14

The Federal Reserve is out with a study that finds blacks and Hispanics are considerably more likely than non-Hispanic whites to get subprime mortgage loans. It said the difference couldn't...

Legal battle over listings

Posted by: Amey Stone on September 12

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is being sued by the Justice Department for anti-competitive practices. In a claim filed Sept. 8, Justice Dept. attorneys claim that the NAR has...

Is Florida housing a bubble? One economist says no...

Posted by: Dean Foust on September 09

Few markets have boomed like Florida. Prices there are up 33% in the past year, up 105% over the past five years, and have risen a honking 180.7% over the...

America's Fastest-Growing City (No, Not Vegas)

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 07

The title of America's fastest-growing city goes to sleepy Baton Rouge, 75 miles upriver from New Orleans (which, sadly, is America's fastest-shrinking city). In our real estate-obsessed culture, it took...

Reaching Out to Katrina's Victims

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 07

Are you looking for a way to make a really, really big difference in the lives of Hurricane Katrina refugees? Do you have an extra bedroom or two? You might...

Real Estate Blog Squad

Posted by: Peter Coy on September 01

Remember the Mod Squad on 1970s TV, those bad dudes with velvet bellbottoms who fought crime and jumped into cars without opening the doors first? Now there's a Real Estate...