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Are these condos in preperation for Waterworld when Al Gore’s vision becomes reality?
Probably. :)
People in NYC are sending kids to public schools again not because they have confidence in the crappy public school system, but because they cannot afford to send kids to private school, after buying a $2M condo.
I don't know of anyone in my generation who would rather send their kids to public schools, even those situated in the best public school areas. If money is not an issue, most people prefer to send kids to private schools, at least this is the case with California. Have you checked out the credentials of the public school teachers even at the best schools? Anybody in our generation with a tiny bit of aspiration and intelligence would not end up becoming a public school teacher.
Parents struggle to get into good school districts because this is the most economical way for a household with 2 or more kids.
I am more intrigued to read some housing related article dated back to 1981 and 1982 after gold and oil peaked.
It will be interesting to see how many ounces of gold it took in 1980 or 1981 to buy a nice home in, say, Portola Valley.
Parents struggle to get into good school districts because this is the most economical way for a household with 2 or more kids.
True. Renting in good school districts requires less struggle though.
I think that by 2037 the majority of us will be of Latin extraction, that coastal areas will have problems with high water more frequently than today, that we will continue to drive cars.
People who are only youngters today will believe they possess a perfect understanding of real estate and personal finance thirty years from now, and this will shape their own boom and bust cycles. The busts will take them by surprise. Someone will coin a fresh way of saying 'new paradigm'.
There will not be enough young workers to support GenX retirement.
Survivalists will begin to concentrate in urban areas.
China Disney will celebrate its 20th anniversary, and Woody Allen will awaken from his cryonic slumbers.
Patrick,
How about a buyers resource for buying REOs. A master list of lender links perhaps.
I am much more skeptical about UK economy than ours. Apart from money, what else do the Brits manufacture these days?
When I am doing stock research, I am still finding comfort in lots of tech stuff that we do in this country (although the mundane manufacturing processes are increasingly outsourced, perhaps justifyingly so). The key is that we crash before we start to outsource the proprietary knowledge-based stuff to China or India, and I am glad that we are on the right path. The earlier the crash, the better for us.
UK? I really can't seem to find anything the Brits can do that the rest of the world cannot, except for being the money laundry center for the Eastern European drug lords. London will end much worse than the Bay Area, at least we have the weather.
For example, when I was down in Oz, an Aussie truck salesman told me that for the 18 wheeler, we are the only source of production in the world, the Japanese and Germans only specialize in smaller trucks. What about China? No they don't have the machine tools for that, and the only source of machine tools for 18 wheelers is again from the US.
UK? I really can’t seem to find anything the Brits can do that the rest of the world cannot, except for being the money laundry center for the Eastern European drug lords.
One thing UK does NOT have: worldwide taxation. This feature alone is attractive enough for financial institutes.
The US needs to drastically reform its taxation policies.
Peter P,
That is not true.
My parents live among many British retirees in Oz, and the #1 reason they departed UK was to evade the death tax. According to them, if they kick the bucket within 7 years of leaving the UK, they will need to pay IHT (inheritance tax) which starts at a very low threshold of ~200K pound. UK has one of the highest death taxes in the world, and that's the main reason why well-off Brits are leaving the country in droves, driving up property prices in Spain and Oz, apart from seeking better weather of course.
One British retiree once told me, there are only two types of people who remain in UK: the immigrant deadbeats (not even the hardworking ones, because the hardworking ones come to the US) chewing on the welfare, and the rich immigrants parking their money accumulated from politically unstable places like Russia. Every year, 200K+ Brits are emigrating (not to be confused with immigrating) to other countries.
"UK? I really can’t seem to find anything the Brits can do that the rest of the world cannot, except for being the money laundry center for the Eastern European drug lords."
Funny - at work today we were talking about the thousands of airline puts bought before 9/11 and how that profit just went over to Europe with no trace of where it went.
"Stocks Surge on Positive Housing Report...The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes rose in February at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7 percent...That says people are getting mortgages, people are buying houses, people have incomes, jobs, all that good stuff," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "You'd never go out and buy a house if you think you're going to get laid off. Consumers are optimistic about the future, and as we all know, the consumer drives this economy."
Looks like we'll hear calls for "bottom" from the you know who's....
Peter P,
Interesting about worldwide taxation. Is the US in a minority on this, or is the practice fairly common?
Every year, 200K+ Brits are emigrating (not to be confused with immigrating) to other countries.
With a strong GBP I am not surprised.
My parents live among many British retirees in Oz, and the #1 reason they departed UK was to evade the death tax.
I should have said "worldwide income taxation for residents not domiciled in the UK."
Interesting about worldwide taxation. Is the US in a minority on this, or is the practice fairly common?
Many countries tax their residents on a worldwide basis. I think US is one of the few countries that also tax their citizens regardless of residency.
apparently the brits are NOT coming to CA. Never met one here, but 1000’s of asians of every type.
I have several friends from the UK.
#1 destination for British seniors: Spain
#1 destination for British younger than 40: Australia
I have had two British colleagues before, there are 2-3 British stores selling Marmite, Maltesers, etc in the Bay Area.
It is relatively harder for Brits to come to CA, because most of them emigrate to enhance their lifestyle. With their home equity, they can buy a big house in a decent Aussie suburb all-cash. If they come to CA, they don't get half as much upward mobility with lifestyle.
US is the ONLY country on earth that taxes its citizens AND permanent citizens on a worldwide basis regardless of their residency. Other countries don't even dare to think about the concept of taxing their PRs when the PRs are out of the country.
Gotta luv Uncle Sam.
Peter P,
I'm a little startled, then, having friends who've moved to Nice and other Mediterranean locations. It must have been a headache for them to move assets offshore (Monaco bank) - and from what you say, an annual tax burden as well.
Certainly helps to keep us at home and xenophobic... :neutral:
Now the pool of cash required to spend the first night in a new house—frequently $20,000 to $30,000—has made this sacrifice of independence a matter of necessity rather than choice.
Pretty sad that in current times most buyers can't even come up with a 1977 downpayment. What does that tell you?
It must have been a headache for them to move assets offshore (Monaco bank) - and from what you say, an annual tax burden as well.
I believe a competent tax-accountant can work to minimize the liability.
It is going to be bumpy but the market will survive. I hope policy makers have the will and “heart†to let people fail. Destruction is part of the creation process.
This is a foreign concept to most people Peter.
It is going to be bumpy but the market will survive. I hope policy makers have the will and “heart†to let people fail. Destruction is part of the creation process.
This is a foreign concept to most people Peter.
I agree! The price of tulips fell, but the world didn't end....
"can't even come up with a 1977 downpayment. What does that tell you?"
What's worse is that those homes should have been paid for. As a matter of fact, this year! They're not. They've probably been flipped, fi'd, re-fi'd and re-fried at least 8-10 times since then.
My friend in MV just got turned down for a HELOC. That's a first...
lunarpark,
Based on what? Not enough income? Appraisal too low? Getting laid off? Not to be nosy but myself and Mr. skibum would like to know. Our position has been that even lower rates may not be the salvation people are praying for. Low rates of course don't help if you got no job!
Just curious. :)
The "burn card" is left for those that have a decent income, house appraised fine BUT..... DTI.... too HIGH!
I've got your "burn card" right here bunky!
For those that don't play cards, Spades, Pinochle etc. the "burn card" is something you hold in an otherwise WORTHLESS hand that keeps your opponent/s from running the board or having a perfect hand.
But they think they got it all wrapped up, so they bid (and bid big) never suspecting this lowly deuce of clubs will leave them talking to themselves... all the way back to the ATM! Oh and get me a pizza on the way back!
LOL@Peter P - SHE is not a renter, haha, you made me laugh.
DinOR -
I'm getting this secondhand from a mutual friend - my understanding is that her credit is poor and the HELOC was turned down based on that. She has been taking money out of her place over the last few years. It's never been a problem until now. She has called her realtor and is going (try) to sell asap.
Jon,
Well I can't imagine taking THAT lecture sitting down but that's where so many boomers grossly miscalculated. They generalized too much, and not just about finance.
In order to have 1) bought at the absolute perfect time 2) landed lifetime employment 3) cashed out without a hitch AND 4) had a very optimal and cooperative stk. mkt along with 5) a birthday (birthright actually) to assure maximum retirement and health benefits.
Oh... along w/perfect health, NO divorce and model/self supporting children. Is THAT so much to ask!?!
lunarpark,
She's your friend so I'm going to tread lightly here. Just saying her credit is poor may not necessarily explain everything. No change in employment or marital status? It's always worked for her/him before, right? Why not now?
DinOR,
Sometimes I think I'm unmarried, don't want kids, saving half of my income, paranoid about job security, constantly going on and on about immigrating to Australia, etc...just so I can be different.
I suppose if that doesn't work out, I could get some cyanide capsules in case things get really bad.
DinOR -
No changes in employment or marital status. I know she's taken A LOT of money out in the past and it's never been a problem. I don't know anything else - just that she is very upset. Personally I think it's good that she is FINALLY going to sell. Her payments were ridiculous vs her income. Her realtor thinks if she sells now she can still walk away with $50k.
In my neck of the woods, Spitzer is making a lender payout $6M to the victims. I'm glad this lender is still around to fund it, but when it all hits the fan and all those ARM's reset, I think the taxpayers will ultimately be stuck paying in the long run when the majority of lenders go under.
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http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,915445,00.html
Sound familiar? Yet another story from 2005? Nope... the publication date of this article was September 12, 1977 - nearly 30 years ago.
Let's look at some other snippets from this time capsule:
Does anyone know what happened to the housing market in California after 1977? Or was the impact of Prop 13 too influential in the resulting statistics?
And finally, the social impact:
So... this was in 9/1977. Now, it's hard enough predicting what 9/2007 will be like - but what do you think September 12, 2037 will be like?
Already, both parents are working, realtors are spinning the Bay Area as a place so great that you don't need to take vacations - what's next? Will child labor make a come back? ("Monta Vista High School and Fireworks Factory #88"?) How much more special can it get here?
(Bonus points for including Peak Oil in your prediction...)
#housing