inflation: The Compelling Reasons to Buy NOW
- 03/25/13 09:23 PM
It’s 1993, and this is your life: you go to the gas station and fill up your vehicle at $1.16 per gallon. From there, you continue to the grocery store, and pick up a gallon of milk for $1.26 and a loaf of bread for $1.57. Your monthly rent is $532, on average. You have a new car, which you bought for $12,750. You mail your rent and car payments in using stamps that cost 29 cents. The median family income is $31,230 per year, and you are thinking of buying a house: the median price in the US is $126,500. … (3 comments)
inflation: Will Your Buying Power Erode Away?
- 11/17/11 08:41 AM
Yesterday’s blog was about the increase in the average sales price in my home market of Jersey Shore A (small town, western Lycoming County, North Central PA, nowhere near the “shore”) from $107,000 in 2010 to $129,875 (let’s just call it $130,000) in 2011. That’s a 21% increase. Part of it is due to the Marcellus Shale industry, which is heavily impacting our market. Part of it (a small part) is normal appreciation. Despite the talking heads on TV, not all markets are overrun with foreclosures and short sales. Even in markets not as robust as ours, buying power … (1 comments)
inflation: Inflation Rears Its Ugly Head
- 03/06/11 01:11 PM
A news story caught my ear, and then I looked it up online. The basic truth is that every one cent increase in gasoline prices takes one billion dollars out of the economy. The full article is here: http://tinyurl.com/4kpu4ej The immediate point is that billion is no longer available for food, housing, clothing, entertainment, or any of the other things consumers need and want. The second point is that this will ripple through the economy, because petroleum products not only make lots of other things, but supply the fuels (diesel and gasoline) which bring products to market. But we still have … (4 comments)
inflation: Deja Vu
- 01/17/11 01:31 AM
Have you bought gasoline lately? I'm sure you have, and you are beginning to feel "pain at the pump". What about groceries? If you haven't noticed an increase yet, you will. Gas is up because oil is up which makes diesel and all kinds of transportation costs go up. Couple that with some crop results which were lower than expected, and we can expect more pain at the grocery store as well. I'm a "seasoned" REALTOR®, meaning I've been in the business quite a awhile. I've seen inflation before, and I know what happens. The Federal Reserve Chairman, currently Ben Bernanke, … (0 comments)
inflation: Tolstoy and Real Estate
- 12/22/08 09:19 AM
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first lineRussian mystic & novelist (1828 - 1910) To paraphrase, all happy real estate markets are alike; each unhappy real estate market is unhappy in its own way. That may be a stretch, but I've been to the two biggest conventions for REALTORS® that there are in the US during the past two months-NAR in Orlando, FLA, and Triple Play in Atlantic City New Jersey. I was privileged to be a speaker at both conventions; I taught ABR as a pre-convention … (0 comments)
inflation: Tolstoy and Real Estate
- 12/22/08 09:18 AM
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first lineRussian mystic & novelist (1828 - 1910) To paraphrase, all happy real estate markets are alike; each unhappy real estate market is unhappy in its own way. That may be a stretch, but I've been to the two biggest conventions for REALTORS® that there are in the US during the past two months-NAR in Orlando, FLA, and Triple Play in Atlantic City New Jersey. I was privileged to be a speaker at both conventions; I taught ABR as a pre-convention … (0 comments)
inflation: Chicken Little is Alive and Well
- 11/19/08 12:24 PM
The other day, I was going into the local supermarket when I met Jane, an old friend and client. She immediately asked me (as so many do!) "How is the real estate market?" There was genuine alarm in her voice. I said: "Fine." She looked startled, and unsure. I elaborated: "In some parts of the country, like Florida, and Nevada, and California, the real estate prices went wild." I didn't shock her with statistics, but the Florida Association of REALTORS(R) pegs the overall inflation for ALL houses in Florida at 172% for the time period of 2000 to 2005. But, here … (0 comments)
It’s 1993, and this is your life: you go to the gas station and fill up your vehicle at $1.16 per gallon. From there, you continue to the grocery store, and pick up a gallon of milk for $1.26 and a loaf of bread for $1.57. Your monthly rent is $532, on average. You have a new car, which you bought for $12,750. You mail your rent and car payments in using stamps that cost 29 cents. The median family income is $31,230 per year, and you are thinking of buying a house: the median price in the US is $126,500. … (3 comments)
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