Friday’s Wall Street Journal article about the demolition of historic homes in Detroit came at an interesting time. The previous evening we had attended the Hartford Preservation Alliance awards event, a gathering to celebrate the architectural history of our city and the efforts of community members to restore and reuse buildings rather than knock them down. Detroit has a rich architectural history, as can be seen on sites like Forgotten Detroit and Detroit1701.org. Some of
Yesterday was the first session in a five-part series on public housing policy. Housing: The Hub of Public Policy 2010 is presented by The Connecticut Housing Finance Authority, The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and The Partnership for Strong Communities; it is hosted by The Lyceum. The pre-event briefing memo touched on many issues and gave examples of what is happening in other parts of the country – it’s an interesting read. We
There have been a number of interesting articles about real estate in the financial press over the past couple weeks. Here’s a quick wrap-up of what you may have missed while you were off for the holidays… Wall Street Journal, December 23rd: Data from the National Association of Realtors shows that Home Sales, Prices Brighten (subscription required). Though the current data is positive, the author expresses concern about “a continuing flood of foreclosures and the
Should the threat of rising sea levels factor into the real estate decisions of home buyer or home owners? We hear frequent debate about whether the globe is warming, and if so, whether or not our civilizations and lifestyles are the cause. We also hear about large chunks of ice that break off into the ocean. But we do not hear much about specific consequences of rising sea levels in the news. Satellite images show
Although here in Hartford we’re generally more concerned about the local real estate markets, the national picture is of interest because of its impact on the overall economy. We believe that housing markets need to broadly stabilize before homeowners (consumers) feel comfortable with their personal financial situations and the banks/investors that hold the mortgages feel comfortable with their balance sheets. In other words, finding a bottom in the housing market is an important first step