Students in Downtown Hartford

Once upon a time, Trinity College was located just across Bushnell Park from Downtown Hartford. The college had a 10 acre (relatively small) campus that the City of Hartford offered to buy in 1872. The Trustees accepted, and moved the school to its present location in 1878. As a general rule, I try not to second guess decisions that were made more than one hundred years ago.  Eighty-six is my limit.  Once you get to one hundred, it

A Roof and Four Walls

What does a house mean to you? Is it a place to raise your family? Is it a place to decorate and personalize? Is it your private oasis and sanctuary? Is it your palace for entertaining? Or is it just a roof and four walls? Lately I’ve been working with some customers that view houses as a roof and four walls. There isn’t really any emotional attachment. They don’t care about move-in condition, updated kitchens

The Fed and Mortgage Rates

The Federal Reserve Board announced a further 0.25% cut to the closely watched Federal Funds Rate yesterday, bringing the short-term interest rate down to 2.00%. More importantly, they also signaled that this would be the last rate cut for a while. As has been discussed in previous posts, mortgage rates have recently been moving in the opposite direction as the Federal Funds Rate. Mortgage rates are long-term and are very sensitive to inflation expectations. The

Property Taxes – Troubling Economics

Property taxes are a sensitive subject in Greater Hartford. Just about every year there is a budget referendum in at least one local town as angry residents fight yet another property tax increase. The debate in some towns is more heated than in others (but we won’t mention any names). You may be happy to know that rising property taxes are a hot topic in other cities and states as well. An editorial in this

More on Housing Market Conditions in Greater Hartford

Yesterday the Hartford Courant published an article related to the number of single family homes for sale (housing inventory) in the Greater Hartford area. The majority of towns appear to be a buyer’s market, with more than 6 months of inventory available. But what about the number of single family home sales and the median price for the same timeframe? Here’s the data, taken from the multiple listing service (deemed reliable, but not guaranteed)… As