Reading Gen Y Tea Leaves

The attitudes and habits of Generation Y will determine the future of the American real estate market (and most other areas of our economy). They have different feelings and priorities when it comes to housing than previous generations. Members of Gen Y have been particularly hard hit by the choppy economic conditions that have dominated since the early 2000s. The Atlantic recently published a piece called The Cheapest Generation and the subtitle “Why Millennials aren’t

Mortgage Rates and The Fed

This afternoon the Federal Reserve announced the next phase of their strategy to stimulate the economy. Broadly referred to as Quantitative Easing 2, the plan involves printing a whole lot of money in order to buy long-term US Treasury Bonds in the markets. The Fed’s big picture goal is to reduce unemployment, and hopes that injecting more money into the economy will encourage businesses to begin taking risks to expand their operations (hire more workers),

An Economist's View of the National Housing Market

Economists are divided as to the direction of the national housing market. Some believe that the environment is stabilizing and that prices will increase from here. Others see further price decreases once the government support fades away. Barry Ritholz is one economist we follow regularly, through his posts on The Big Picture blog. Right now, he has a strong negative view on the future of the US housing markets. One of yesterday’s posts broke down

Housing and Young People

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

Hartford Housing and Neighborhood Tour, Saturday April 4, 2009

I live in Hartford. These people live in Hartford. So do these people. So do lots of other people. Thinking about living in Hartford? Want to learn more about the different neighborhoods that comprise the city? Want to see some homes for sale in the various neighborhoods? Then get on the bus! On Saturday April 4, 2009, LiveHartford, an initiative supported by the MetroHartford Alliance staff and Housing Committee, will sponsor a bus tour of