Millennials have made up the top-homebuyer demographic since 2016 and are likely to the primary demand segment for housing for decades to come. With a current force of 71 million in the population cohort, where Millennials end up moving and working may change the destiny of cities and states across the U.S. – both those …Read more
Affordability is the new battle cry across the U.S. as home prices continue to escalate at a rate much greater than the corresponding growth in incomes. This particular affordability issue is being driven by demand simply outstripping supply. From a construction perspective, the U.S. continues to under-build housing. In the 12-months ending April 2018, a …Read more
All U.S. taxpayers must not only pay for their own way, but also for all of the governmental jobs. The percentage of governmental workers per state varies from a low of 11.8 percent of the workforce in Pennsylvania to a high of 24.9 percent in Wyoming. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There …Read more
The new limit from the Tax Cut and Jobs Creation Act of 2017 places a renewed focus on State and Local Income Taxes, given the $10,000 limit on combined deductibility on State and Local Income Taxes, Property Taxes and Retail Sales Tax on individual’s Federal income tax filings. While State and Local Income Taxes are …Read more
While the U.S. added 16.4 million people from 2010 to 2017 (rising from 309.3 Million to 325.7 million), that growth rate is not the same for all Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Some MSAs grew strongly during the entire period, topping U.S. growth, yet other MSAs shrunk 5 percent or more – one even suffering a …Read more
While the typical American household earns a median income of $57,617 annually, there are some cities where more than one-half earn more than $70,000 per year. As usual, I invoke the TINSTAANREM axiom — There Is No Such Thing As A National Real Estate Market or a National Economy. The same is true about incomes. …Read more
Gross income is not relevant to what you earn. What counts is after-tax income that actually goes into the bank account. This varies significantly from one country to another and from one state to others in the U.S. In 1980, when I moved to New Zealand, the federal tax rate of the country, when you …Read more
Millennials make up approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population, but in 2017 accounted for 36 percent of all existing home sales according to the National Association of Realtors®. It is time to dispose of the myth that Millennials will not be homebuyers – many already have done so and others are actively searching today. …Read more
Following WWII, back in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the goal for many workers was to have a pension fund – work so long for a company or government entity and get paid back guaranteed amounts in the future. This was not a gift in the total compensation package. In many circumstances, pension …Read more
Home prices are a pure function of the interaction of supply and demand. Strong job growth, rising wages (the average hourly wage in the U.S. is up 2.6 percent in the prior 12-months), rising rents and lack of supply is propelling prices upwards in most markets. In the latest 12-months the U.S. added 2.281 million …Read more