Category — Real Estate

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

$134K – The increase in taxes to be paid by people earning $1 million or more under President Obama’s
budget, according to an analysis by the non-partisan Tax Policy Center.

39% – The percent of Americans saving less money for retirement because of the anemic economy. (Source: Country Financial)

60% - The percent of workers older than age 60 who are delaying their retirements because
of the effect of the financial crisis on their portfolios. (Source: CareerBuilder)

11% – The percent of employees who admitted to participating in March Madness pools at the office.
(Source: CareerBuilder)

5.21% – The weekly average rate for 30-year mortgages as of last Tuesday, down from 5.28% the previous week. (Source: Zillow.com)

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past week.

8.1% – The official February unemployment rate.
14.5% – The rate of unemployment if part-timers seeking full-time work and people not actively looking for a job are included. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

$46.6 Billion – Estimated sales commissions paid to residential real estate agents and brokers in 2008, down from $58.4 Billion in 2007 (Source: National Association of Realtors)

102% – The typical premium paid by a laid-off worker for COBRA health insurance in relation to the total cost (employee and employer contributions) of the job-based coverage it has replaced (Source: Aetna)

70% The number of consumers who say that deep discounting during a recession leads them to think a brand is “normally overpriced”. (Source: Yankelovich, Inc.)

32% The percentage of car shoppers who have decided to buy a used car instead of a new car, up from 27% in October. (Source: Cars.com)

Professor Edward Morrison doesn’t think so. Last month the law professor and economist at Columbia University in New York City purchased a two-family townhouse in Harlem for $2.575 million. Real estate brokers said it was a record price for a townhouse in that neighborhood, which borders the Columbia University campus.

Morrison is an expert on bankruptcy court and credit markets and recently testified before the House of Representatives on proposed mortgage foreclosure legislation. Well, hopefully he’s taking his own advice and not biting off too much. How much do Columbia professors make? I guess that’s why I couldn’t afford an Ivy League education. To recruit and retain highly-regarded professors, Universities are subsidizing their housing, especially in New York City. I’ve heard of similar programs at the University of Pennsylvania and West Chester University as well, but not even close to these prices. Morrison received favorable rates from Countrywide Bank (now part of Bank of America) for their first mortgage of $1 million. They received a second mortgage from Columbia University for $1.04 million. Sweet deal. I’m in the wrong business. Columbia University says their usual housing assistance for professors are allowances of $40,000 per year and a one-time payment of $40,000.

A foundation of the Law School at New York University provided one of their professors $4.2 million towards a purchase of an apartment for her use on scenic Central Park West. Geez, how about a 400 square foot studio like the rest of us.

Here are some random, but relevant statistics that I’ve collected the past couple of weeks.

In a survey conducted by Hewitt Associates, the average 401(k) participant is on track to replace 81% of their end-of-career salary. In order for these same participants to maintain their current standard of living, they will need 126% of their end-of-career salary as annual income (Source: InvestmentNews).

The stimulus package signed into law on February 17th, 2009 is estimated to be worth $787 Billion. One would have to spend $25.3 Million a day to spend the equivalent amount in their average lifetime (Source BFG Research).

The national median sale price for existing homes in January fell 14.7% from one year ago from $199,800 to $170,300 (Source: National Association of Realtors).

At the end of 2008, the combined assets of all U.S. traded Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) were $534.58 Billion. For the one year trailing period, this figure represents a 13.5% decline from 2007. While total assets decline, the net cash flow increased 17.5% to 178.39 Billion (Source: National Stock Exchange).

This is a related post to Going To Be Laid Off? Buy A Condo In NYC! Apparently, the Archstone-Smith Trust Apartments have read my post because they have initiated their version of the assurance program. Those who sign or renew their lease by March 31, 2009 will be able to walk away from their lease in the event they are laid off. Tenants would have 45 days to terminate their rental contracts without a penalty upon submitting proof of job loss.

The offer will be valid at all 14 apartment communities Archstone currently operates in New York. The apartment communities can be found in Clinton, Chelsea, Midtown, Upper East Side and Upper West Side.

Read more about it here.

A study by Siena College released on Friday shows that New Yorkers’ consumer confidence has risen almost 3% in February compared to the national confidence level which dropped 5%. New Yorkers are also more optimistic about the future as their confidence level rose 7% while the national future confidence level dropped 7%. The current rate for New Yorkers is about 58% and rising while the rest of te country is at 66% and falling. A Siena pollster seems to think that New Yorkers have a more stable economy and were helped more by the federal stimulus package.

In other news, Walmart is nosing around Manahttan looking for space to “drive down standards and wages” for New Yorkers. This may fly in Brooklyn, but not here. There goes my confidence level.

Hyundai offers their Assurance program, where if you buy or lease a Hyundai vehicle and lose your income in the next year, you can return it. They have recently expanded on that program to include 3 months of free payments before returning it in case it’s a short stint of income loss. Well, Toll Brothers must have seen the advertisement because they are offering a similar deal.

Toll Brothers, a Pennsylvania-based real estate developer, is offering hard-times mortgage insurance to first-time home buyers. If the buyer loses their job, the developer will make the mortgage payments for up to one year at all of their luxury condo developments in New York City. The annual cost of the insurance is free for the first year, but 3% of the monthly mortgage payment after that. They’ll do anything to sell these things after a 40% drop in sales in the 4th quarter. While two of their completed condos are mostly occupied, they have no contracts signed for their newest project and were in the process of expanding their two completed projects. Ugh!

I don’t think I’d invest in the insurance company that’s offering this plan, but criticism of the insurance industry is a whole other post. What about the real estate taxes, monthly condo fee, and utilities? I doubt they cover that and there’s no way I could keep up those payments either if I lost my job.

Here’s a quick little interview from Time Out NY with a Dutch fashion model who just started investing in real estate after taking a few seminars at Trump University. I hope she keeps her day job.

Time Out New York