Posted by Leonard Steinberg on July 4th weekend, 2011
As we pause in the middle of the year I reflect on what is great about the USA, and specifically what is so great about American real estate. Here is my list:
1) You don’t have to know the royals to build something: Unlike most countries, in the USA you could be an immigrant fresh off the boat (as we witness regularly in New York), and if you have the imagination, conviction and most importantly access to the means, you can build.
2) While governments are making it increasingly more challenging for building, the good news is the new laws being imposed are designed to improve quality, safety and esthetic appeal…..well, not maybe everywhere….yet!
3) The USA, unlike many other countries has a built in SCAVENGER SYSTEM that eats up distressed, abandoned property slowly but surely in times of trouble. Sometimes slower than we’d like, but the sight of urban decay lasting for 100 years is tough to find in the USA.
4) USA real estate is incredibly diverse: sometimes awfully so, yet it reminds us of freedoms that simply do not exist elsewhere. From those vulgar Mc Mansions, to those painfully tasteful New England shingle abodes, to mountain lodges, contemporary glass skyscrapers, trailer parks with those oh-so-uniquely-American stacked tire planters, to bland strip malls, lavish suburban malls, stop-n-go supermarkets/gas stations: the variety is ceaseless.
5) USA real estate employs LOTS of people: real estate brokers, appraisers, lawyers, title companies, builders, developers, renovators, the awful TV shows that cover real estate ‘reality’, maintenance staff, management agencies, repair industries…..one could conclude that real estate is the single most important driving force in the entire economy.
6) USA real estate is a beneficiary of Americans love for owning a home: where else is there such a passion for a double height entry, circular driveway and a formal (unused) dining room?
7) Real estate in the USA has limitless boundaries: the combination of wealth, growing population (the biggest recipient of immigrants both legal and illegal) and an endless supply of land and resources, not to mention talent and creativity makes this country unique.