Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 27th, 2012 GDP figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 were announced this morning and fell just slightly shy of estimates, although they were up 1.1% over the GDP of the third quarter. Consumer spending rose 2%: The great news was that housing investment rose significantly more than the… [Read More]
RATES TO REMAIN LOW TILL LATE 2014 SAYS THE FED
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 25th, 2012 Some good news for the real estate markets (and markets in general): To-day the Federal Reserve pushed back the likely timing of an eventual interest rate hike until late 2014, much later than it had previously said, as it nurses a still-sluggish economic recovery. In a historic… [Read More]
THE STATE OF THE UNION…..
= Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 24th, 2012 Last night I had a conversation with a seller: we were trying to establish ‘the state of the deal’ to figure out solutions for a host of issues in an attempt to make a sale……I made it very clear that unless we outlined all the issues… [Read More]
MORE THAN JUST GREEN SHOOTS: A RECOVERY IS WELL UNDER WAY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 23rd, 2012 A recovery is under way. And now there is absolutely no doubt about it. I hear it from my very wealthiest clients most of whom are scrambling to put deals together before prices rise. I even heard one say the other day he was willing to pay… [Read More]
KARDASHIAN POPULARITY OR REAL SUBSTANCE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 22, 2012 With Newt Gingrich’s remarkable surge in the South Carolina caucuses, I have to ask the following question: did he win on substance, or on the soundbite mentality that has overtaken our society? Is Newt really more qualified to be president than Mitt Romney? What exactly in Thursday’s… [Read More]
WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE MEANING OF A CONTRACT?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 21st, 2012 This week reminded us all about contracts when the architect of THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA, Newt Gingrich, was exposed for allegedly attempting to re-negotiate his marriage contract with one of his ex-wives. Has the meaning of a contract changed over the years? A contract is defined as an agreement between two… [Read More]
PREVIOUSLY OWNED HOME SALES RISE TO 11-MONTH HIGH IN DECEMBER
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 20th, 2012 To-day’s headlines (besides Newt’s disgust at being asked about his moral standards when he and his party have never considered that to be an issue in selecting a president) is the news that sales of previously owned US homes rose to an 11-month high in December 2011… [Read More]
THE FIFTEEN PERCENTERS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 19th, 2011 So Mitt Romney has revealed (shockingly!) that he pays about 15% in federal income taxes: Is this not common amongst a small country club of the very wealthy? Surely this item reveals to all that in the ONE PERCENT there are very different classes too. And will… [Read More]
NEW YORK HOLIDAY RETAIL FOOT TRAFFIC GROWS BY 4.7% IN 2011
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 16th, 2012 Holiday retail foot traffic in New York grew at an impressive rate of 4,7% in 2011 compared to the rest of the USA that saw foot traffic drop off by 3,1%. This is mostly attributed to strong tourist activity……regardless, this is very good news indeed and impacts… [Read More]
UNDERSTANDING THE ONE PERCENT – YES, AVERAGES ARE MISLEADING HERE TOO.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 15th, 2012 To-day’s New York Times examines ‘the one percent’ a bit closer than it has in the past. Just like the Times is guilty of espousing averages when it comes to real estate statistics (All media is guilty of that!) it has been guilty in the past of… [Read More]