Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 18th, 2012 With 900+ million sq. ft. of rooftops in New York City, why not cover them all with solar panels now that they are cheaper? (The largest manufacturer of panels, First Solar just cut 1/3 of its workforce.) That’s approx. 80 TRILLION Watts of energy per day…..directly above… [Read More]
HOUSING STARTS DOWN, BUT HOUSING BUILDING PERMITS UP…
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 17th, 2012 Housing starts dropped in March, but building permits rose quite sharply by 4,5%. This factor is mirrored by the vast number of new properties planned for Manhattan (and many have financing too). Home Depot stock (a good indicator too)has soared too. The economy’s sleeping giant (housing) has… [Read More]
SOME TRUTH ABOUT TAXES
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 16th, 2012 As politicians blabber about the Buffet Rule and taxation fairness, I thought a recent Wall Street Journal article outlined the ‘non-soundbite’ version of what is really going on tax-wise in the USA. The only conclusion I can draw is that the system is much too complicated. Here are… [Read More]
NEW YORK TIMES COVERS STRONG REAL ESTATE MARKET
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 14th, 2012 After we reported for several months on the extremely busy New York real estate market, this morning the New York Times featured this story…..on the front cover! You know it serious if its on the front cover…. They talked about the lines of people outside 422 West 20th… [Read More]
THE BUCKS FROM BRAZIL
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on Friday, April 13th, 2012 Brazil is revising its currency laws to allow more money to flow out of the country. The strength of the Brazillian economy which is the only energy self-sufficient country also has one of the fastest-growing middle classes on the planet. A strong and stable currency, coupled with a… [Read More]
140 CHARACTER DEBATE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on 4/13/2013 Twitter provides just 140 characters for posts: makes billboard mentality seems like deep discussion?
US HOUSING: THE LONG, SLOW (BUT SURE) RECOVERY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 11th, 2012 Some things take time, unfortunately, especially economic cycles. We are currently witnessing the emergence of the housing market from a very deep recession (border-line depression) and if history matters, the slow recovery we are experiencing appears to be in line. Housing bulls point to a stabilization of prices… [Read More]
THE PLAZA HOTEL TO SELL FOR $ 600 MILLION?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 9th, 2012 New York’s famed Plaza Hotel built in 1907 is for sale again by current owner Elad Properties: the landmark property that recently underwent a significant renovation and was partially converted to condominium residences has traded hands several times over the past decade. Sahara India Pariwar Ltd from… [Read More]
MEDIA INACCURACIES – IS IT GETTING WORSE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 8th, 2012 Is the media in its attempts to remain profitable in a digital world diminishing in accuracy? NBC highlighted this phenomenon this week with the Trayvon Martin shooting. With fewer staff and less time to report accurately and check facts, and with so much information out there, I… [Read More]
NEW YORK: ONLY THE 17th MOST EXPENSIVE CITY IN THE WORLD?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on April 6th, 2012 New York City rates as the 17th most expensive real estate city in the world: maybe another reason why Manhattan is so incredibly popular with international investors these days? Monaco is at the top: a strong message about super low taxes for the super-wealthy? The rich always… [Read More]