The New York Times has a story out about how housing costs less, as a percentage of income, than it did 20 years ago.
Nationwide, a family earning the median income – the exact middle of all incomes – would have to spend 22 percent of its pretax pay this year on mortgage payments to buy [...]

Kevin Fitzgerald, of FitzInn Parking fame and owner of the Jacob Wirth’s restaurant (and building) has a tentative deal with a developer to put a condo high-rise up, next door.
Complete article: Deal would be Wirth it – by Scott Van Voorhis, The Boston Herald

Photo by Bayne Stanley, The New York Times
Could you live in a neighborhood like this?
In Vancouver, there are hundreds thousands of condominiums in high-rises such as these.
The difference between Vancouver and United States’ cities such as New York and Boston?
… In the United States, many of the new urban residents are young professionals or older, [...]

One of my favorite (real estate) TV shows is "Small Space, Big Style", on HGTV.  Okay, you can get the concept from the name (clever, huh).
Could you live with a partner in a small space, say, under 500 square feet?
I did, in the North End, for about three years.  It worked, but I think partially [...]

Huh?
Treasury yield curve inverts
Inversion is first since 2000, but there’s some doubt whether this signals recession.

LONDON (Reuters) – The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell below that of two-year notes early Tuesday, inverting the yield curve for the first time since December 2000 …
… Previous inversions have typically signaled a slowing economy or recession [...]

"Elaine, where do you and Stephen live?"
"We live in Manhattan."
"Really, and where’s your weekend home?"
"Brooklyn."
"Um, okay."
Complete article: A Fireplace Glows in Brooklyn, Inside Their Weekend Home – by Dennis Hevesi, The New York Times

The Herald’s Nena Groskind answered a question from a reader, today, regarding homeowners insurance, and what it covers, and, more importantly, what it doesn’t cover.
When you buy a condo, if you get a mortgage loan, the bank will require you to show proof of insurance.  Proof of master insurance.  Meaning, the common areas are covered [...]

A couple of days ago, I posted an entry about the state (Commonwealth?) of Massachusetts, and how it had lost population over the past couple of years.
It’s happened, again.  Population in Massachusetts fell from 6,407,382 to 6,398,743 between June 1, 2004 and June 1, 2005, according to the US Census Bureau, a loss of 0.13%.  [...]

Maybe no one in Boston cares about a lame transit strike in New York City, but it was all over the news during the past couple of days, so I might as well discuss it.

Want to know how the hot real estate market was partially responsible for the NYC transit strike?

Complete story, here.
Meanwhile, I’m glad [...]

This is just an unfortunate turn of events, all around.
In a nutshell, a real estate agent was working with a buyer (no contract, however) on Nantucket.  They saw many homes, including one on the market for $15.5 million.  They saw it twice.  Within days of seeing it a second time (well, seeing the outside, the [...]