Even talk to a Willie Loman type, like the tragic-hero from Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman? I have, and I do, in person and on the Internet all the time. They want the real estate news and for it to be gossipy and hot. But they don’t want to be told that the market is going down. No, no, no. You have to be like Donald Trump (the Puck of Realtors) in the New York Learning Annex Brochure—“ One man’s bubble, is another man’s opportunity.” But the only opportunity is to live like a leech of the remains of people’s bankruptcies and foreclosures.
Look at this picture of Target and Starbucks opening up in my broken down Bronx neighborhood. Apartments in the ghetto are going for $1000-1200 for a one bedroom, to $1300-1650 for a two-bedroom, and that’s in skuzzy building where you probably won’t get mug, but you sure will spend some time thinking about it.
I have my idea of a solution folks. But I don’t want to tell it to you yet. It’s not Communism for sure. In fact, we have to become practical people and eschew ideologies of the Left and the Right. Of course, if the Middle East blows up again, weez all gonna be spitting blood for a gallon of gas or heating oil.
Anyway, the National Realtors (of the USA) admit today in a Reuter’s release , that the real estate bubble is over, my friends. They are crying in their beer, but they still expect gains of 2.4% by the end of the year. The coverage in the NY Times was slightly more with it ( that is to say truthful) when they pointed out that leading builder Hovnanian admit that their profits are down a third.
Anyway, what is so good about rising real estate prices. Maybe we can figure out a way for them to collapse, and the rest of the economy, like production, to grow and function. At least you could get a real job then….