‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: What Women Really Want
“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” (c)― Jane Austen, Persuasion There has been a lot of press about Gen Y and the media has declared this group of young people the darlings of the future. With one pronouncement after another, this cluster has been seen as the coming savior of everything from retail boutiques, to shopping online to apartment rents. Up until now, most of the judgment coming out of the business press has been…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Property Prices and Fly Fishing
Sometimes I wonder if it says “kick me” on the back of my suit. I’ve been following property prices and talking to a number of colleagues about trends in apartment, retail and industrial and for some reason on at least two occasions the conversation turned to fly-fishing. I don’t know anything about fly-fishing. In fact, the only time I tried it, it took a while to pick the flies (the hook kind, not the buzzing kind) out of my lucky fishing shirt. (All real estate people have lucky fishing shirts. Go on, just ask them). Inevitably there seems to be…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: The Shadow Inventory is Neither
In what I can only characterize as an interesting turn of events, the well-respected firm Corelogic released a report that indicated a reduction in “shadow” inventory by 1.5 million units, which translates to roughly four months’ supply. This represents, according to Corelogic, about one half of the number of housing units currently in serious foreclosure or REO status. Since this presents some good news, I found it to be odd that the oft-used term “shadow” keeps coming up. The unstated presumption in the release was that this is an inventory bound for rental and probably not re-sale, otherwise it wouldn’t be…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What’s on Your Apartment ‘Laminated List’?
There’s an episode of Friends where Ross and Rachel are making lists of famous people, who, in the unlikely case that they meet them, are allowed to have affairs with them and not get in trouble with their significant other. Ross even goes so far as to laminate his list. And a lot of people make their own “laminated lists.” Do you have one? Who’s on it? OK, I’ll stop being nosy. Anyway, if this “Get out of jail free” rule is available in relationships (even if it’s unlikely you’ll ever get an opportunity to use it), I think it…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Swimming Your Way to Prosperity
I get a lot of sale flyers by email from all of the brokerage firms. I suspect you’re on the same list and have seen a pretty big increase in sale activity. According to Real Capital Analytics there is a pretty substantial uptick in transaction volumes on a year over year basis. What I find interesting is the way the sale flyers have changed over the years. In the 1980s, the average person weighted in at about 160 pounds, at least for air traffic planning purposes. There was that one time I flew on Air Wisconsin (it was a bring…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What to Do When You Can Hear Your Neighbors
One good thing about living in an apartment is that when things go bump in the night, it’s probably just your neighbor walking around, and not a deranged killer wearing a William Shatner mask and brandishing a butcher knife. Of course, one bad thing about living in an apartment is that when things go bump in the night, it’s your neighbor walking around. Hearing your neighbors’ TV, music, arguments, whatever, is one of the worst parts of living in an apartment. Developers, take note: People would probably trade the luxury amenities in your building just for thicker walls. This is…
‘The Accidental Economist’ with Jack Kern: Market Selection and Brainy Pursuits
In an age of increasing sophistication and complexity in placing capital in multifamily apartments it seems we have a pretty paranoid view of markets. The only difference these days between a real estate research forecaster and a weatherman is that people will talk to a weatherman at a party. In real estate research, hardly a day goes by without the release of yet another Oracle from Everywhere offering a view towards what’s happening in a market. It seems not only “Dallas Does Well” sells but also “Cincinnati is Sinking” and “Lucky in Louisville.” To be honest, it is shocking to…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What Do You Do If Your Residents Have Dangerous Pets?
Recently, my husband and I took a weekend trip to wine country. While driving around trying to find a vineyard, our GPS took us to a parking lot. We were meant to drive over a bridge, but it was closed due to construction. There was a dirt road, though, behind a bank. “Let’s just take it,” I said and drove on. “Our GPS will adjust and lead us from there.” Ignoring the “private property” and “do not enter” signs, we drove on, like every cliched teenager in the first five minutes of a horror movie. At the end of the…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Your Apartment is Haunted? Who Ya Gonna Call?
Ghosts do not exist. It’s a scientific fact. That said, if I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, I always check in the bathtub to make sure that dead lady from The Shining isn’t there. And I will never, ever play that Bloody Mary game. Ever. Of course, some people still strongly believe in the paranormal and supernatural. I recently came across a discussion on Multifamily Insiders where a landlord wrote that one of his residents said her apartment was haunted and didn’t want to live there, and he asked what he should do about…
‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: What Should Go in a Welcome Basket for New Residents?
One of the benefits of working for a multifamily publication is that people actually seek out my advice when looking for an apartment. My brother recently got a job in Manhattan, so I was helping him look for an apartment. And after going back and forth about a place (and literally going back to a studio three times—his broker was a lot more patient than I was), he finally signed the lease. The stressful part is over, right? No, for my brother, it’s just beginning. He wanted to know, how will he get to work from there? What is there…