Hope you’ve got a good house number

From HousingWire:

Why Some Home Prices Simply Don’t Make Sense

Psychologists often point out that people are torn between two minds, the rational and the instinctual. This makes the job of an economist a difficult one — market behavior would be easier to explain if everyone were a bit more reasoned in their judgments and actions. 

For a case in point, consider the following study conducted by a team of psychologists at Cornell University. Participants were asked to estimate how much they would be willing to spend at a hypothetical restaurant, either called “Studio 17” or “Studio 97.” The researchers found that participants were willing to pay significantly more ($32.84 vs. $24.58, on average) at a restaurant named Studio 97. In other words, the higher number in the restaurant name prompted people to think of larger dollar amounts when contemplating their willingness to spend.

New research shows that this phenomenon — known as an “anchoring bias” — can even influence property appraisals. Scientists at Yildiz Technical University in Turkey examined historical property data from Istanbul’s first cadastral survey, conducted in 1875. What started as an effort to understand the key determinants of home values quickly turned into a quest to explain peculiarities in nineteenth century Turkish home appraisals.

This allowed the researchers to predict property appraisals from the matrix of data collected by the civil servants over 140 years ago. Using 315 real estate sites from three different neighborhoods in Istanbul, the researchers tested which variables (e.g., number of rooms, construction material, location, etc.) were most important in predicting property appraisals.

They found that all of the usual suspects (location, number of rooms, size, etc.) were influential drivers of property values. Curiously, however, they found that the home number was also predictive of property appraisals. According to their estimates, a two-fold increase in house number (e.g., 50 vs. 100) increased the appraised value by 10–25%.

The researchers searched for logical explanations. One theory, for instance, was that higher property numbers were associated with homes built in more valuable areas of the city. Upon further inspection, however, the researchers found no evidence in support of this association. They write, “Had real properties with high door numbers been located in the valuable parts of the city, or built earlier, those buildings would be distant from buildings with low door numbers. However, the street maps […] show no such pattern.”

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63 Responses to Hope you’ve got a good house number

  1. dentss dunnigan says:

    Just reported Elijah’s home was robbed …Oh the irony …

  2. 1987 Condo says:

    Jobs: + 164,000

    U/E: 3.7

    Wages: 3.2% yoy

  3. Fast Eddie says:

    164K jobs; hourly wages up Y/Y @ 3.2%

  4. 1987 Condo says:

    Need top be quicker, Gar

  5. Juice Box says:

    Alarm was setoff he wasn’t robbed, it could have been a racoon or a rat.

    In response to queries, Cummings issued a statement to The Baltimore Sun on Friday morning.

    “An individual attempted to gain entry into my residence at approximately 3:40 AM on Saturday, July 27,” the statement said. “I was notified of the intrusion by my security system, and I scared the intruder away by yelling before the person gained entry into the residential portion of the house. I thank the Baltimore Police Department for their response and ask that all further inquiries be directed to them.””

    https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/bs-md-ci-cr-cummings-house-burglarized-20190801-4b6c6fghwvec7iabozh66np4ae-story.html

  6. No One says:

    I remember reading that some purported anchoring findings have been found to be non-replicable.
    But I do know that superstitious Chinese buyers like to buy at a price and/or home number that has a lot of eights in it.

  7. chicagofinance says:

    Check out 8th Avenue in Brooklyn from the BQE to Greenwood Cemetary in Borough Park…….

    No One says:
    August 2, 2019 at 10:12 am
    I remember reading that some purported anchoring findings have been found to be non-replicable.
    But I do know that superstitious Chinese buyers like to buy at a price and/or home number that has a lot of eights in it.

  8. Walking by says:

    I wonder if this numeric correlation also exists for speed limits on your street. The higher the speed limit the more you overpay?

  9. Friday WalkingBye says:

    Walking by, you are correct.

    I just copy/pasted the following paragraph from a Harvard Medical School Psychiatric Department study entitled – “A holistic lifestyle study of Morons, Nitwits and Idiots and changes that occur when given large amount of monies or properties”.

    In page 69, they mention pumpkinnitwit. “In summary, 25% spend their monies in what is colloquially known as “h00kers & bl0w”, 50% go to a Casino, 24% buy a house next to a waste dump, cemetery, prison or other non-popular location, 1% buy next to s highway with a speed limit over 40mph, the reason stated was ” they like to see things go fast and really like the smell of fumes, btw the same group change thier underw3ar only once a month, again they like the smell.

  10. Friday WalkingBye says:

    Grim please release, is funny

  11. Bystander says:

    Friday,

    The problem with a 25 mph road is that it is realistically 45 and commonly 60 mph…but pretty wood radiator covers are sometimes found in those homes.

  12. Libturd, seen crazy things done with ping pong balls. says:

    Tiger wood radiators?

  13. The Great Pumpkin says:

    To each and their own..

    Lol..I love my house. I also believe my wife and I happen to have good taste. If we fell in love with it enough to sign the line, I’m sure there will be others that feel the same way.

    Funny part, keep telling yourself you are nice and safe with that 25 mph sign. At least cops speed trap on my road, and people know it. Their driving reflects it. Those 25 mph roads look nice and safe till the local teenager comes drifting out of the corner.

    I have a huge front lawn, enough to incorporate a giant weeping willow into the landscape. If that means double yellow on a 35 mph this close to nyc, I’ll take it!!

  14. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    To each and their own..

    Lol..I love my house. I also believe my wife and I happen to have good taste. If we fell in love with it enough to sign the line, I’m sure there will be others that feel the same way.

    Funny part, keep telling yourself you are nice and safe with that 25 mph sign. At least cops speed trap on my road, and people know it. Their driving reflects it. Those 25 mph roads look nice and safe till the local teenager comes drifting out of the corner.

    I have a huge front lawn, enough to incorporate a giant weeping willow into the landscape. If that means double yellow on a 35 mph this close to nyc, I’ll take it!!

    What’s it like to lie to yourself and pretend you’ve made nothing but the best decision in every single facet of your life?

  15. Not Bloomberg News says:

    Dunning-Krueger.

    It is actually a very nice way to live, low stress, low anxiety….everything works out pretty much.

    Don’t knock it!

  16. JCer says:

    Pumps, most of us prefer to live on a road with little traffic……….Where I live the only people driving on the road are the people who live there, their visitors, USPS et al package delivery, and landscapers/contractors.

    The double yellow really hurts resale value except for roads like Ridgewood rd. in Glen Ridge or Mountain Ave in Montclair.

  17. JCer says:

    Personally I have no issue living on a double yellow, I grew up on one but my wife said no way when we were looking as do most people we know. The busy road kills your buyer pool, unless inventory is really bad the market for homes on double yellow roads in suburbia is poor. My mother didn’t make much money seller her home despite the very updated condition even though it was purchased as a distress sale originally.

  18. Mike S says:

    I would never live on a double yellow, or any road with higher than 25 MPH speed limit… but I also won’t live near electrical lines, on a corner, on a thru street, too close to businesses, anywhere you hear highway noise, etc…

    Peace of mind in your own house is way worth an extra bedroom or square footage..

  19. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I’m being honest. My road is not busy. I’m sure there are 25 mph neighborhood streets that see more cars as every single person living in the neighborhood must pass.

    I honestly see no difference with the double yellow if it’s not a busy area or main thoroughfare. It’s ridiculous to just cross off a home because of a double yellow. Don’t knock it, till you try it. There really is no difference. It’s all in the individuals head.

    I get peace and quiet, along with privacy. Priceless for someone that values this. What more could I ask for? Would living here be much better if there was no yellow line? That’s crazy to say it would make living here better? Exactly how?

  20. The Great Pumpkin says:

    And where am I going to find a house like mine for 650k? Please show me. Should I pay 200k more because there is no yellow line? F’k that. 650k for a house that I love and is in commuting distance to nyc. Woods across the street, woods behind. Almost an acre of land. Surrounded by nice homes and good neighbors. Beautiful home inside and out.

    Where do I find this for 650k? 650k with a 15 year 2.75 rate means I’m putting minimal money into my home based on my household income. This leaves a lot of room for investing. I’ll take it as opposed to having to pay 800 to 1 million for houses that I like on the market.

  21. The Great Pumpkin says:

    No disagreement.

    JCer says:
    August 2, 2019 at 12:35 pm
    Personally I have no issue living on a double yellow, I grew up on one but my wife said no way when we were looking as do most people we know. The busy road kills your buyer pool, unless inventory is really bad the market for homes on double yellow roads in suburbia is poor. My mother didn’t make much money seller her home despite the very updated condition even though it was purchased as a distress sale originally.

  22. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Yes it is.

    Listen, to make it on investments you have to be both smart and lucky. I would never deny the role of fortune in making fortunes. Always about the right place at the right time…

    Not Bloomberg News says:
    August 2, 2019 at 12:06 pm
    Dunning-Krueger.

    It is actually a very nice way to live, low stress, low anxiety….everything works out pretty much.

    Don’t knock it!

  23. grim says:

    Ridgewood Ave, Glen Ridge.

    Upper Mountain Ave, Montclair

    Both double yellows with tons of high demand $1mm homes.

  24. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    It’s a lot like dropping out of HS and working at the post office while the smart kids go to college. It becomes bedrock dishonesty, the foundational lie on which all of the rest of the lies are built.

    What’s it like to lie to yourself and pretend you’ve made nothing but the best decision in every single facet of your life?

  25. JCer says:

    Grim those roads are a far cry from the ping pong raceway……
    I highly doubt the pumps residence has appreciated in value. Buying in 2011 there should have been appreciation. The double yellow hurts, places in Downtown Jersey City I tried to buy in 2011 have doubled in value or more, even in suburbia people should have seen 20% gains since 2011. Ridgewood Rd. is full of trophy properties, the double yellow is all about showing them off, the mentality is different from most double yellow roads.

  26. Fast Eddie says:

    I would toss parts of Ho Ho Kus, Saddle River and Upper Saddle River in there as having a certain panache with the double yellow. I’m sure the Hunterdon and Somerset crowd can share a few here as well.

  27. No One says:

    I’m at the end of a long residential cul-de sac in a valley, so I think about 4 to 12 cars pass my house per 24 hours. There’s a babbling brook just below my four acres, too. Yet I can drive to shopping and restaurants and my office in about 10 minutes, and have a nice quiet and save neighborhood in which to walk, with minimal traffic.

  28. Fast Eddie says:

    No One,

    You’re what liberals hate. Why should you be so privileged as to have positioned yourself in life to live so comfortably? What’s wrong with you? You need to pay your fair share so that the layabouts and misfits can have a piece, too!!

  29. No One says:

    Eddie,
    That’s correct, and in fact, some Bloomberg News eco-pinko wrote a book about it. The author is proud that some of his other books have been praised by Studs Terkel and the NY Times. He thinks we should all be relocated to urban projects, much like some ugly ones I’ve seen in China and Russia.

    An incisive look at the consequences of today’s costly and damaging suburban lifestyle
    In The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome, Bloomberg News’ John Wasik exposes the economic, cultural, environmental, and health problems underlying life in suburbia. Wasik provides powerful insights into how the U.S. suburban lifestyle has become unsustainable and what can be done to salvage it. His observations are firmly grounded in exclusive on-the-ground research, interviews with thought leaders, and the latest studies and statistics. The book
    Exposes the untold truths about suburban home ownership: green isn’t always so green, life isn’t cheaper after accounting for gas, water, and taxes, and modern suburban living isn’t so idyllic considering the toll it takes on our health
    Includes exclusive research and analysis by experts in the field that debunks the many myths associated with suburban living
    Explores innovative solutions being developed in cities across the country
    The American Dream of moving further from a city to buy a bigger house and find better schools has become a costly nightmare. The Cul-de-Sac Syndrome examines why and what can be done.

  30. Libturd, seen crazy things done with ping pong balls. says:

    I live one house from Ridgewood Avenue.

    As long as the country club is not zoned ping pong palace, I’m good.

  31. Fast Eddie says:

    I live one house from Ridgewood Avenue.

    Poser! :P

  32. Juice Box says:

    Little Boxes -Malvina Reynolds

    Little boxes on the hillside,
    Little boxes made of ticky tacky
    Little boxes on the hillside,
    Little boxes all the same,
    There’s a pink one and a green one
    And a blue one and a yellow one
    And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
    And they all look just the same.
    And the people in the houses
    All went to the university
    Where they were put in boxes
    And they came out all the same
    And there’s doctors and lawyers
    And business executives
    And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
    And they all look just the same.
    And they all play on the golf course
    And drink their martinis dry
    And they all have pretty children
    And the children go to school,
    And the children go to summer camp
    And then to the university
    Where they are put in boxes
    And they come out all the same.
    And the boys go into business
    And marry and raise a family
    In boxes made of ticky tacky
    And they all look just the same,
    There’s a pink one and a green one
    And a blue one and a yellow one
    And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
    And they all look just the same.

  33. Juice Box says:

    Joyce from the link above. re: “suddenly there are exactly zero counterfeit shoes to be seen in that factory and all the kids are sent home for the day”

    The child labor force in China is probably bigger than the entire workforce in the US. Same for India too.

  34. ExEssex says:

    3:29 i’m Certain liberalism has nothing to do with whatever it is you just regurgitated.

  35. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    Lib – your neighbor, the one who lives in the corner house on Ridgewood Ave – How the hell does he keep water out of his garage? His driveway is a steep concrete aquifer leading right to his below grade car keep. You should check that he doesn’t have a covert sump that dumps right into your backyard.

  36. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    I liken China to this company that used to exist on Long Island, it was called “ERI”. EDS had just acquired it when I went in there as a consultant to EDS to start managing a turnaround. ERI was a lot of things, but it was mostly one thing. They leased desktop computers and their biggest customer was AT&T. All around the tri-state area they were leasing old 386 computers for monthly fees that exceeded the current value of the hardware. It took AT&T a long time to figure that out, so ERI had an enormous, ENORMOUS, cash flow from ripping off it’s biggest customer…until the customer figured it out and dropped them like a hot potato.

    In the current state of affairs China is ERI and the US is AT&T.

  37. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Give it some time. Appreciation doesn’t happen across the board. It takes time to go from pocket to pocket, but eventually it encompasses an entire area in time. You think the land values in sf went up all at the same time? It’s a game of chasing value before all the tides rise. You can’t f up north jersey if you hold 20 years. Promise you.

    I might not have some giant compound, but I have a home pleasing to the eyes. That’s why I like the fact that people drive past my house. I’m proud as hell of it. Dead end, who sees all the hard work I put into making my home look beautiful? Yes, it’s a great feeling when people compliment my home and the lawn.

    JCer says:
    August 2, 2019 at 3:01 pm
    Grim those roads are a far cry from the ping pong raceway……
    I highly doubt the pumps residence has appreciated in value. Buying in 2011 there should have been appreciation. The double yellow hurts, places in Downtown Jersey City I tried to buy in 2011 have doubled in value or more, even in suburbia people should have seen 20% gains since 2011. Ridgewood Rd. is full of trophy properties, the double yellow is all about showing them off, the mentality is different from most double yellow roads.

  38. The Great Pumpkin says:

    You don’t have to have an enormous house. You can make a home desirable with good taste and paying attention to the fine details. It’s about character.

    I have a center hall colonial. It’s a perfect size, and it’s loaded with character. I don’t know what it would go for, but I’m telling it would sell for appreciation. Someone will come along after years of looking at sh!t home after sh!t home and will fall in love with it, just like my wife and I did. No doubt about it. Fine looking homes sell and they are an easy sell no matter what market it is.

  39. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Honestly, where am I going to find a 650k center call colonial with things like copper gutters or beautiful stained wood garage doors? Stone around entire foundation. Beautiful stone wrapped double door entrance with a front porch ceiling made of stained oak. Lots of details.

    Not going to find that for 650k. It’s not easy to find. These details usually pertain to significantly bigger houses.

    If you are not into this type of character and detail, then the house is not for you. But if you are, the house is a great value at 650k.

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  41. homeboken says:

    Pumpkin – Let’s make this easy – Let’s say your exact house is available on a dead-end street OR on the side of a freeway. Same price. Which do you take?

    The location you pick is the more valuable and preferred location. Truth is, big time successful real estate moguls like yourself, don’t live next to high-ways or train tracks. That is where poor people live.

  42. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Let’s make this easy. House across the street sold for 1.275 million a few years ago. Who lives next to a highway or train tracks? Why do you listen to expat?

    As for dead end or free way? Obviously dead end, but if you can’t afford the huge markup for that “special” privilege of living on a dead end, then go for the freeway.

    Homeboken, have you actually gone and searched for houses in the north jersey market? You don’t get everything you want unless you are a millionaire. It’s not easy to find a desirable house that checks off every box. I bought this home as my second real estate purchase at the age of 31. What do you think, I could afford 1 million plus back then? I was still basically a kid in this day and age at 31. Most 31 year olds at the time were still living in their parents basement.

  43. NJCoast says:

    Around these parts the lower the house number the higher the price. House numbers 1 and 2 are beachfront.

  44. leftwing says:

    Joyce, hat tip to Lib as well from the same 2014 thread.

    “The housing bubble doesn’t happen without easy credit. It’s the same with the college loan bubble. Montclair State has more than doubled in size in the last 20 years and the amount of student housing has most likely tripled.

    Are we going to blame this on Wall Street and the Baby Boomers too?”

  45. leftwing says:

    Dunning, on his theory: “If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent … The skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is.”

    Now, taking the Tony in the “You Can’t Make This Shit Up” category….

    Not Bloomberg News says:
    Dunning-Krueger. It is actually a very nice way to live, low stress, low anxiety….everything works out pretty much.

    The Great Pumpkin says:
    Yes it is.

    LOLOLOLOLOL. Now I understand. when I say he can’t possibly be this stupid there is a very simple answer. Of course he can be. LOL.

  46. leftwing says:

    So, crazy two weeks in the market…as I sit here on a sunny Saturday digging out from underneath and looking for new positions….

    Took a lot of positions off on earnings…had some nice hits out of that, including some longer term positions I would have kept but they just popped too much to not ring the register…eg, PINS, APHA…Portfolio is pretty barren right now, because of so many liquidations I’m probably at my highest level cash in a while and don’t intend to be…

    Thoughts? I’ll share first…short position in W. Just don’t think they’ll be able to compete. Second tier online retailer, going to continue to get squeezed on higher end goods from specialty sites and lower end by AMZN. Seemed to have a niche in home furnishings, anecdotally AMZN is blowing them out right now on price in those goods. That the stock popped a bit on earnings when given their outlook IMO it should have gone the other way may provide a good entry point. I had a short trade on for a couple days before earnings, took a win off the table, been reloading after earnings legging my way into another short position, looking for a run at 100 by Nov.

    I’m short GE. Went short before earnings after she popped above 10.50, cashed out on the decline a few days later, reloaded short again on earnings when she popped again. Levered myself into a very low risk/high return trade as I purchased 10.00 strike puts and then later that day and the next wrote 9.00s for September as she legged down. Already up pretty strongly but I will let this roll given the skewed risk/reward profile…in any case expecting it down further, hopefully near my nine strike as earning trends really stunk and the ‘dodged a bullet’ euphoria fades. I just see no business catalysts near term for this to improve markedly. One caution here is that it declined on the DJT tariffs so any reversal could cause a pop.

    Next up…and I’m really hesitant to put this out there for a number of reasons…CHS. Took a position when the stock was around 3.50 expecting it to hold 3.00. Am watching closely now, may add to position. This is a trade, not an investment. Dislike the sector so definitely don’t want to be long for any amount of time but basically the balance sheet looked alright and there was some M&A interest (although a little funky). Opportunity right now is that it also got whacked on DJT’s tariff announcement. You need your own analysis on financial condition, outlook, view on tariff impact, etc. Again, can’t believe I’m throwing this out here given the sh1tty sector, senior management turnover, declined M&A, nominal share price, one of the ugliest charts I’ve seen, etc…but for anyone looking for something speculative this thing has been beaten so far down as long as you believe the balance sheet holds and they don’t get blown up this retail season there may be an opportune entry to trade it to do a scalp on a bounceback and get out. Not a LT hold in any scenario, know your stop loss and be disciplined. Interesting option opportunity if you’re qualified.

    As always, I’m an anonymous poster on an anonymous real estate blog with no qualifications whatsoever to offer anyone financial advice so do your work on any names.

    And in the interest of full disclosure I have hedged shorts into next Friday with half a dozen SPY option positions long and writes just in case the Orange One decides this weekend to soften the tariff rhetoric to pump the markets.

    Anyone else? Looking for long or short ideas.

  47. The Great Pumpkin says:

    How old is your son? Is he buying his first investment property? Now go laugh at him.

    “LOLOLOLOLOL. Now I understand. when I say he can’t possibly be this stupid there is a very simple answer. Of course he can be. LOL.”

  48. The Great Pumpkin says:

    And remember, I didn’t have some hot shot rich dad helping me. I did it on my own.

    F’n dunning…I killed it on real estate at a young age and I called this current economy way back in 2012/13 on this blog. Yea, I just stumble onto sh’t. I have been in the 1% earnings for my age cohort for most of my life for a reason…

  49. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Just give a little respect for once. I’m a good guy working hard to make America great again.

    Raising my family the right way. Take care of my properties. And contribute a lot of tax revenue for my country, give me a break already.

  50. Blue Ribbon Teacher says:

    I have been in the 1% earnings for my age cohort for most of my life for a reason

    Enjoy the summer while it lasts. 4 more weeks of fun.

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  52. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    leftwing – same here. I did more trading this week than I’ve done in the last 90 days combined. It started on Monday. A thought just occurred to me out of the blue. I suddenly thought that a lot of the F0rtune 500 stocks I owned might be available at lower prices over the next month or so. I cut every position by at least half (CELG/BMY by 2/3rds!) and was kind of happy with that. Then I went off the rails. I bought SPXS in very large quantities. I then added to it on Fed Wednesday and then added again on Thursday morning. Sold it all Thursday afternoon. On Friday I was 33% stock, and making a killing on my bonds. Even bought a $200K 2% 1 year CD this week while they were still available, adding to my 7 figure boring CD portfolio.

    I stayed a little crazy on Friday. I even went long the market with SPXL in the early afternoon. Sold half that position for a nice profit at the close.

    I love when volatility comes a’knockin’. I might put on some crazy options positions soon (crazy == hedged, not naked or one-sided).

    Portfolio is pretty barren right now, because of so many liquidations I’m probably at my highest level cash in a while and don’t intend to be

  53. The Original NJ ExPat says:

    No you’re not. Otherwise your daughter would have a sibling. Selfish bastard is what you are. Then again, look at your Dad. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

    Raising my family the right way.

  54. JCer says:

    pumps double yellows get whacked in a housing slump or during a distress sale. It is the only time to buy a double yellow, steal it and then unload it during a housing boom. Back in 05 my buddy who was working as a realtor in Ridgewood told me he thought he could get 1.3m for my parents house if they were interested in selling, fast forward 10 years my dad unexpectedly passes away so my mom decides to sell starts at 1.1m gets 900k after 150 days on the market and 2 price reductions and has to dump 50k on a septic, replacement cedar fence, etc to get it closed, the buyer had adult children so the main road wasn’t a concern. People with kids didn’t want it, in a hot market they wouldn’t have as many options.

    My point is it is hard to even see you getting 700k for your home, my mother’s home was larger than yours by over 1k sqft, renovated(full finished basement, newer kitchen and baths, in-ground pool, jacuzzi, top-end appliances, everything done to a high level), and on 2 acres of nicely landscaped property oh and the property taxes were less in a town with better schools in bergen county. Backing out the tax differences vs. mortgage it wouldn’t cost much difference, mortgage difference between 900 and 700k is like $800 per month at current rates on a 30 yr, your taxes are $400 more per month.

    You would have needed to steal your house to make it a great investment(i’m talking ~500k). But i’m going to tell you what my late father told me, a house is not an investment, it is where you live buy it because it suits your needs. He also was against having a mortgage on a personal home and very high taxes. He was a real estate guy, he would borrow as much as the bank, ins. company, or wall street would lend on an asset but personally he was risk adverse.

    My dad bought the home I was talking about in 1988, the home had sold in 87 for 760k, he offered 0.50 on the dollar a few months after black monday and was able to buy it. Think about this for a second the home barely appreciated from 1987 prices, and that was after 350k worth of renovations over 20 years(roof, windows, new siding, finished basement, new kitchen and baths, pool and new landscaping, koi pond, deck and patios. The capital gain after 25 years was something like 125k, but again the renovations were about what he wanted in his home not about resale.

    Smart buyers aren’t paying for improvements as they are likely out of fashion and in need of re-do within 5 years, the practical life of home finishes is less than 15 years and buyers don’t consider it new unless it was done in the last 5. The value in real estate is in the dirt, so the neighborhood and the road matter most. The home across the street from you is massive more than double the size of your home, the construction cost was high, that buyer bought the building for most of that 1.2m and it will depreciate. What is the value of an unimproved lot in your location? Thats the floor on value, houses depreciate, land appreciates.

  55. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Jcer,

    First, I agree with the points you are making. I think you underestimate “the desirability” of a home in your dirt assessment.

    Please explain this home listing that sold 50 k over ask. If the house is desirable, it will always be an easy sell. If I can’t get 700k for my home, that’s pathetic.

    https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/11-Hubbardton-Rd-Wayne-NJ-07470/39793131_zpid/

    When upgrading a home, don’t take on trends. Complete with taste that never gets old or dies. That everyone finds appealing. That’s my home. It wasn’t dressed up in current fads. It was done with traditional taste that never gets old. No risks taken, just desirable characteristics that last the test of time.

    Also, with appreciation in real estate, it’s like stocks. Most of the time homes don’t change much in price, but when appreciation comes, it comes hard. Just look at sf. With the amount of investment in the nyc metro economy, it’s inevitable that north jersey will be much more expensive 20 years from now. Just look at the coastline of nj on the Hudson. You can’t even recognize the coastline at the Lincoln tunnel on both sides of the river. Writing is on the wall for north jersey dirt prices. This economy is only getting stronger and it will reflect in the price of real estate eventually.

    If my home is only worth 700K twenty years from now, something went very wrong with the nyc metro area economy. Even if it goes up 1% a year, in twenty years it will be 20% more. 1% is nothing if the economy is growing and getting stronger by the day, which it is in north jersey.

    And buying my home for 500k was not an option. That’s a pipe dream. I wish, but no way, no how.

    My home is not obnoxiously large. It’s a perfect size. Not too big, not too small. People value that. It’s efficient in its design and use.

  56. The Great Pumpkin says:

    And the thing I agree with you most…a personal home is not a monetary investment. It’s a value investment towards the kind of quality of life you want to live. If it makes money, that’s icing on the cake.

    Now if you are purchasing investment property, it’s always better than stocks in terms of risk and reward. You have to actually do work, but it takes a lot of the risk off the table. It’s really difficult to lose a lot of money on a rental property if you do your hw on the purchase and know what you are doing. Almost zero chance of losing it all, and very little chance to lose anything. Money does not come fast, but it comes eventually.

  57. The Great Pumpkin says:

    I’ll tell you what. Who you decide to mingle with determines in your mind if you are rich or poor. It shapes your bias and perspective.

    So for example, you can be doing better than 95% of the population, but if you only hang with 1%ers, you think you are poor. Someone in the 80% percentile can hang around people that are in the bottom 50% and feel like the richest man alive. It’s all relative.

    I was looking through the DuPont Registry, and boy do I feel poor. This latest boom has really put a lot of money at the top. I never realized how many cars are 500k or higher. 200k used to get you a sick car, now it’s just ridiculous. So much silly money at the top. To spend 500k on a car and only put 2,000 miles on it is ridiculous. I really pity these people. So much money that they are forced to piss money away on things they don’t need or even use. Nothing must make them happy, they just get bored of buying things they don’t really need. Oh wife, I just bought my 6th 800k car, and my 10th 10,000 sq ft mansion. I’m so lucky that I buy sh’t I don’t even need…everyone looks at me like I have it all, but really I just obsess over making more money to buy sh’t I really don’t need or will ever use. TALK ABOUT A WASTE OF LIFE. Go focus on family and building meaningful relationships before you die. Instead they continue to strive for meaningless nonsense. Such lonely people. Chase that dollar bill. It owns you.

  58. The Great Pumpkin says:

    “So the El Paso shooter was a white supremacist.

    The Dayton shooter was a Leftist.

    The ICE bomber quoted AOC.

    The Congressional baseball game shooter was a Bernie bro.

    But according to the media, all the violence is Trump’s fault. Disgusting dishonesty.”

    “In his Twitter profile, Connor Betts, the 24-year-old suspected gunman in the Dayton mass shooting, described himself as, “he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i’m going to hell and i’m not coming back.””

  59. ExEssex says:

    Damn….The blood-curdling screams cut through the Saturday morning air like a gunshot, jolting neighbors from peaceful sleep in their idyllic New Jersey town.
“I heard a woman screaming, ‘Oh my god!’ over and over and over,” said Kathy Cantwell, 63. “It was at 6 a.m. My window was open. I didn’t see anything. Someone was screaming from the top of their lungs.”
Hours later, residents of leafy Maplewood learned the horrific truth — their neighbor, a Manhattan comedy club owner, and his family’s live-in nanny had been brutally murdered, allegedly by the nanny’s boyfriend.
Joseph Porter, 27, of Elizabeth, N.J., was booked on two counts of murder and weapons possession in the deaths of David Kimowitz and nanny Karen Bermudez-Rodriguez at Kimowitz’s home on Walton Road, Essex County prosecutors said.
Police responding to calls of a woman being assaulted found Bermudez-Rodriguez, 26, lying on the ground several houses away from the sprawling two-story home near Jefferson Ave. at around 6 a.m., Essex County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly told the Daily News.

Medics rushed her to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center where she died an hour later, prosecutors said.

Authorities investigate a suspected homicide on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019 in Maplewood Township, N.J.
    BROOKE LEFFERTS
Kimowitz, a father of two baby girls, was found dead inside the house, authorities said. His wife and children were not home at the time of the attack, Fennelly said.
Kimowitz was an owner of the Stand Restaurant and Comedy Club in Union Square in Manhattan. The popular venue first opened in Gramercy in 2012, then moved to a larger space on E. 16th St. last month. It’s hosted such comedians as Tracy Morgan, Janeane Garofalo and Judah Friedlander.

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