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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Bakunin who wrote (78631)	3/26/2000 9:32:00 PM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Home Prices March Upward sfgate.com Of course, BGR says it's only one state. But California is approaches 20 percent of the population. Washington State, New England, the Mid-Atlantic, etc. are experiencing sticker shock. When the AOLians get to cash in next year after the merger, the real estate near Dulles may get a big bump.

To: Michael Bakunin who wrote (78631)	3/28/2000 12:24:00 AM
From: BGR	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Bakunin, As I said, the Fed seems to agree with you as it is increasing interest rates like clockwork. But, I disagree that looking at the margin is a valid measure. I may be wrong about the following figures, but I have been told that some 50%+ of the population already own, and their monthly payments are therefore not going up. As for estate taxes, they actually went down in the New England area that I live in, even when assessed values went up. Politics is a significant inflation fighter. As for the rest, a large section of them qualify for rent-stabilized shelters, especially in the big cities where rents are really growing fast. That still leaves a huge section of the population, but how frequently are they changing apartments, so that the marginal cost should be used to better gauge inflationary pressures? My position is that rising housing prices squeeze new home buyers, but they are a small section of the population. It, however, feeds the stock market as home equity loans are often invested. But that is not inflationary, till some of the gains are spent in the goods market. On a personal note, I will start thinking about inflation when my disposable income starts to go down. Presently, it is steadily increasing, mostly because I exclusively shop on the Web. -BGR.