Love, Money & Real Estate #26
Real Estate, Travel, & Climate Change - Plus something new for subscribers
Greetings!
I’m just back from a 12-day trip to Peru. It’s my second time visiting this amazing country. I love the people, the views (just look at that mountain range!) and the food. Mostly, I love to travel. I love learning about new places and cultures. I love trying new things. I love poking around really, really old places, buildings, cities.
From the 1,200-year old market in Fez, Morocco, to the Wats of Thailand, there’s a lot to learn and important lessons and insights to share. More on this in a moment.
Catching up on Real Estate News in My Inbox
I opened up my inbox when I got back to the office and found a lot of news - most of it good. Here’s a sample of what I’m seeing:
The National Association of Realtors announced that pending home sales climbed 8.3% in December. They expect a 13% increase in existing home sales this year, to 4.62 million. If interest rates continue to decline, we might see sales rise to 5.35 million in 2024. Median home prices are expecting to increase a modest 1.4% this year to $395,100 and then see another modest increase to 2.6% in 2025, to $405,200.
Apartment List’s new Renter Migration Report says renters are moving from New York, Charlotte, and Miami. Lots of folks are heading south, to Atlanta and South Carolina. And, 31% of Chicago apartment hunters are looking to move away. (Can’t be the weather. It’s raining here. Again. In January.)
Are there ethical issues in the use of smart home health tech to care for older people? Nadine Andrea Felber and her colleagues wrote a report that was published by the Institute of Biomedical Ethics, University of Basel, in March 2023.
“The findings reveal a lack of adequate ethical consideration in the development and implementation of SHHTs. The report emphasizes the need for meticulous ethical deliberation in deploying such technologies to care for older individuals.” Preview the findings here.
The Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University released a new report showing that rent is unaffordable for half of renters. The cost of renting has surged to record levels.
“The number of renter households spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities rose by 2 million in just three years to a record high of 22.4 million, according to America’s Rental Housing 2024, a new report released today by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Among these renters, 12.1 million had severe burdens, paying over half of their income for housing, also an all-time high. [INTERACTIVE] And while rental markets are finally cooling, evictions have risen, the country is seeing the highest homelessness counts on record, and the need for rental assistance is greater than ever.“
And, the U.S. Commerce Department said Q4 GDP rose smartly at 3.3%. This is well above the sustainable long-run trend growth rate of about 2%, according to Mortgage Bankers Association SVP and Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. Bottom line consensus for all economists: 2023 was a much better year than expected. No recession, though they’re still not sure why.
Hot Reads from ThinkGlink.com and Best Money Moves.com
And from Best Money Moves:
If you want to learn more about financial wellness, sign up for our free summary of what’s going on in the world of employee benefits.
Parents are Still Subsidizing their Kids
According to a brand new survey released yesterday from Pew Research Center, Financial independence is a work in progress:
45% of young adults say they are completely financially independent from their parents. Among those in their early 30s, that share rises to 67%, compared with 44% of those ages 25 to 29 and 16% of those ages 18 to 24.
44% of young adults say they received financial help from their parents in the past year. The top two areas in which they got help were household expenses and their cellphone bill or subscriptions to streaming services.
Among parents who say they helped their children financially in the past year, 36% say doing so has hurt their personal financial situation at least some. This is especially the case among parents with lower incomes.
Most young adults who live with their parents say they contribute financially, including 65% who say they pay for household expenses such as groceries or utility bills and 46% who say they contribute money toward the rent or mortgage.
Kids today are more likely to have college degrees and earn more money on an inflation-adjusted basis than their parents did 30 years ago. At the same time, adult kids are also more likely to have student loan debt, and more of it than their parents did at their age. In 1992, the median student debt adjusted for inflation was roughly $6,000 to $7,000 among young adults, according to Pew. But in 2022, adults between 25 and 29 owed a median of $16,000 and those ages 30 to 34 owed $20,000.
Believe it or Not:
U.S. centenarian population is projected to quadruple over the next 30 years. And the vast majority of Americans in their 100s are White women, according to Pew Research Center.
Right now there are 722,000 centenarians according to the U.N. In the US, we have 108,000 of them. By 2054, the global population of centenarians is expected to be 4 million.
Preparing for an older world will require different resources, working longer, and saving more money. We’re also going to need more doctors, nurses, and nursing homes. If you’re looking for an investment vertical, this might be it.
Travels with Ilyce
When I travel around the world, which I do with some frequency, I tend to write short travelogs that are popular with my friends, family and colleagues. You can read some of these at my Instagram account.
But I’ve been asked to write more about where I go and what I do and I thought this newsletter might be the perfect place.
So, if you subscribe to my Love, Money + Real Estate newsletter as a paying subscriber, you’ll get access to my new Travels with Ilyce travelog, with all the photos and travel tips you need to make your own memorable vacation. I’ll also offer up my own insights on how climate change is changing the nature of business, travel and life all over the globe.
I’ll be adding my Peru travelog this weekend. And over the next few weeks, I’ll upload a few more. Later this year, I’ll be in Sonoma, California, New York, San Francisco, and New Zealand! So, get ready for some great armchair travel with tips on how to find and schedule your own great getaways.
Thanks it for now. Type to you again soon.
Ilyce
Good morning from Los Angeles!!!!
So hard for young people especially in LA. They also want the big money!!! They will no longer take the entry level jobs and work the ladder.