The U.S. has long suffered from an inadequate supply of housing. From a slow recovery in new construction after the Great Recession, to onerous zoning regulations and building codes, to the recent impacts of inflation on building materials,…
New York City is known for its hustle - after all, as the song says: if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. But if ‘making it’ here includes owning a median-priced home, a new report by nationwide moving coordinators HireAHe…
The real estate market since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on all buyers, but aspiring first-time buyers may have struggled most of all. For much of 2020 and 2021, the housing market faced a challenging combination of h…
Compared to previous generations, Millennials (those born between 1981 and 1996, give or take) have a conspicuously low rate of homeownership. While the ranks of millennial homeowners have expanded slightly over time, the numbers still fall…
According to a new study by Construction Coverage examining where and to what degree homebuyers are most impacted by rising mortgage interest rates, those rates are now more than double what they were in early 2021. As a result, spirali…
Home equity is one of the biggest contributors to household wealth. According to a Census Bureau report, two assets—home equity and retirement accounts—account for 63 percent of American households’ net worth. Yet, prior to the COVID-19 pan…
With both real estate and rental prices rising quickly over the last two years, U.S. households that don’t currently own their home are facing a major affordability crunch. A new study by Roofstock adds some interesting data to the disc…
Gen Z is hitting adulthood at a difficult time. Defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, most Gen Zers today are firmly in early adulthood or in their teenage years. Finding footing at this stage of life is challenging enough on its own…
According to Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised in Brief (2005), “The holding of assemblies of the elders, fighting men, or people of a tribe, community, or city to make decisions or render opinion on important matters is doubtless a cus…
Ahh, the pleasures of home ownership; a space to call your very own, to arrange and enjoy as you see fit, all while building equity. It’s a key component of the American Dream—but when the faucet leaks in your condo or co-op unit, there’s n…
In early 2020, our firm was hired to prepare a reserve study for an unremarkable 136-unit, 12-story condominium in south Florida. It was the kind of association you could drive right by without noticing, not much different from all the othe…
In early 2020, our firm was hired to prepare a reserve study for an unremarkable 136-unit, 12-story condominium in south Florida. It was the kind of association you could drive right by without noticing, not much different from all the othe…
Since the second week of January, many co-op boards have been busy working with their banks to complete Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications. The inclusion of co-ops in the Fed’s forgivable loan program was the result of a joint e…
For house-hunters in New York, outdoor space has always been a key amenity. While terraces, balconies and private gardens also top the list, larger outdoor spaces like roof decks and community gardens are perennially popular with both curre…
At the heart of volunteerism is the notion of doing something for the common good. For many, choosing to live in a co-op or condo community is also choosing volunteerism – specifically, volunteering for board service. But within that sense …
Like so many other communities throughout the United States, New York City remains segregated in many respects—racially, economically, and socially—but even so, the city has achieved a level of housing integration despite the systemic force…
In last year’s presidential election, Donald Trump lost New York City, resoundingly. According to final election results, he received 461,174 votes across the five boroughs, or 18.4 percent, compared with 1,969,920 ballots cast for Hillary …
In light of the tragic condo building collapse in Surfside, Florida, earlier this year, condo and co-op boards, as well as rental building landlords, are taking a hard look at their building system inspection policies. While all mandatory i…
Last spring, amidst the panic and confusion of the burgeoning pandemic, condominium, co-op, and HOA communities were faced with the difficult task of deciding what to do about their shared amenities. Gyms, pools, clubhouses, and other popul…
Saving the planet from the effects of climate change is an urgent—and gargantuan—task. It’s such a huge, global issue that the actions of individuals and small entities like co-op and condominium communities to help can seem pitifully inade…