buyers & rates

https://finance-yahoo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/finance.yahoo.com/amphtml/news/500-billion-corporate-debt-storm-230005895.html

Another indicator that the economy is humming along just fine with 5% Fed rates. Even with mortgages at 7%, developers still have plenty of buyers and keep building:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-home-sales-boom-builders-6c736630

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/07/20/realestate/two-bedroom-bedford-stuyvesant.html?

Their offer of $635,000 was accepted. Instead of getting a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, they went with a 10-year adjustable-rate mortgage, which they plan to refinance in the next few years.

“The interest rate can change,” Mx. Haymon said. “I knew that, going in, I only needed to be able to afford the interest rate for two years.”

Oh man.
I can't believe the stuff the NYT RE section runs.
Buying a 3rd floor walkup in Bed-Stuy with 5% down payment and a 10 year arm because you can't afford the 30 year fixed payment. Again on a 3bed 700 sq ft.. walkup! Bleak stuff.

Gonna end up paying a solid $4.5-5k/mo to avoid the increased $3k rent.
Better off paying the $3k rent while stuffing away $1.5k into savings.

Does anyone know if a landlord is responsible for fixing an HVAC unit in a condo?

You mean a LL renting a condo to a tenant. The heat part of HVAC, absolutely yes. Warranty of habitability. The AC part, it depends. If condo was advertised as having AC, it falls under warranty of habitability. If not, no. I’m not sure what happens on AC component if there is a clause in the lease defining who bears the cost.

That’s the legal view. From a general sensibility POV, it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for tenants to maintain infrastructure. As a LL, would you want tenants doing random wiring as necessary?

@Inonada,
I have lived in this apartment for sometime; now I am renting it. I never used the AC in the bedroom as it was too cold, so the air conditioning from the HVAC in the living room was preferred. And in the winter, heat came up, not in full force because the fan wasn’t working. But the HVAC in the living room was working so there was plenty of heat.
That said, your question about tenants doing random wiring reveals past issues we’ve had and not to your liking.

People are talking about "luxury bubble" bursting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH6pF-gXbuw

What is interesting, according to this video, lower income consumers have been helping inflate the bubble in the last few years.

Thanks, Krolik.

We’ll see whether or not the segment falls over. The more interesting point to me was the increase in spending as a priority, fueled by Insta-Tok FOMO. The focus on luxury goods may wane, but my sense is that it’ll more likely shift elsewhere rather than into savings.