| Mortgage meltdown: Now the rents
But before they could do that, the slump hit, and home values dropped. Instead of selling at a loss, investors of all stripes are now renting them out. Of the 10 areas sampled by Rentometer, Atlanta and Houston rents declined the most, plunging 12.8 percent for the year. Median monthly rent for all rentals in Atlanta is now $884, and in Houston it's $779. The New York metro area had the highest median monthly rent in 2007, at $1,729, and it posted the biggest increase of 12.8 percent. San Francisco, where it grew 8.5 percent to $1,685, and Boston, where it rose 6.8 percent to $1,528, also had strong years. San Francisco and New York are examples where Johnson said "massive demand" more than offset increased supply. These cities compete in a "global market," he said, and, by world standards, they're still relatively inexpensive for foreign currency-based consumers taking advantage of a weak dollar.
Northern Rock Shares Take A Tumble
But some experts now predict that an announcement confirming the banks' nationalisation could be made within days. The recruitment of Mr Sandler, who was approached by the Treasury in November, indicates contingency plans for Northern Rock are well advanced. He said that his role would be "to get things stabilised, to make sure the bank has proper plans in place". The troubleshooter added that he would also be responsible for ensuring that a management team was in place at the bank. .
Archive for: January, 2008
Between the Lines Latest Post | Last 10 Posts | Archives Facebook's social pyramid schemers Posted in: General Social networking Facebook Guest post: Chris Matyszczyk laments the way some Facebook applications behave, creating what he calls "pre-pubescent pyramid selling." I have friends who seem to have a strangely close relationship with Facebook. Even though their profile says they are "in a relationship," they seem to spend a vast amount of time and mental space in living the social networking dream. The other day, two friends of mine sent me quizzes. One asked me to name movies from screenshots (Flixster). The other wanted me to identify car logos. It brought me an overwhelming two hundred seconds of fascination.
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