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| DECEMBER 2004 |
A Publication of
ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers |
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HAPPY
HOLIDAYS FROM ELLIOTT®
& COMPANY APPRAISERS |
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All of us at ELLIOTT® & Company Appraisers wish you a joyous and safe
holiday season and a prosperous new year.
We appreciate the confidence our clients have placed in us in 2004.
Our offices will be closed in Friday, December 24, and Friday, December
31, for the holidays. We will be open all other weekdays, including
Monday, December 27, and Monday, January 3, during this holiday season,
offering appraisal service in all 50 states.
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HOUSING WEALTH DRIVES CONSUMER SPENDING
MORE THAN STOCKS
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 A
recent study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard
University and Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC, concludes that housing
wealth has a greater effect on a consumer’s spending habits than his or
her stock wealth. According to the study, which was commissioned by the
National Association of Realtors (NAR), consumers are more confident
about their appreciation of home value than their gain in the stock
market because they realize near-term gains in a stock market may not
last.
"Housing produces a quicker lift to the economy, while home-price growth
provides lasting benefits," said David Lereah, chief economist of the
NAR. "Homeowners are more confident of gains in housing wealth, so they
spend more readily and quickly when they occur."
Lereath does not seem to be concerned about a housing bubble.
"The fundamentals of a growing population, tight supply of homes
available for sale and rising construction costs will support home
prices moving forward," he said.
The NAR economist noted that homeownership has a greater effect than
stocks on households' finances.
"The broader distribution of homeownership means that changes in stock
wealth affect a much smaller share of households and mostly affects
those with disposable incomes," he said. "Homeownership is unique in
that it provides shelter in addition to being an investment that yields
a financial return as values rise."
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QUOTES
OF WIT & WISDOM |
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"We have too many high-sounding
words and too few actions that correspond with them."
– Abigail Adams"The
vices of leisure are gotten rid of by being busy." –
Cicero
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd."
– Voltaire
"Silence is one of the hardest arguments to refute."
– Josh Billings
"My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net
income."
– Errol Flynn
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