Understanding the Escrow Squeeze: 65% of Homeowners Face Shortages
Friday, August 07
Recent data from USA Today reveals a significant trend in the housing market: 65% of all homeowners currently face escrow shortages, with an average deficit of $2,157. This phenomenon is largely driven by the inherent structure of modern mortgage payments. While your loan's principal and interest...
What Does a Healthy Worcester 3-Decker Market Look Like?
Thursday, July 23
Most people understand that a healthy real estate market is based on supply and demand. But what is that supply and demand based on? Is it just the price, or the number of buyers and sellers? I would argue that because the multi-family market is a unique mix of owner-occupants and investors, mort...
Was Kamala Right About Housing?
Thursday, June 18
NIMBY, Land Trusts and Down Payment Assistance. The housing crisis is often framed as a lack of compassion, but a closer look at the economics suggests it’s actually a lack of supply, exacerbated by the very policies meant to fix it. This brings us to a central question of the recent political c...
The Hidden Cost of Rising Rents
Wednesday, June 03
The Hidden Cost of Rising Rents: Why the Local Economy (and Investors) Pays the PriceThe upward creep of rental prices is often discussed in terms of housing affordability, but its ripple effect on the local economy is a story that demands attention. When rents spike, a significant amount of spen...
Homeownership Deserts in Worcester, MA
Wednesday, May 27
According to the MassINC Policy Center’s 2025 Gateway Cities Housing Monitor report, Worcester has 8 homeownership deserts. These are defined as neighborhoods where fewer than 20 percent of homes are owner occupied. At under 20% home ownership, the average poverty rate is 30%. At 20% home ownersh...
The Looming Tax Crisis: Worcester’s Real Estate "Death Spiral"
Tuesday, May 05
In late 2022, I sounded the alarm on the "Urban Doom Loop", a cycle where declining city centers lead to lower tax revenues, forcing cities to hike taxes on remaining residents, which in turn drives more people out. Today, we are seeing a specific, dangerous version of this spiral playing out in ...